You know that feeling when you arrive somewhere, and you just know… know with every ounce of your being… you belong there?
At least in this moment.
Maybe it was because our last stop at Hearthstone Point along Lake George was a bit lackluster? Maybe it was because we were craving something with that elusive ‘it’ factor before the chaos of Escapade?
From the very moment we pulled into Scaroon Manor Campground (our review pending), our hearts were filled with elation, joy and magic.
It was love at first camp-sight.
And we stay at some pretty darn awesome spots.
Now I’m tasked with trying to do justice in sharing the experience with you.
Scaroon Manor – Odd Name for a Campground?
Our initial reason for booking here was simple. There was no availability at Hearthstone Point over the weekend, and this was the closest campground with openings.
We couldn’t find much information online about it, Campendium didn’t even have it listed and RVParkReviews only had one review.
Reserve America described it as:
Prior to acquisition by New York State in 1967, the site had a long illustrious history as a privately operated resort and recreation facility. The facility was a destination resort of the wealthy and offered a broad range of facilities and activities which included golf, swimming, canoeing, boating, sailing, water skiing, bowling, handball, baseball, basketball, tennis, hiking, hunting, fishing, horseback riding and roller skating. The amphitheater hosted many famous entertainers during its heyday. In 1957 the movie Marjorie Morningstar starring Gene Kelly and Natalie Wood was filmed on the grounds of Scaroon Manor.
So that explained the rather odd sounding campground name. Our curiosity was piqued.
We figured we’d book through the weekend and then park-hop on up further into the Adirondacks. We could then catch a ferry across Lake Champlain for our arrival to Essex Junction.
We made the short drive, checked in and headed to our site.
Now, I’m pretty darn good at selecting sites by cross comparing campground maps to satellite view. But I have to be honest, even I was shocked when we arrived to Site 12.
Full open sun for solar, huge yard and facing a line of trees creating tons of privacy. And delightfully flat.
Even with the campground almost entirely full for the weekend, our site offered amazing peace and tranquility. Our hearts were swooning.
It could only be better with a water view, but let’s not push it, ok?
Yup, this’ll do. This’ll do.
The campground itself is immaculate, as if it were a golf course.
Oh wait, it WAS formerly the resort’s golf course… ah hah!
Within the facility there’s a private swimming beach, ample hiking & biking trails and the ruins of the old amphitheater. The rest of the resort buildings were long ago sold or destroyed leaving not much of a trace.
The whole location took us back in time with every step.
I could hear echoes of highfalutin laughter in the wind as it whooshed through the trees.
We imagined retracing the elegant strolls of upper class vacationers along these now dilapidated trails that once served as roads between cabins, gardens, club houses and restaurants.
As the full moon rose over the lake one evening, I couldn’t help but think of the many who drove up from the big city to enjoy the same view.
I just love the gradual restoration of the natural lakeside beauty while preserving the history. What was once a lavish and exclusive resort is now a state park accessible for all to enjoy.
And the present day location isn’t too shabby either.
Next door? Paradox Brewery.
Just up the road? The city of Schroon Lake, with quaint stores & restaurants and a generally non-touristy feel.
I looked at Reserve America to see if our site was available into the week.. and it was. Right up until Escapade.
And not just our site, but the entire fricken loop.
Some checks with our boosters and antennas to ensure we could get ample connectivity to conduct our live video casts and advising sessions…
.. and you might guess what we did next.
You’re darn tootin right – we marched right on up to check-in booth and happily plunked down $30/day to extend our dry camping site.
Scaroon Manor had flirted with our hearts and we were content with bailing on exploring the rest of the Adirondacks to continue the romance.
It’s not often all of the elements we love align so nicely.
Can we say.. Serendipity?
The rest of the week was simply magical, restful and full of surprises.
Just as soon as we extended our stay, with receipt in hand, we took the trail back to the campground. Along the way, we heard what sounded like a play.
We wandered towards the voices (hoping they weren’t just in our heads), to discover the Adirondack Shakespeare Company was performing Much Ado About Nothing in the ruins of the old amphitheater. And it had just begun.
We love when awesome falls in our laps!
Later that evening, we found Marjorie Morningstar available for streaming.
Watching movies filmed in the places we stay (such as Night of the Lepus when we were camped in Ajo, AZ a couple years back) is such a fun way to connect with an area.
The film was a charming classic towards the end of Gene Kelley’s career.
But imagine our surprise when a late 1950s GM 4104 (the predecessor to our 1961 4106) delivered the starlet’s uncle to ‘Southwind Resort’ aka.. Scaroon Manor!!
It took our breath away to see a bus so very similar to ours, rolling past just feet from where we happened to be parked – 60 years later!!
Maybe you had to be there to really appreciate this virtual time machine, but I still have shivers down my spine just typing it.
And as if we needed another sign we were in the right spot at the right time??
As the weekend campers pulled out, we were left in relative indulgent solitude for the entire week.
We explored the trails. We swam. We went on a boat tour. We explored the town (and yes, we went Pokemon Go hunting).
And we got a bunch of work done, including covering the surprise Verizon unlimited data plan fiasco. Thankful we had a chill spot and frame of mind to handle it.
Suffice it to say, when Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to catch a ferry over to Essex Junction, we were truly sad to leave. We actually contemplated skipping Escapade and extending our stay even longer.
Scaroon Manor will forever be in our hearts as one of the many magical places that have touched us so thoroughly.
I think it’s a safe bet that it will make our Top 12 List for 2016 (our past Top Campground Lists).
What’s Up Next?
The Escapade was fantastic, we’re glad we pulled ourselves away from our little slice of paradise to attend. We’ll give a wrap up of the event in an upcoming post.
We’re now hidden away in another magical location (thank you, you know who you are) for some much needed re-charge time.
It’ll be a perfect place to celebrate my birthday this week!
We’re exploring some options for our next move as we continue exploring the region making our way towards Maine.
Suffice it to say, the northeast has been nothing like we thought it would be. We’re completely smitten.
As always, wonderfully written. Someday you should write a book (non-fiction or, maybe more interesting because it would be different, fiction). You have a genuine gift for writing.
We went there this year -early September – for the first time. Hubby had wanted to try fishing in that lake and he wasn’t disappointed. The dock is great, easy in and out. He caught nice big Lake Trout and Salmon and a Brown something or other – every day!
When I learned what was in the park from walking around reading the various “kiosks”, I was fascinated and my Lab and I spent the rest of the week exploring and ooohing and ahhhhing, and yes – imagining what it was like back then.
The campground is well maintained – we had a downpour one night and the next morning there was not a puddle or muddy spot on the site — well drained. The fire pits were in great condition (perfect for marshmallows) and the picnic table was 8 ft. and painted (no soggy wet seats). We came in day after Labor Day so the park was very quiet all week.
For dog lovers, the dogs can use the beach area just down from the main beach, so water retrieving was on the docket for us!
The ruins of the amphitheater were fascinating and I could still see where most of the circular gardens were. A definite for next year and I’ve told everyone I know about it.
It would even been a good day trip just to walk it and have a picnic lunch at the big covered pavilion.
It has now topped my list over Crown Point, which has those great fort ruins and the museum!
I’m heading up to the Scaroon Manor campground with my sons’ Boy Scout Troop this weekend. I wonder if I can slip away from the noisy boys and enjoy some of the quiet contemplation you seem to have had? Eh, probably not. But I am looking forward to visiting that beautiful place!
Hey guys – I love your blog! I was wondering… do you have a blog post or something similar about your favorite camp grounds? My girlfriend and I are also fulltimers (we just started this month) and we’re looking for some awesome places.
Thanks! 🙂
Bill
Yes.. for the past few years we’ve done a ‘Favorite Campgrounds’ post, here’s where they all are: https://www.technomadia.com/category/travels/favorite-campgrounds/
Thanks for this post – great stuff!
This is why I love you guys – you find out-of-the-way spots of great interest. We lived in upstate NY for 10 years (Saratoga Springs) and never knew this place existed. We visited many other great spots in the Adirondacks but had never heard of Scaroon Manor before – even though it was “just up the road” from us.
Cannot wait to hear more about your adventures in New England.
Thanks!
We love finding little gems that haven’t been over-visited 🙂
Serendipity?! Irony? I don’t know which however as I read your post at the moment about Pokemon Go; I suggested to my 12 year old son; who was in my doghouse for feigning an illness to get out of an earlier dentist appointment to go play his game. He said to me ” I was going to ask you dad if I could go play” I gave him my blessings as he scurried out the door.
P.S. We have 3 cats and that kid has a bond with them like nothing I’ve ever seen.
Haha.. glad we could enable some Poke-hunting 🙂
If the road to the street side of your coach is the main road in from Rt. 9 that showed the gatehouse in your capture shot, then you are on the second hole of the golf course. If you are as far south as the small trees then you are on the third hole.
How do I know? I grew up a few miles south of Scaroon Manor and caddied there throughout the latter ’50s and early ’60s…probably after its hayday, but still long before it deteriorated. I earned the princely sum of $1.25 single bagging 9 holes and..you guessed it… $2.50 for 18 holes. Maybe 3-4 hours of walking and waiting. My mother worked there many years as a banquet and cocktail waitress and initially got me my caddy job. Joe Frieber was the resort owner – he drove a wood-sided Chrysler convertible that I coveted, and straight-from-Ireland-via-NYC Chief McCarthy and his security staff kept order. The movie Dirty Dancing has always struck me as a little blast from the past….but you know…it’s a Catskills vs. Adirondacks thing with some behind the scenes memories.
Anecdotally, I had a really cool bicycle then. And it being 60 years ago, my memory is a little fuzzy, but either the Marjorie Morningstar film ( if there is a scene with a bicycle) rented my bike for the film, or Scaroon had some other production that the resort rented it for.
I haven’t been back to the area in almost 20 years, prior to our RV interests, and we are now awaiting the sale of our house in order to start our FT adventures, which will likely include a visit to the area. I was not aware of the camping option there, so thank you for the heads-up.
How cool! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving this comment. It brings even more meaning to our stay there.
Love the vintage post card photo of you guys! And the bus is definitely serendipitous. Totally cool!
Wasn’t that fun? Thanks for noticing it 🙂
This one’s going on our camp bucket list fo sure! I want to be in New York in August 2019, for my 50 year Woodstock anniversary!
We think it’s definitely a campground worthy of adding to the list.. enjoy!
Happy Birthday-this-week, Cherie! BTW the picture of you and Chris that you gave the linen-finish postcard look to is a keeper. So enjoy following you guys.
Thanks Patty.. having a great birthday week, for sure!
The postcard was totally a whim-idea, glad it came out with my limited graphical abilities. 🙂
Russ’ parents had camped at Scroon Lake during their honeymoon in 1936, so we too had made a pilgrimage there before Escapade. Next time we’ll know where to stay! Happy Birthday, Cherie! May this year be the best one ever.
How cool.. the whole lake community was apparently quite the vacation destination. Some beautiful historic buildings downtown.
Brilliant post, keep ’em coming.
Happy Birthday, Cherie!
Schroom Lake sounds like a wonderful stopover for Kathy & me on our way to Florida this fall. Hope to see you guys in Maine!
Hope you enjoy the stop over if you route that way.. and we’ll be seeing you soon!
What a wonderful post! You need not worry; you captured your emotions of “love at first camp-sight” beautifully!
Awww… thanks. I know there’s no way to fully capture the feeling to share, but we do our best 🙂
What a perfect Frikkin spot! Loooove it and love that super cute pic of you two with the rig. Swoon!
Nina
Swoon indeed!
Happy Birthday Cherie! I hope wherever you are in the northeast you and Chris enjoy your stay. I now have Schroon Lake on our radar for future . Thanks for a lovely post!
Thank you for the birthday wishes! I hope you enjoy Schroon Lake if you get a chance to visit.