bowman lake state park

Bowman Lake State park was a lovely campground. The sites are private and wooded, with ample space. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit, most also have charcoal grills. (During our stay, I saw the park replacing some old tables with new). The bath rooms are clean and in good repair; there are plenty of them spread among the grounds. The bathroom by the beach was disgusting, likely from so much use, and this specific one is also a public facility; not just for campers. There are 2 shower houses, the one near my site was clean, with tile floors, 3 shower stalls and nice hot water! The beach was clean, with lifeguards on duty; we found the beach to be pretty congested early afternoon, but around 4:30 pm it seemed to clear out and that was the perfect time to enjoy a swim and build a sandcastle! We also rented a row boat for fishing, the prices were a bit expensive, but they also supply life vests, which you must wear. We didn't see much in the way of fish, just some sunnys. There is a great playground area for the kids, it is well maintained. There is firewood for sale at the main entrance priced 4/$1, you choose your own pieces. The wood was wet, but we brought along a small axe and chopped it into smaller pieces and it dried out nicely by the next evening. The park officials are very noisy at sundown as they drive/patrol the park, and the speed limit seems to be ignored, other than that the park is very quiet. Trash/dumpster areas are provided to dispose of any trash you may have, and its included in the price of your campsite. We also stopped by the concession on the beach, the deck was lovely, overlooking the lake. The food on the other hand was anything but lovely... we ordered cheese burgers, the burgers were dry and the cheese came from a pump (nacho cheese)...it just ran off the burger and made it a huge mess to eat; and at those prices I would expect actual cheese. The other campers were very friendly, we were invited to crafts at the nature center which we unfortunately missed. I can't recommend one campsite site over another, they were all pretty fabulous, we stayed at site #84 and it was great!

Bowman Lake State Park is great for tenting, RVs or rent a cabin. Activities for the whole family. A really peaceful place to go hiking, very reasonable rates, good clean facilities. Always a good time, just a short drive north of Binghamton, NY.