Ausable Point Campground is a unique Adirondack camping destination. This lovely campground is situated on both Lake Champlain and the Ausable River, giving guests the best of both bodies of water, a place to swim, paddle, or just enjoy the sandy beach. I personally really loved our family vacation at Ausable Point. It was gorgeous and completely relaxing.
Camping
The camping at Ausable Point is incredible; there are 123 campsites, and most are exceptional. There is a campsite for everyone’s preference, secluded, on the river, on the beach, in the open sun… you name it, they have it. Honestly, I found that this small campground had more variety of campsites than any of the other state campgrounds we’ve visited.
I really love waterfront campsites. I go out of my way to find them. There is absolutely nothing in the world like sitting in by a fire set in front of a beautiful water source like a lake, river, or creek. We selected a site that was on the Ausable River because most of these sites are completely private. Our site was a fairly good size; we set up two large tents without feeling closed in and park a vehicle. There was high shrubbery on both sides of our site which basically made our site completely private. We couldn’t see our neighbors at all, although we could hear them. It really doesn’t get more private than that.
If you are a beach person, you will love the campsites that are located on the Lake. There back right up to the beach, and although they are wide open and seriously lacking in privacy, you can’t beat the view.
Even if you don’t manage to snag one of the prime waterfront sites, there are tons of equally beautiful wooded sites that offer a fantastic camping experience.
There several handicap-accessible campsites at Ausable Point as well.
Lake Champlain
The crown jewel of this park is Lake Champlain. Ausable Point has lots of beach access to Lake Champlain’s crystal clear water. It was scorching when we visited, and the lake was so refreshing.
We loved playing around in the water and on the sandy beaches. Incidentally, if you are a rock hound, stones that make up the “sand” of Lake Champlain, we found all sorts of quartz crystals. The lake is incredibly shallow at Ausable Point. The water level doesn’t drop for almost a 1/4 mile from shore.
The Day Use area of the beach has picnic tables and grills set on the edge of the beach and the woods between the beach and the parking lot.
Amazing Sunrises and Sunsets
What is amazing about Ausable Point is the wide open beaches that provide spectacular sunrises and sunsets over Lake Champlain. We were treated to both, and they were indeed spectacular. There are many large pieces of driftwood along the lakeshore that add an attractive element to the beach and places to sit and enjoy sunrises or sunsets.
Swimming
We visited Ausable Point at the height of summer during a heatwave, and escaping to the waters of Lake Champlain was a relief from the stifling temperatures. The Lake was exceptionally cold, but it was so hot out that it didn’t phase us at all. There was plenty of room to spread out and still have a large portion of the beach to ourselves. This is a great place for kids to learn to swim since the water is so shallow for quite a ways out.
Ausable River
We were lucky enough to get a campsite along the river, and it was perfect for just relaxing peacefully along the shore and watching the water and wildlife. There were leopard frogs along the banks of the river. We couldn’t walk more than a step or two without a frog hopping out of our way.
Kayaking
While we didn’t find the river was a good place for swimming, it was an excellent place for kayaking. We could launch right from our site and paddle further up the river or out into the Lake. We saw lots of people through the days kayaking up and down the river past our campsite.
Fishing
My son had a great time fishing the river from the shore. The fish species found here are northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, lake trout, brown trout, salmon, bullhead perch, walleyes, carp, smelt, eel, crappie, and bluegill.
Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area
As you are entering the park, you will pass through the Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area. There is a short boardwalk viewing area as well as a sandy beach that stretches out beyond the marsh area. This is a popular fishing spot and there are lots of places to view wildlife. This is an excellent place for bird watching.
Know Before You Go
We visited in late June and found that while the park was beautiful and perfect for enjoying the summer weather, it was exceptionally buggy. You will want to make sure you have a strong bug-repellent. We mainly had an issue with the mosquitos on our campsite, but once we left the site and began walking to the beach, we would be almost immediately attacked by deer flies. We tried to use our all-natural repellent, but it didn’t help at all. We had to break out the hardcore repellent.
My daughter was less than thrilled with the toilet facilities at this park. They are old and the bugs made it appear “slightly dirty.” Otherwise, I thought they were fine. There is a shower building located on the far side of the Day Use Beach Area. These showers are private, and again other than the bugs weren’t too bad. There was plenty of hot water, but you will definitely not want to go without flip-flops in these showers.
Getting to Ausable Point State Park
3346 Lakeshore Road, Peru, NY
Google Map Link
Have you camped at Ausable Point? What is your favorite Adirondack Campground? We would love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment below.