Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureFamily FavoriteHistory Buff

Gilbert Lake State Park

Swim, paddle and fish on a wooded lake in the Catskill foothills, stay in a CCC-built cabin and visit New York's Civilian Conservation Corps museum.

18 CCC Road, Laurens, NY 13796 (GPS: 870 County Route 12) · Laurens, NY

About Gilbert Lake State Park

Gilbert Lake State Park covers 1,584 acres of wooded hills north of Oneonta, with Gilbert Lake and three ponds. A Civilian Conservation Corps camp worked here from 1933 to 1941, building cabins, dams, roads and trails, and the park now holds the New York State CCC Museum. You can swim at the beach in summer, rent a boat, fish, play disc golf and walk more than 12 miles of connected trails. The park has 135 campsites and 33 cabins, open mid-May to mid-October by reservation. Cars pay $7 from late May to early September.

#state park
#lake
#cabins
#camping
#ccc museum

What's around here?

The closest stops to Gilbert Lake State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sightseeing
Local Gem
Cooperstown
No admission fee
Official tourism promotion agency for Cooperstown and Otsego County, New York.
Transit: reachable by public transit
13 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Museums
Iconic
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
$25–$50
Walk three floors of baseball history, from Babe Ruth artifacts to the bronze plaques of every inducted Hall of Famer.
Transit: reachable by public transit
13 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure
Rock Rift Fire Observation Tower
Check prices
Hike 3.7 miles round trip near Walton and climb 97 oak steps up a 1934 fire tower above the Cannonsville Reservoir.
34 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Family Favorite
Mine Kill State Park
No admission fee
Look down on an 80-foot waterfall in a narrow gorge, swim in a free Olympic-size pool and play disc golf above the Schoharie Valley.
36 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Max V. Shaul State Park
Under $25
A small, quiet state park in the Schoharie Valley with wooded camping, shaded picnic grounds, and hiking trails.
37 mi awayMore like this
Attractions
Family Favorite
Howe Caverns
$25–$50
Take a 90-minute guided walk through a limestone cave 156 feet deep, including a quarter-mile underground boat ride.
38 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions