We hope the new New York State DEC Frontier Town Campground will be the start of a lot of great things in our area," said Stephanie DeZalia. DeZalia is the Supervisor of the Town of North Hudson in northeast New York, which is in central Adirondack Park. Frontier Town Campground is all set to take reservations online for the season, which will open June 28. There are RV sites with full hookups, tent sites, as well as equestrian sites. They also have a day use area that includes a pavilion and playground.
Like the name suggests, the campground sits on land that was once occupied by a western themed amusement park called Frontier Town. "The theme park opened in the 50s, then closed for a while, and reopened again until it closed for good in 1998," DeZalia recalls. The amusement park was a big draw to the area for the decades that it was open and left a dent in the local tourism economy. "I can only speculate why they closed," explained DeZalia, "But I'm guessing part of the reason is because times have changed, along with the types of family vacations, and visits to other types of venues." It is the hope of the state and the town that reopening Frontier Town as an RV park will boost tourism to the 5-Town Upper Hudson Recreation Hub region.
There are a few resources online devoted to preserving the history of Frontier Town, such as the Facebook page Frontier Town Abandoned Theme Park Then and Now and the terrifically researched Frontier Town Fan page by Steve Gross.
NY DEC endorsing Frontier Town, the site of an old community gathering place. [Photo/Town of North Hudson]
On Gross' page, he writes of the beginning of Frontier Town, as written about in a memoir by the founder of Frontier Town, Art Benson. "So it was at the beginning of August, 1951, that after 21 years, I left the Telephone Company with no pension, no severance pay, and no unemployment insurance. ... Soon, under the tutoring of Jim Liberty, I could handle the double bladed axe without too much danger to my feet and legs. By fall we had completed our twelve log buildings," Benson wrote. Frontier Town opened on the 4th of July in 1952. Benson ran the theme park until selling it in 1983.
The park had everything one could imagine a Wild West town would have. There were mock gunfights, animals, rides, games and a lot of actual historic paraphernalia. Gross' website has some humorous recollections of the place, such as this one by a guy named Bob. Bob says, "I remember as a kid that my parents couldn't afford to buy me and my sister toy guns so when Billy the Kid was robbing the train we used our finger guns to stop him. I also remember going to Fort Custer and being enlisted in the cavalry. We had to stand in formation and when one kid was found with gum in his mouth, he had to dig a hole and bury it."
The RV park will sit south of where the actual theme park was, however there will be little relics from the past sprinkled throughout the park. "All the roads are named after places at the old theme park, such as 'Rodeo Drive' and 'Prairie Junction Way," DeZalia told The Buzz. Some of the sites are near the river and there are trails all over the park for biking, hiking, and equestrian use.
The opening of the RV park is one of the initial actions put in place by Governor Andrew Cuomo's $32 million plan, "Gateway to the Adirondacks" at Exit 29, where North Hudson sits. Along with the RV park, Paradox Brewery will invest $2.8 million into the area by opening a brewery and tasting room within walking distance of the RV park. According to a representative from the brewery, “We hope to be open around July 1, give or take a week or two.”
"We think that by expanding activities here in North Hudson, people will be drawn here as an exciting and relaxing alternative to the over-crowded places in the Adirondacks like Lake Placid," DeZalia said. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is planning to provide easier access to the Boreas Ponds tract, just west of the campground, in the coming months, via Gulf Brook Road. According to a press release from the DEC, “Beginning in August, motorists will be able to travel further on the Gulf Brook Road and access additional infrastructure.” DEC will announce the availability of the alternative access once the work is complete.
All in all, it is an exciting time to be a part of the development happening in North Hudson. You can reserve your campsite now at the New York State Parks website. It may not have all the nostalgia and child-like excitement of a Wild West theme park, but with great access to nature, history, and culture, it sure comes close.