Allegany State Park - Salamanca, NY

[Aeryn]

Hi All,

I'm new to camping and new to the forums.
I've resolved to teach myself how to tent camp, and want to start with a few short trips close to home in the warmer weather. I'm fortunate enough to live fairly near to Allegany State Park which gets rave reviews from many campers who go there. That said, there are bears there! lol
I'd love to hear from anyone who has any experience camping in Allegany to get an idea of how frequently or not bear encounters actually occur. Should I be concerned enough to put off going there? I'll be alone - except for my dog, an 85 pound Golden Retriever. Any tips about safety would also be much appreciated.
Any alternatives to Allegany in New York State that anyone wants to tell me about? I'm like a sponge right now, trying to soak up as much camping info as I can before the weather breaks and it's time to go!

Many thanks!

[Nickadeamus]

Re: Allegany State Park - Salamanca, NY

I grew up in Warren, PA. and camped in the Allegheny Notional Forest and wooded areas around it until I was about 19 years old then went into the Army. With this said yes there are Bears but most of the time I was out camping they never came into my campsite. But had one take are front door to are home off its hinges to get to a bag of trash that was next to the door. I also had one fallow me down the dirt road all the way to my house when I was in 5th grade. The most important thing is do not have any food in your tent. Keep it and anything that has a smell (other than your pet) out of your tent. Things like toothpaste, deodorant, coffee, and so on. Hang it in a tree (look on YouTube there are vid’s on how to do this) or keep in your car. You can even get an eclectic fence that rounds on batteries (I use them) to put around your camp. It would also help keep your dog in camp as well as help keep any bear out. Plus I sleep better knowing it is there between me and anything that is unwelcomed. I also carry bear spry with me. We are not talking brown bears but little black bears. But if you keep food out of your tent you should not have any problems. I had more problems with raccoons up in that area then bears. But as a kid I also left potato chips and crumbs all over everything LOL.

[Aeryn]

Re: Allegany State Park - Salamanca, NY

Thank you so much! I intend to keep a very clean camp.

[garden_frog]

Re: Allegany State Park - Salamanca, NY

Your post is a bit old, so not sure if this is helpful, but we camp at Allegany quite frequently. We've found that there are a lot less bear sitings in the Cain Hollow area rather than Red House area. We haven't camped in Red House ourselves, but friends of ours have and see bears nearly every time. We've only camped in Cain Hollow and have yet to see a bear.

And to echo what the other poster said, keep your food in your car, that makes a big difference too.

[Joyous56]

Re: Allegany State Park - Salamanca, NY

Some parks you may consider are Letchworth State Park, Stonybrook, or a couple of places near Ithaca...Buttermilk falls and Taughannock Park.

Don't know if this is convenient enough for you, but my 2 cents.