Brunet Island State Park Camping, Site #33 Review, A Campsite on the River

I love a campfire with a view. Seclusion from other people is nice but if I have to trade it for a spectacular sight while I’m cooking dinner or having a post-hike beer, I will. (Looking at you, Wyalusing Ridge Campsites.) Luckily this site didn’t make me decide and gave me both a view and semi-seclusion.

After hiking the park and exploring the local town of Cornell, we camped at Brunet Island State Park. (If you missed my post on the hike, you can check it out here.) As you can see in the campground map below, our campsite (site #33) was on the Chippewa River side of the park.

Helpful Links:
– Park Website
– My Trail Review
– Camping Reservations

This map shows the larger North Campground. The smaller South Campground is closer to the park’s beach.

As you can see in the map above, our site was between the road and the river. It had easy access to a bathroom (pit toilet) and water. The great thing about this campground was that there was a lot of sites on the water.

While we didn’t get it, I think the coolest site is #42. It’s the most secluded with the most shore access. If you have the choice, opt for a river side site rather than the inlet. The views are better and there seemed to be less mosquitoes.

This view of the campsite from the parking area shows how spacious it is.

We set up our tent and gazebo to create more of a barrier from the road for even more privacy. The site was big enough to fit these comfortably plus any tents of friends that might have been with us. (If this was a trip other than our mini-moon.)

All setup to make dinner fireside and riverside.

An added perk of the site was that it had it’s own little water access point. This would have been ideal for fishing from the shore.

It was fun to watch boats cruise up and down the river while sitting fireside.

Like I said, you can’t beat a fire with a view.

Wow, these pictures really made me miss summer.

Overall this campground checks a lot of boxes and made for a great trip. The hiking in the park wasn’t the most challenging or exciting but camping here was pretty cool with thoughtfully placed campsites. This is a campground I would return to again. Hopefully to site #42!