We went to AMC Harriman with two other families for Labor Day Weekend. There were 10 of us in total. We stayed in one of the Mt. Laurel cabins (shared bathroom), and they stayed in one of the Cranberry cabins (private bathroom).
We arrived late Friday night, parked the van (the lot is about a half-mile from the campground), set up the beds, and went straight to sleep.
The kids were in bunk beds, and my wife and I were on a futon. Our cabin had electricity and a small dorm-sized fridge, but no plumbing.
The car situation isn’t a big deal when you’re in a cabin, but it’s trickier when you’re tent camping. You can’t leave food or a cooler in the tent overnight, so you have to bring it back to the car each night and retrieve it again in the morning. (See Bear Aware!)
Saturday
It was COLD out, so we started with Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee heated up with milk on the Coleman stove. We usually drink it cold, but it tastes great hot too. Then my daughter made eggs with spinach and cheese.
STANLEY Adventure The Nesting Two Cup Cookset — $25 at Amazon This was our third try for a coffee pot. Options one and two had plastic handles that both caught on fire! Stanley works great and is a keeper.
Fueled by breakfast and coffee, we did the pond loop—a 2-mile rocky trail along the water. We’d done it in the dark two weeks ago, and daylight was definitely better!
That night, my wife and daughter built a fire in our fire pit using only wood and natural kindling—no lighter fluid, fire starter, or newspaper!
We BBQed chicken over the fire, with fried rice and corn on the cob. We toss the corn (in the husk) directly into the fire for 10 minutes and it comes out perfect.
Sunday
My daughter made pancakes with fruit, almonds, and chocolate chips (toppings were dealer’s choice), plus turkey bacon—all on the Coleman stove.
We did the same hike again, this time with all 10 of us. Afterward, everyone took a break and then headed out on the lake in kayaks.
Dinner was chicken tacos. Asparagus went into hobo packs in the fire, and tortillas were warmed in hobo packs on the grate. I cooked the chicken on the Coleman stove.
Sunday breakfast was turkey sausage and French toast made with cinnamon bread. YUM.
We mostly hung out, read, and played ping pong before hitting the road back to Queens.
Final Notes
The cabins come with a pillow and case, plus a wool blanket for each bed. We also brought our sleeping bags.
AMC is great—my sister was cold, and they lent her a sleeping bag for free.
We had a cool wildlife sighting: a timber rattlesnake! One of the kids heard the rattle, and we all saw the snake. Park rangers were called to relocate it safely.
Everyone had a great time, and I hope we can squeeze in at least one more trip before the 2025 season wraps up.
