We stayed at Southwoods while visiting the Rochester, NY area and exploring attractions in the area. The campground is about 20-25 miles from downtown Rochester and located in a quiet rural setting surrounded by farmland. The campground is quite large and has separate sections for seasonal and transient campers and has a variety of different campsites from back-ins to pull-thrus, 50 to 30-amps, and full hook-up to water and electric only. The campground manager was very nice and helpful when we checked in and was able to extend our stay thru the weekend without us having to move sites. The park is gated and very clean and well-groomed. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Southwoods and would stay there again if we were in the area.
We chose a back-in 50-amp full hook-up site (M28) at $42/night. All the utilities were placed appropriately so we didn’t need any extensions. The water pressure and electric were good. Most of the roads in the park are paved with the exception of the pull-thru section in the front of the park (N12-N25) which is gravel. All campsite pads are gravel except for three long pull-thrus that are paved(M24-M26).
We had a fire pit and picnic table and there was nice grass between sites. There was free WiFi which worked well except during peak hours and over the weekend when the park was full. We stayed four nights (which included a weekend) and experienced the park going from half full and quiet to packed with lots of music, all-day fires, and big gatherings. In the back section of the park is a very large group/rally area with sixty sites and a large pavilion for gatherings. All sites in that section are on grass and water/electric.
The campground has lots of amenities like two swimming pools, nice camp store (with lots of food, souvenirs, and gifts), a large playground, miniature golf, sand volleyball and basketball courts, large recreation hall/wedding venue, bicycle track, and game room. There is a short nature trail through a wooded area. They have a busy events calendar throughout the year with lots of get-togethers. During our stay they had a closing weekend pizza and wings party with live music for a small fee. We chose not to go to the party but went to a local historic steak house (The Johnson House) and had delicious prime rib instead (which was very good) for a lot more money!
One downside of this park is that the sites are pretty close and feel a little cramped when the park is full. There is a train track near the park which occasionally is quite noisy. Rochester is about a 45-minute drive but the town of Batavia is about 15 minutes away and has groceries, fuel, restaurants, shopping, etc.
