Robert Mosher announces the 2023 Rally:
Wellesley Island State Park * July 22-29
updated: 5 October 2022 at 0929 hrs
Wellesley Island Rally July 22-29, 2023
A week of car camping and sailing fun.
Main Points:
  • Email me at robertmosher1@comcast.net if you want further updates.
  • Best to book sites 9 months in advance, which starts at 9:00AM October, 22, 2022. You need to set up or renew a login name and password before making a reservations. Familiarize yourself with the sites and practice making a reservations in advance. Know what sites are acceptable to you. You cannot book a marina slip for your Wayfarer at this time no matter what the site says.

Details:

Now is the time for you to clear your calendar and make a reservation for the 2023 Wellesley Island State Park Rally, New York, USA. What is a rally? A week of camping, sailing together everyday, family-friendly parties and gatherings at night.  To see past rally reports and photos please go to: http://wayfarer-canada.org/nostalgia/events/event.nostalgia_M-Z/Rally.reports/Rallies_index3.html#W

Reserving a campsite or a cottage is a two step process.

1. in advance of the reservation deadline, set up your online account at New York State Parks/ Reserve America, or make sure your account is still active and you have a working password. Then log in and familiarize yourself with the reservation process. Look over the camp site maps, number system, and all details. We recommend you practice picking your camp site and going through the reservation process without, of course, completing it.

2. make your online reservation on the appropriate date and time. New York State Park reservations opens 9 months before your planned arrival date. At midnight the system shows which sites are available for the next day, however you cannot book them until 9:00AM. You can also check each site two weeks in advance for when it next becomes available. So if you plan to arrive on July 22, 2023 you can reserve a site starting at 9:00AM on October 22, 2022.

Not surprisingly, the most desirable sites go within seconds. Reserving now in October will help you to secure the best campsite or cottage. Likely, there will be campsites and cottages available up to July 2023; however there is no guarantee and it is unlikely that the preferred sites will be available. Weekends fill up first. Good sites are booked as soon as they are available,You can improve chances by looking at sites that become available on Thursday and/or Friday, July 20 or 21 respectively. You must reserve the site at 9:00AM October 20 or 21, before they're gone. I like the extra time they give me to be ready to sail. You may book a site for up to 14 days, but not more.
Site reservations are made at: https://newyorkstateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/wellesley%20island%20state%20park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NY&parkId=240 Or Google New York State Parks Reservations.

Please go to this independent site (it is a photo site too) for in depth discussion on the reservation system. I cannot give you as detailed instructions. https://www.campadk.com/campsitephotos/reservationstips#contentanchor

You can make a reservation by phone, but I believe you might lose out due to the slowness of the phone reservation system. Please let me know your site number when you have secured a site and its number. robertmosher1@comcast.net Boat slip reservations become available on the first Friday in May of the current year. So Friday 5 May 2023 or Cinco de Mayo 2023. We will check back on this to see if there is any change.

Robert C Mosher on behalf of the 2023 Wellesley Organizing Committee

Here is a broad review of sites:

WISP offers camp sites (waterfront premium and standard), cabins (facilities are in a central bath house), and cottages (en-suite facilities and equipped kitchens).
In the past, we found the cabins to be poorly ventilated and so do not recommend them.

# 60  plenty big, not waterfront but that's nearby, and the closest to the bathroom
# 61, 62, & 63: the "premium" sites of all, on their own short driveway, right on the water, beautiful
# 64, 66, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78: all on the water, but if I recall correctly with variable degrees of ease of access (i.e., for some the water is only slightly below ground level so you can walk in, others there is a short rocky cliff keeping you from easily going for a swim)
#68: You would think it's waterfront, but it's not since a small but steep hill blocks your access. Also it is the smallest of the campsites, in my opinion, the least desirable of all the Eagle Loop sites that are available to us. At least you are not charged for waterfront.
#57, 59, 67, 69, 71, 73: the ones on the "dry side" (South side) of the road. In general roomier and flatter than the waterfront ones, but not on the water, but also cheaper.
Site 65 can be very wet in a heavy rain.