I’m not sure whether to attribute it to timing (school’s out) or geography (just a couple of hours from NYC), but somewhere along the way our campground neighbors have changed from the travelers and outdoor enthusiasts we’ve become accustomed to—to New Yorkers.

How can you tell if you are camping with New Yorkers? Look for the following “tells”:

1. Did they make eye contact with you when you passed on the trail? If yes, they are not New Yorkers. Campers are a friendly bunch. You can count on a smile/nod/wave each and every time you cross paths. Not so, New Yorkers. I believe this to be more a reaction to high-density living than lack of cheer—but noteworthy nonetheless.

2. Does their site resemble a refugee camp? It makes sense that RV's would be less common where storage is impractical, and warmer temps HAVE made tenting more enjoyable, but our Adirondack campground neighbors have established what could only be called a compound next door. If cabin tents, screen houses, tarps and folding kitchens emerge from a compact vehicle better suited to commuting than camping, you may be looking at a New Yorker.

3. Are they wearing camouflage? New Yorkers do not seek to blend in. They prefer to stand out. We noted many New Yorkers wearing high-visibility, day-glo tees (not to be confused with a similar sounding New York fashion staple) and even spotted one gentleman wearing a dashing black cashmere scarf tossed casually over a shoulder. If you can see someone from a mile a way, they might be a New Yorker.

4. Do you know more about your neighbors than you’d like? Does their volume seem permanently set to 11? Our New Yorker neighbors were quite loud and not very shy. They also, BTW, stayed up much later than snowbirds and through-hikers. Freed from the constraints of cramped, multi-unit living, New Yorkers it seems, eagerly and joyfully ratchet the volume to max—sharing their enthusiasms and discoveries with the entire campground. Why waste your legs walking the 50 yards to your campsite when you can shout your request for a tampon from the bath house?

Adirondack camping was an eye opener for me, and nothing like what I expected. Our fellow visitors seemed to be looking for something other than solitude and inspiration in nature. It’s hard to put a finger on what, exactly, that might be, but I think that really, really big living room without walls comes close.

Play: Got an hour? Sacandaga Outdoor Center will set you up with a guide plus raft, kayak or inflatable “ducky,” and send you through 3 miles of rapids and gorges down the Sacandaga River to its confluence with the Hudson. It was a thrill ride at high water, but I think they send tubes down it later in the summer.

Explore: It’s easy to see why Lechtworth State Park has been dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the East.” Its lower, middle and upper falls are each individually larger than most you will ever see. Less clear is why it was voted the best State Park in the nation by USA Today readers. It’s big and sprawling with miles and miles of trails, but… meh.