Covered Bridge campers find site closed

All reservations for ’26 canceled

By Manor Ink Staff

Willowemoc, NY – Summer campsites near Livingston Manor often need to be reserved months in advance. That is why Peter Herrick was stunned when, the morning before Memorial Day weekend, he opened an email saying his reservation had been canceled.

Herrick, a lawyer from Philadelphia, had planned his second annual fly-fishing weekend with a friend and both their fathers back in April. The last-minute cancellation left him furious. “I felt they pulled the rug out from under me,” Herrick said. “I got the email at 6:30 the morning before.”

For decades, the Covered Bridge Campsite provided an affordable, bucolic retreat in the headwaters of the fabled Willowemoc Creek. That tradition is now on hold. According to its website, the campground has temporarily closed and is “unlikely [to] be opening for the 2026 camping season” due to severe financial constraints and internal investor disputes.

Getting the word out about the closure

The sudden closure at Covered Bridge and the lack of communication from the campground owners have now raised concerns about refunds, alternative accommodations and what the future of the campsite may bring.

The first thing Herrick did was post a warning on the internet as a heads-up to other potential campers.

“You know, when I was writing the post I was thinking that the campsite was fully booked for that holiday weekend and I was sure there were other people in my exact situation who maybe didn’t check their email that morning,” he added.

Meanwhile, Juri Chillseyzn, a nurse from Long Island, was organizing a stay at the campsite when she read Herrick’s post. Her group consisted of 14 children and parents. Now she had to find another site, while she and her group scrambled for refunds.

She eventually secured another site for the group, but not all her companions were made whole. They only received partial refunds.

Herrick explained that Matthew Whitermore, who identified himself as an associate with the campsite, eventually called him back that day. Whitermore explained that the campground closed due to problems with their water system.

Though Herrick was immediately refunded his $750, he thought it was because he sent an email to Whitermore mentioning that he was a lawyer.

“You shouldn’t need to hunt him down and have a law degree to get a call back and an explanation for a last minute cancellation, “ Herrick posted on Google.

Whitermore could not be reached for comment about the camp’s actions, although Manor Ink sent emails and left several messages asking for the camp’s side of the story.

Chillseyzn also said that her emails were ignored by the campsite management, despite several attempts to contact them.

“I left messages and no one called me back,” she explained. “I just hope other families don’t get stranded like this.”

The future of the campsite

The abrupt closing raises questions of what actually happened to the campsite, once a valuable asset to the Livingston Manor tourist community, and who in the county is in charge of handling these types of concerns to assist tourists.

Sullivan Country Visitors Association, when asked by Manor Ink, stated they had no further information about the closing, other than what was posted on social media.

Meanwhile, stranded campers may still be arriving.

A former camp employee, who wished not to be identified, claimed there was a carload of people seen as recently as the 4th of July weekend who arrived to find the “closed” sign at the campsite and had to turn around.

“I’m sympathetic to the plight of the campground,” Herrick, who is also a backpacker on the Appalachian Trail, said, referring to the claimed water problem. “It’s really a shame. I know it’s difficult to operate a campground and it’s bad for the community to lose that small business,” he said.