City light drowns out the stars so completely that most New Yorkers have forgotten what a full sky actually looks like. Then they drive ninety minutes in the right direction, set up a tent, wait for dark, and remember.
The campgrounds on this list sit close enough to the city to reach on a Friday evening after work and far enough from it that the Milky Way shows up on a clear night like it has somewhere to be and is not apologizing for arriving at full brightness.
Locals keep these spots quiet for the same reason people protect any genuinely good thing. Overcrowding ruins stargazing faster than almost anything else…