One of the first things that jumps out to me is that it takes time to figure out what we like! Camping has an almost unlimited variety, so what do you like, can be a tough question. But it may be the one which is most important, so I start with what I "feel" like I might prefer and assume I may adapt as needed!
My first thought is safety and how much easier things can go if I am in a place where I can get any assistance needed. And I do know that simple help is more often needed when starting out!
I know that I am not prone to like the places with lots of planned social activities but I do like to meet people! That may sound odd, but I prefer to meet some of the folks around me but I am not into organized meet and greet things! So I almost automatically mark off/skip the commercial campgrounds. But that likely changes in different parts of the country, like parts of the North and East.
When going further West, the different levels of govenment campgrounds have always been our first choice but with some thought given to each. We like having hookups as we have moved through the "roughing it " stage. Each area has different groups that fall into this group. TVA, Corps of Engineers, Colorado River authority are some of our first choiices but your NE area will have others in the same catagory but we have not done those.
Before investing in any paid plan to get info, I would first suggest looking at the free stuff and try it a few times to see what it may lack or if it does all you need.
A simple online search for any state will likely turn up way more info than you can use until you sort it down to a more specific area.
A simple Google search for "camping in Hudson Valley" got way too many hits to suit, so one would need to be more specific if you want to sort it down closer before you wanted to start reading. Something like "campgrounds with full hookups" might get more of the sort you want? Adding in mention of RV will often cut out those who are more into tenting!
But when starting out, there will actually be far more info than you can read and use as a problem rather than a lack of info!
Finding what you actually "like" on each trip will take some time as it is a very personal thing! We find we actually like the places where there is a person on scene and on duty as it tends to start out with the folks who actually intend to follow some basic rules of being a decent human!
Having been volunteers at a variety of campgrounds over the years, we learned that we did not like being in the commercial places where the main point was to make money. We liked the places which were provided at a lower price but not at all shy about telling the bad guys to just move on down the road!
The problem with reviews is that they are sometimes skewed reviews if people get paid for the review!
