Administrative Road Campsite (Black River Wild Forest)

FREE primitive camping in Black River Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 6, the North Lake / South Lake / Old Forge country of Herkimer County in the southwestern Adirondacks). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Administrative Road Campsite'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit is open year-round. HIKE-IN: reach it on foot -- about 263 feet from the nearest mapped trail along the DEC administrative road it is named for. Note: OpenStreetMap maps no drivable road at this site; the 'Administrative Road' DEC names it for is unmapped and, like other Forest-Preserve administrative roads in this unit (e.g. Herkimer Landing Road), is almost certainly GATED to public motor vehicles -- so reach it on foot or by bike. The nearest mapped feature is the South Branch Trail about 260 feet away, and the South Branch of the Moose River is about a quarter-mile off. Confirm public access with DEC. This is interior Adirondack Forest Preserve, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth or hookups; do not confuse it with the nearby PAID Nicks Lake Campground (which charges a fee and offers amenities) or any other developed campground. SEASON: DEC lists the unit as open year-round, but the interior gates (Loop Road / North Lake Road, Mill Creek Road, Wolf Lake Landing Road) CLOSE for the winter season -- as of the DEC backcountry report read 2026-07-24 they were open for the season -- so DRIVE-UP access is NOT year-round; confirm road/gate status with the Herkimer office before a late-fall, winter or early-spring trip. RULES: this is a designated, first-come first-served free site -- no reservation and no fee. Standard Adirondack Forest Preserve rules apply: camp only at the designated site, and a free Forest Ranger permit is required only if you stay more than 3 nights or camp with a group of 10 or more (arrange it through the DEC Region 6 Herkimer Office at 315-866-6330 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch)). DEC prints no other night limit for these sites, so plan around that statewide 3-night default and confirm on site. This is a primitive site: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the lake or river. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food from bears (this is black-bear country). Confirm current rules and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/black-river-wild-forest) or with the Herkimer office (315-866-6330) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

• No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)~6.8 mi
• North Lake Designated Campsite #10 (Black River Wild Forest)~7.0 mi
• North Lake Designated Campsite #9 (Black River Wild Forest)~7.0 mi
• North Lake Designated Campsite #8 (Black River Wild Forest)~7.0 mi

How we know this

What we don’t know

A land record can put you within a few metres of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.

• Road surface & last-mile access
• How many rigs actually fit
• Cell coverage by carrier
• Seasonal & winter access
• Current fire restrictions
• Whether any water here is drinkable
• Shade & wind exposure
• Noise and who else shows up

Before you go