Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Backbone Horse Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NY · 42.51463, -76.78990
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Backbone Horse Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,803 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Backbone Horse CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Backbone Horse Campground · Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests · NY
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- RxPharmacy6 mi
- +Urgent care6 mi
- WWater7 mi
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- LLaundry7 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- AAir-up11 mi
- ShShower11 mi
- HHardware15 mi
- OOutfitter15 mi
- DDump16 mi
- PPropane54 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Backbone Horse Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,803 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
42.51463, -76.78990
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Backbone Horse Campground · Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBallard Pond (water) · nearby
- Nearest townEast Steamburg · ~1.4 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~6.6 mi
- FuelSunoco · ~4.3 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~26.2 mi
- Dump station~16.3 mi
- GroceriesShur Save · ~7.7 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~6.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicOvid Primary Care Center · ~11.3 mi
- HardwareBranchport Hardware · ~19.4 mi
EV charging — from Backbone Horse Campground · Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger6.6 mi straight-line E — Parking Lot DCFC, Trumansburg, NY (at a recreation facility) · EVOKE · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach19 within 25 mi · 87 within 50 · 248 within 100 · 468 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)15.4 mi — Ithaca Ford, Ithaca
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO23.3 mi — SSFLX STATION 1, Hammondsport
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.2 mi — Finger Lakes RV Resort - Tesla Destination, Hector, NY · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 6 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 10:00am-6:00pm daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 449494 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Backbone Horse Campground · Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPotomac Group Camp · ~1.5 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlueberry Patch Day Use · ~2.2 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlueberry Patch · ~2.2 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBackbone Horse Camp · ~2.2 mi SW · USFS
Open Backbone Horse Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Backbone Horse Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Potomac Group Campground~1.5 mi · fee
- Blueberry Patch~2.2 mi · fee
- Backbone Horse Camp~2.2 mi · fee
- Finger Lakes Trail Shelter~5.2 mi
The unit that manages Backbone Horse Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Backbone Horse Campground are set by Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Backbone Horse Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Backbone Horse Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters 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
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Backbone Horse Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Getting unstuck →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →