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Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.68074, -74.11485

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New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

FREE primitive camping in the 114,010-acre Siamese Ponds Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the east-central Adirondacks between Indian Lake and North Creek -- Towns of Johnsburg and Thurman in Warren County and Towns of Indian Lake, Lake Pleasant and Wells in Hamilton County (DEC Region 5), reached from NY 8, NY 30 and the Thirteenth Lake / Old Farm Clearing roads off NY 28. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Botherton Trail Campsite'). New York provides these designated primitive tent sites at NO CHARGE (the DEC unit page lists the fee as 'Free'); sites are first-come and cannot be reserved. This is a HIKE-IN backcountry site. DEC's page routes it from the Old Farm Clearing trailhead via the East Branch Trail or the Halfway Brook Trail to the Botheration Pond Trail (note: DEC reports a CLOSED BRIDGE that currently prevents completing the Botheration loop). For orientation, the nearest DEC-published trailhead or parking coordinate is the Old Farm Clearing trailhead parking area off Thirteenth Lake Road, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line -- trail mileage will be longer. PERMITS: a free New York State Forest Ranger permit is required for any stay of more than three nights at one spot, or for a group of ten or more (the DEC unit page sets no stricter local threshold, so the statewide rule governs). Arrange any permit in advance through the DEC Region 5 Warrensburg Office at 518-623-1200 (Mon-Fri, 8:30 to 4:45). Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc) -- elsewhere on the Forest Preserve, camping is prohibited within 150 feet of any road, trail, spring, stream, pond or other water. These are primitive sites: typically just a fire ring, no hookups and no potable water, and designated TENT sites are for tents only. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food away from black bears. The unit is open year-round, but winter access is on ski or snowshoe and several stream crossings here have no bridge -- confirm current conditions, closures and this site's access with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/siamese-ponds-wilderness) or the Warrensburg office before you go; we have not visited.

Can I go now? — Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

Open today Year-round per the agency record.

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Weather outlook — at Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,796 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)NIFC · 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 Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

@Mail5 mi
+Urgent care6 mi
GGrocery6 mi
RxPharmacy6 mi
LLaundry7 mi
FFuel7 mi
MMechanic10 mi
EVEV fast charger10 mi
ShShower14 mi
WWater17 mi
DDump17 mi
OOutfitter20 mi
HHardware20 mi
AAir-up37 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out.

Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.

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 — Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

1,796 ft

State

Coordinates

43.68074, -74.11485

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)

Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelStewart's Shop · ~7.1 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump station~17.4 mi
GroceriesTops · ~6.5 mi
PharmacyRite Aid Pharmacy · ~6.5 mi
Hospital / clinicNorth Creek Health Center · ~6.3 mi
HardwareBraley Noxon Hardware · ~20.4 mi

EV charging — from Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger10.2 mi straight-line NW — Indian Lake - Welcome Center · VIALYNK · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 39 within 50 · 272 within 100 · 595 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)16.5 mi — Chestertown, NY - Tesla Supercharger, Chestertown
Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.7 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)2.2 mi — GARNET HILL LOG HOUSE #1, North River, NY · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — North Creek Heads in Beds, North Creek, 6.5 mi · J1772, NEMA 5-20 · hours: 10am-10pm daily; for guest use only; Drivers must bring their own J1772 cordset for Level 1 charging · AFDC lists it “Free”
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 405740 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

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

Open Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness) elsewhere

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Other camps near Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Open season

Year-round

Permit

Free permit needed only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more

Source

NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Confidence

Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.

How it was placed

NY DEC 'Primitive Campsite' GIS layer (https://gisservices.dec.ny.gov/arcgis/rest/services/dil/dil_land_assets_prm_cmp/MapServer/0), ASSET_UID 6420, ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', FACILITY='Siamese Ponds Wilderness'; coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-23 via the layer's /find endpoint (honours sr=4326; /query returns projected UTM). FREE confirmed by DEC's own place page (dec.ny.gov/places/siamese-ponds-wilderness, read 2026-07-23): Fee='Free', 'Open for recreation: Year-round', "There are 39 primitive tent sites and four lean-tos located in the Siamese Pond Wilderness", all first-come and not reservable; plus DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules, re-read 2026-07-23): primitive camping is allowed on the Adirondack Forest Preserve (Wilderness is a category where it is allowed), with a free permit only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10+, arranged via the DEC Region 5 Warrensburg Office at 518-623-1200 (Mon-Fri, 8:30 to 4:45). COUNT: GIS returns 42 records vs the page's stated 39 tent sites -- no foreign unit is dragged in (all 42 carry this FACILITY and Siamese-Ponds-region names); one record covers four sites ('13Th Lake Campsite 1, 11, 12, 13') and the page's prose list is not exhaustive. EXCLUDED as PAID: the 20 Indian Lake shoreline sites, which the page says are part of the DEC Indian Lake Islands Campground and require a paid reservation in season -- they are absent from this GIS layer (no 'Indian Lake' facility) and no site here is on that shoreline. Access classified as 'hike'; nearest DEC-published access point the Old Farm Clearing trailhead parking area off Thirteenth Lake Road, 1.79 mi straight-line. Ingest 2026-07-23.

Season

Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.

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 Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

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
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 — Botherton Trail Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →Cold-weather camping →First-night troubleshooting →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 →