Agency-listedVermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation · dispersedFree

C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3

Dispersed · public land · VT · 44.40682, -72.65808
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 →
The land manager 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.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3
XFacebookReddit
Weather outlook — at C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,091 ft.
Fire & smoke — around C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3NIFC · 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 C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3 · public land · VT

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 6 miWDump · 15 miDFuel · 4 miFGrocery · 4 miGKinney Drugs · Pharmacy · 7 miRxStowe Hardware & Dry Goods · Hardware · 5 miHWaterbury Center Auto Repair · Mechanic · 4 miMLaundry · 4 miLShower · 10 miShAir-up · 44 miAMorrisville Family Health Care · Urgent care · 11 mi+MountainOps · Outfitter · 8 miOMoscow Post Office · Mail · 4 mi@Green Mountain Power - Ben & Jerry's · EV fast charger · 6 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • MMechanic4 mi
  • @Mail4 mi
  • FFuel4 mi
  • GGrocery4 mi
  • LLaundry4 mi
  • HHardware5 mi
  • WWater6 mi
  • EVEV fast charger6 mi
  • RxPharmacy7 mi
  • OOutfitter8 mi
  • ShShower10 mi
  • +Urgent care11 mi
  • DDump15 mi
  • AAir-up44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3

Access
Dispersed
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
2,091 ft
State
VT
Coordinates
44.40682, -72.65808
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3 · public land · VT (OpenStreetMap)

  • Nearest townWaterbury Center · ~3.7 mi
  • Drinking waterWater · ~5.5 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~3.8 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~15.0 mi
  • GroceriesGrocery · ~4.1 mi
  • PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~6.8 mi
  • Hospital / clinicMorrisville Family Health Care · ~10.7 mi
  • HardwareStowe Hardware & Dry Goods · ~4.7 mi

EV charging — from C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3 · public land · VT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3 · public land · VT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3 elsewhere

Other camps near C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3

Stay limit
3 nights (up to three consecutive nights)
Source
public land records
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
Designated primitive camping area mapped by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Polygon OBJECTID 16 in the FPR atlas layer "Primitive Camping Areas" (https://anrmaps.vermont.gov/arcgis/rest/services/map_services/MAP_ANR_ANRATLASFPR_WM_NOCACHE/MapServer/22, read 2026-08-16), on C.C. Putnam State Forest. The state maps this area in 1 separate part(s); this pin is inside the largest, about 429 acres, and sits about 318 m (1043 ft) from that part's nearest boundary. The coordinate was round-tripped against the state's own server: an intersects query at this exact point returns OBJECTID 16 and nothing else. THIS PIN IS AN AREA, NOT A SITE. Vermont publishes a polygon inside which dispersed camping is legal, not a tent pad. The coordinate here is the interior point of that polygon that is farthest from its own boundary, computed from the state's published geometry -- it is a 'somewhere in here' pin. Because Vermont's rule is a setback rule, you still have to walk 1,000 ft off any road and 200 ft off any trail once you are inside. Re-pin before shipping. ELEVATION AT THIS PIN: 2091 ft, from the USGS Elevation Point Query Service (https://epqs.nationalmap.gov/v1/json, read 2026-08-16). That is below the 2,500 ft line above which Vermont prohibits primitive camping, so the pin itself clears that rule -- but the area extends uphill in places and you do not. The FPR primitive camping page lists a "C.C. Putnam State Forest" guide for this unit under the Central Vermont district office, (802) 476-0171. VERMONT PRIMITIVE CAMPING RULES (Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation, quoted from https://fpr.vermont.gov/recreation/activities/camping/primitive-camping, read 2026-08-16): "Primitive camping is available in state forests, at some undeveloped state parks as well as some Wildlife Management Areas. This is not car camping. You must backpack in at least 1,000 feet from any road. There is no public drinking water or toilet facilities, no reservations or assigned sites. Vermont does not offer free, dispersed car camping on its state lands." Guidelines, same page: camping must be at least 100 ft from any stream or body of water; at least 200 ft from any trail or property line and 1,000 ft from any traveled road; "Camping is allowed up to three consecutive nights in the same area"; "Groups of eleven or more individuals must obtain a permit from the District Office"; "Only dead and down trees or branches may be used for firewood"; "Camping above 2500 feet in elevation is prohibited unless otherwise designated." Permits are not required for small parties. NO FEE. WATER: the state says there is no public drinking water at primitive camping areas. Carry your own. Do not treat any stream, pond or spring here as potable. Cross-checked against the FPR primitive camping page, which lists a downloadable camping guide for this unit. NEAREST TOWN: the point falls inside the town of Stowe, Vermont (VCGI town boundary layer, read 2026-08-16). Vermont towns cover the whole state, so this is the municipality, not necessarily the nearest place with a store. SOURCE PAGES: https://fpr.vermont.gov/recreation/activities/camping/primitive-camping ; https://vtfishandwildlife.com/hunt/find-a-place-to-hunt/find-a-wildlife-management-area/authorized-and-prohibited-activities-on-fw-lands/primitive-camping-on-wmas ; https://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/documents/camels_hump_trails.pdf | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.
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 C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3

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.

Before you go — C.C. Putnam State Forest primitive camping area 3

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 →