Found · unverifiedNY DECFree

Campsite 1 [DEC #12164] (Chazy Highlands State Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.72973, -73.81238

We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.

FREE primitive camping: this is a designated primitive campsite on the southeastern side of Chazy Lake in Chazy Highlands State Forest; an older drive-up site whose access road was later gated by DEC (so expect to walk in), last noted in DEC's survey around 2003-2014. It sits on a New York State Forest in the Chazy Highlands State Forest (Chazy Highlands State Forest, DEC Region 5). New York provides it at NO CHARGE -- the DEC page lists the unit as 'Fee: Free' and 'Open for recreation: Year-round'. A free Forest-Ranger permit is required only for stays longer than 3 nights or groups of 10 or more; otherwise just show up. There are no hookups and no potable water at primitive sites -- bring or treat all water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and DEC fire rules, and store food from animals. Heads up: DEC's own survey notes for this site are old (around 2003-2014) and an access gate was later installed on the drive-up road, so plan to walk in and confirm the site is still there. The town hopes you will stop in and spend a little locally while you are passing through. Rules and site status can change and we have not visited -- confirm current conditions on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/chazy-highlands-state-forest) or with the DEC Region 5 office (Ray Brook) at (518) 897-1200 for the Adirondack units, or the DEC Region 5 Warrensburg sub-office / local Forest Ranger via (518) 897-1300; Forest Rangers in an emergency via 911 or 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264) before you go.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Campsite 1 [DEC #12164] (Chazy Highlands State Forest)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Campsite 1 [DEC #12164] (Chazy Highlands State Forest)

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,552 ft.

Fire & smokeNIFC · 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 camp

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

FFuel4 mi
GGrocery4 mi
@Mail5 mi
+Urgent care9 mi
HHardware14 mi
RxPharmacy15 mi
MMechanic15 mi
LLaundry18 mi
OOutfitter24 mi
DDump26 mi
WWater26 mi
ShShower26 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 26-mi drive, 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

1,552 ft

State

Coordinates

44.72973, -73.81238

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureChazy Lake (water) · nearby
Nearest townRussia · ~4.2 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelSunoco · ~11.7 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump stationDump station · ~25.7 mi
GroceriesStore · ~4.3 mi
PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~14.8 mi
Hospital / clinicWellnow Urgent Care · ~15.8 mi
HardwareDame's Ace Hardware · ~14.5 mi

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

Highway rest areaValcour · ~18.0 mi SE
Highway rest areaBeekmantown · ~18.7 mi E
Highway rest areaPoint Au Roche · ~18.8 mi E

Open this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this

Source

NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation

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

NY DEC 'Primitive Campsite' GIS layer (https://gisservices.dec.ny.gov/arcgis/rest/services/dil/dil_land_assets_prm_cmp/MapServer/0), ASSET_UID 12164, GIS NAME verbatim 'Campsite 1', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Chazy Highlands State Forest'. DESCRIP='Old Drive Up Campsite, Little Use Since Gate Installation Site Was Evident In 2003'; NOTES='Gate Install Slowed Use. Some Low Levels Of Use 2014 Hunting'. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-26 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326, one paced bundled curl covering five facilities -- the DEC GIS host rate-blocks bursts). FREE confirmed on the DEC page dec.ny.gov/places/chazy-highlands-state-forest (Chazy Highlands State Forest, read 2026-07-26): 'Fee: Free', 'Open for recreation: Year-round'. CONFIDENCE (MED): the DEC Chazy Highlands State Forest page says 'There are designated campsites located on the southeastern side of Chazy Lake' (plural, un-counted) and GIS returns two points there; this one is an old drive-up site DEC field-noted as gated / low-use (2003-2014), no OSM corroboration -> MED. STATE FOREST fee verified 'Free' (carve-out satisfied). LOCATION CORROBORATION: no OSM camp node mapped there; page + GIS carry existence. ELEVATION ~1552 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-26) -- an Adirondack Region 5 unit, far below any high-elevation camping restriction (the 3,500-ft Catskill ban does not apply). LAND/FEE (guardrail 2): New York State Forest (Reforestation Area) land -- verified FREE with no entry/day-use fee; the only permit is a FREE Forest-Ranger permit for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): a DEC-DESIGNATED PUBLICUSE primitive tent site, camping explicitly allowed, per DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules). Ingest 2026-07-26.

Field check

Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Likely until someone does.

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

Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →Power off-grid →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 →