Found · unverifiedNY DECFree

Campsite 2 [DEC #11454] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.49879, -73.38028

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.

WATER-ACCESS ONLY (paddle / small boat): this is one of three FREE first-come primitive tent sites on the WESTERN SHORE of Schuyler Island, a 161-acre state-owned island in Lake Champlain (Town of Chesterfield, Essex County; eastern Adirondack Park; part of the DEC Lake Champlain Islands Complex, DEC Region 5). There is no road and no bridge -- you reach it by kayak, canoe or small boat, about 1 mile from the free public DEC Port Douglas boat launch, and it is a stop on the Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail. This site (Campsite 2) sits on the northern part of the island's western shore, on the 0.3-mile trail linking the three sites. New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the Lake Champlain Islands Complex as 'Fee: Free' and says Schuyler Island 'has three campsites on its western shore which are connected by a 0.3-mile trail.' The sites are first-come, marked with a round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc and a site number, and have pit privies and fire rings -- but no potable water, no hookups and no showers (bring or treat all water; Lake Champlain is the only source). PERMIT NOTE: between Memorial Day and Labor Day DEC runs a free first-come camping-permit system on the neighbouring VALCOUR ISLAND through an on-site caretaker (voicemail 518-897-1298); that permit/caretaker system is described for Valcour, not Schuyler, but island rules can change -- if you want certainty, confirm the current Schuyler permit and camping rules with DEC before you launch. Camp only at a marked designated site; a free Forest Ranger permit is otherwise required only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and DEC fire rules, watch the weather and your boat, and store food from animals. SEASON / ACCESS vary and this is exposed open-water paddling -- confirm current conditions and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/lake-champlain-islands-complex) or with the DEC Region 5 office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited. Contacts: the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook Office at (518) 897-1200; the Valcour Island caretaker voicemail for island camping permits is (518) 897-1298 (Forest Rangers via 911 or 1-833-NYS-RANGERS / 1-833-697-7264).

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Campsite 2 [DEC #11454] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Campsite 2 [DEC #11454] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 118 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

@Mail2 mi
FFuel5 mi
GGrocery5 mi
WWater6 mi
RxPharmacy7 mi
HHardware7 mi
LLaundry7 mi
DDump7 mi
MMechanic8 mi
+Urgent care8 mi
OOutfitter8 mi
ShShower17 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 5 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

118 ft

State

Coordinates

44.49879, -73.38028

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Nearest townPort Douglass · ~2.1 mi
Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.5 mi
FuelKeeseville Mobil · ~4.9 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump stationDump station · ~7.1 mi
GroceriesHannaford · ~6.6 mi
PharmacyLakeside Pharmacy · ~8.5 mi
Hospital / clinicPlanned Parenthood · ~8.4 mi
HardwareCity Hardware · ~8.4 mi

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

Highway rest areaValcour · ~9.1 mi NW
Highway rest areaColchester North Weight Station · ~10.6 mi NE
Highway rest areaWilliston North Rest Area · ~15.5 mi E
Highway rest areaWilliston South Rest Area · ~15.5 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

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 11454, GIS NAME verbatim 'Campsite 2', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Schuyler Island Primitive Area', DEC Region 5. DESCRIP=''; NOTES='Good'. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-26 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326, one paced curl request -- the DEC GIS host rate-blocks bursts). FREE confirmed on the DEC page dec.ny.gov/places/lake-champlain-islands-complex (Lake Champlain Islands Complex, read 2026-07-26): 'Fee: Free'. The page states verbatim: 'Schuyler Island has three campsites on its western shore which are connected by a 0.3-mile trail.' COUNT: page 3 = GIS 3 = OSM 3 (three tourism=camp_pitch nodes on the western shore). CONFIDENCE (HIGH): the DEC page counts exactly THREE campsites on the western shore, matched 1:1 by GIS and OSM; this DEC-field-noted 'Good' point falls within the mapped 3-node camp_pitch cluster (its individual OSM match is the loosest of the three at ~180-225 ft, disclosed). LOCATION CORROBORATION: OSM node 11557109646 tourism=camp_pitch ~225 ft away (181 ft to the shared northern camp_pitch node 11557109644); inside the mapped 3-node western-shore cluster (overpass.private.coffee mirror, 2026-07-26; overpass-api.de and kumi returned 504/406 this fire); OSM also maps relation 17088314 leisure=nature_reserve name='Schuyler Island Primitive Area' (identical to the GIS FACILITY), way 32023288 place=islet 'Schuyler Island', and way 1243506845 'Schuyler Island Shoreline Paddle'. ELEVATION ~118 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-26) -- just above Lake Champlain level, far below any high-elevation camping restriction (the 3,500-ft Catskill ban does not apply; this is the Adirondack Park). ACCESS/FEE (guardrail 2): the island is 161 ac, ~1 mi from the FREE public DEC Port Douglas boat launch, reached by paddle or small boat (Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail); no monetary charge anywhere in the complex. The summer (Memorial Day-Labor Day) first-come permit system with an on-site caretaker is described for VALCOUR ISLAND (the other primitive island, ~29 sites), NOT Schuyler; a free self-issued/first-come permit is allowed under guardrail 2 regardless. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): DEC-DESIGNATED primitive tent site (yellow 'Camp Here' disc + site number; pit privies and fire rings), land classified Primitive, per DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules). Sources also: DEC Lake Champlain Islands Complex UMP (extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/lcimcump.pdf). Ingest 2026-07-26.

Field check

Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Researched 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 →