Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake Wilderness)

FREE primitive camping in West Canada Lake Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, the remote Northville-Placid Trail interior of Hamilton County between Piseco and Indian Lake). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Cedar Flow 7', on the Cedar River Flow), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. PADDLE-IN (or backpack): a canoe-access site on the Cedar River Flow in a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness; the nearest public road is about 1.5 miles off. Note: a Cedar River Flow site about 415 feet from the Cedar River channel, reached by paddling the flow up from the Wakely Dam put-in; a motor-free canoe/backpack site. This is interior Adirondack WILDERNESS, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth, hookups, showers or potable water, and no car access to the site itself; do not confuse it with the developed fee state campgrounds the DEC page points amenity-seekers to (Lewey Lake, Indian Lake Islands, and the Piseco Lake campgrounds). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists West Canada Lake Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND, but this is a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness reached only on foot or by canoe, and DEC's live backcountry report (week of 7/23/2026) warns that access from the Jessup River Road (Perkins Clearing) and the Limekiln Lake-Cedar River Road is LIMITED in the off-season because those trailhead roads close seasonally. Interior trails hold water and fords can run high after rain or in spring snowmelt. Plan for a self-sufficient backcountry trip and confirm current road, gate and trail status with the Northville office (518-863-4545) before you go. RULES: this is a designated, first-come first-served free site -- no reservation and no fee. Look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc that marks each designated site. Standard Adirondack Forest Preserve rules apply: camp only at the designated site, keep 150 feet from water/trails/roads unless the site itself is marked closer, and a free Forest Ranger permit is required only if you stay more than 3 nights or camp with a group of 10 or more (arrange it through the DEC Region 5 Northville Office at (518) 863-4545 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch)). DEC prints no other night limit for these sites, so plan around that statewide 3-night default and confirm on site. This is a primitive backcountry site: expect at most a fire ring -- no privy at most sites, no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so carry water or treat what you take from a stream or lake. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food from bears (this is black-bear country). Confirm current rules, road/trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/west-canada-lake-wilderness) or with the Northville office (518-863-4545) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

EV charging — from Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

• Nearest public DC fast charger12.7 mi straight-line NE — 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 22 within 50 · 266 within 100 · 540 within 150
• Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)35.1 mi — Chestertown, NY - Tesla Supercharger, Chestertown
• Nearest listing CHAdeMO41.6 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
• Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.5 mi — The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake · VIALYNK · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
• 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 Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake 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 Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake Wilderness) elsewhere

Other camps near Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake Wilderness)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Cedar Flow 6 (West Canada Lake Wilderness)~0.2 mi
• Cedar River Flow Tentsite (Moose River Plains Wild Forest)~0.8 mi
• Cedar River Flow Primitive Campsite 2 (Moose River Plains Wild Forest)~1.3 mi
• Cedar River Flow Primitive Campsite 6 (Moose River Plains Wild Forest)~1.4 mi

How we know this — Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake Wilderness)

What we don’t know about Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake 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 — Cedar Flow 7 (West Canada Lake Wilderness)