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Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.83550, -74.20954

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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 first-come primitive tent camping at the Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite, a DEC-mapped primitive tent site along the access road in the Blue Mountain Wild Forest (Hamilton County, central Adirondacks, DEC Region 5). New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Blue Mountain Wild Forest page lists the unit as 'Free' and open year-round, and confirms 'At-large primitive camping is also allowed' alongside its designated first-come primitive tent sites. This is one of DEC's mapped tent sites, a roadside forest site (nearest water about 3288 feet away, unnamed) (measured against OpenStreetMap; nearest Gooley Club Road 188 ft). Note: this site is on Chain Lakes Road South near the Essex Chain Lakes access; check for and complete any free self-registration posted at the road/access before you camp. CONFIDENCE / RULES NOTE -- please read: this is MEDIUM confidence. The DEC page says the unit (with the Township 19 Easement lands) has ELEVEN designated primitive tent sites plus two lean-tos, but it does not publish which of DEC's 23 mapped tent-site points those eleven are -- so treat this spot as an established DEC-mapped tent site rather than a certified designated one. Away from a designated site, New York's rule is to camp at least 150 feet from any road, trail, or water; on the ground, use the established/hardened tent pad and look for a round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc, and if the spot is not a marked designated site, move back 150+ feet from the water and road. These are FREE, first-come sites -- no reservation, no fee, no facilities (no hookups, no showers, no potable water); this is NOT a reservable DEC fee campground. 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 Office in Ray Brook at (518) 897-1300 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). Bring water or treat what you take from the lake or a stream, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food from bears (this is black-bear country). This site is around 1618 feet elevation. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists the unit as open year-round, but the trails and access roads can be muddy, washed or snow-covered off-season -- confirm current conditions and this specific site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/blue-mountain-wild-forest) or with the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook office (518-897-1300) before you go; we have not visited.

Can I go now? — Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) · Blue Mountain Wild Forest · NY

Open today Year-round per the agency record.

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Weather outlook — at Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,617 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)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 Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) · Blue Mountain Wild Forest · NY

▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.

Nearest of each

FFuel5 mi
GGrocery5 mi
EVEV fast charger5 mi
MMechanic5 mi
@Mail5 mi
LLaundry5 mi
ShShower9 mi
OOutfitter10 mi
+Urgent care14 mi
RxPharmacy14 mi
DDump22 mi
HHardware23 mi
WWater24 mi
AAir-up48 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, 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); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗

The site — Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

1,617 ft

Ground slope

22.6% · steep

Nearest rail line

~6.8 mi · main line

State

Coordinates

43.83550, -74.20954

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) · Blue Mountain Wild Forest · NY (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureClear Pond · ~0.6 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
Nearest townNorthwoods Club · ~3.3 mi
Nearest rail line~6.8 mi · main line
Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelStewart's · ~4.6 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump station~21.6 mi
GroceriesStewart's Shops · ~4.6 mi
PharmacyRite Aid Pharmacy · ~14.5 mi
Hospital / clinicNorth Creek Health Center · ~14.4 mi
HardwareCurtis Lumber Co., Inc. · ~22.6 mi

EV charging — from Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) · Blue Mountain Wild Forest · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger4.6 mi straight-line SW — 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 · 30 within 50 · 258 within 100 · 513 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)24.2 mi — Chestertown, NY - Tesla Supercharger, Chestertown
Nearest listing CHAdeMO25.0 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.6 mi — TOWN OF NEWCOMB TON2 · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 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 Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) · Blue Mountain Wild Forest · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~28.0 mi NE
Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~28.1 mi NE

Coming out here — Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) · Blue Mountain Wild Forest · NY

Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Clear Pond as a perennial lake or pond, ~0.6 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
Ground slope around the pin: about 22.6% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
Rail line mapped ~6.8 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. The atlas also records tourist, museum or scenic passenger service on it. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.

Open Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest) elsewhere

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

Other camps near Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] is in Blue Mountain Wild Forest, a wild forest managed by NY DEC. Stay limits, permits, road closures and fire restrictions are set there, not at the campsite — check before you go. Its page maps every camp in it.

Blue Mountain Wild Forest →

How we know this — Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Open season

Year-round

Permit

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

Closures

None posted (checked 2026-07-25)

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 3626, NAME verbatim 'Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Blue Mountain Wild Forest', DEC Region 5 (Ray Brook). DESCRIP=''; NOTES=''. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-25 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326). FREE confirmed on dec.ny.gov/places/blue-mountain-wild-forest (Blue Mountain Wild Forest, read 2026-07-25): 'Fee: Free', open year-round; Hamilton County; DEC Region 5 Ray Brook (518) 897-1300. COUNT/CONFIDENCE (MED): the DEC page states 'The Blue Mountain Lake Wild Forest and Township 19 Conservation Easement Lands contain eleven designated primitive tent sites and two lean-tos ... At-large primitive camping is also allowed.' DEC's GIS maps 23 named primitive-tent-site points for the unit but the page does NOT enumerate which 23->11 are the designated ones, so this site, 'Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite', ships MED (real DEC-mapped PUBLICUSE tent site, camping allowed unit-wide, but NOT certifiable as one of the 11 designated -- honest floor, not HIGH). IDENTITY/LOCATION CORROBORATION: measured against OpenStreetMap this point is a roadside forest site (nearest water about 3288 feet away, unnamed); nearest Gooley Club Road 188 ft (OSM `out geom`, maps.mail.ru overpass mirror, 2026-07-25, point-to-nearest-vertex). CLUSTER: Chain Lakes Road South, near the Essex Chain Lakes access (free self-registration may apply at the access). ACCESS-COST CHECK (guardrail 2): NY has no statewide access pass; the only fee named on the unit page is the Lake Durant Campground boat-launch day-use fee when that developed campground is open (not an access fee for these primitive sites). LEGALITY (guardrail 1): DEC-mapped, publicly-usable primitive tent site (PUBLICUSE='Y') in a Wild Forest where the page confirms both designated and at-large primitive camping are allowed; legality rests on DEC-mapped established-site (Windham-Blackhead basis), not per-site designation. No closure posted for the unit (checked 2026-07-25). ELEVATION ~1618 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-25); central-Adirondack lake/road terrain -- neither the Catskill 3,500-ft nor the Adirondack 4,000-ft camping ban applies. Plus DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules): free Forest Ranger permit for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10+. Ingest 2026-07-25.

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 Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

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 — Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)

Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →Leave no trace →All field notes →

Is this page wrong about Chain Lakes Road South Roadside Tentsite [DEC #3626] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)?

This page was built from a public land record, not from a visit. If you have actually pulled in here and it does not match, that is worth more than anything we can read off a map. Tell Dave what is off — it goes to him, not onto the page.

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A reader report is not a fact, and this one will not change a word of this page by itself. Dave reads it and checks it against the agency’s own record, because that record is what this site says. If reader reports are ever shown here they are labelled “reader report, unverified” with the date, and they are never merged into the agency fields.