Chapel Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness)

FREE primitive camping in Giant Mountain Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, the Chapel Pond / Roaring Brook Falls country along NY 73 in Essex County, near Keene Valley / St. Huberts). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Chapel Pond Campsite', on Chapel Pond), 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. ROADSIDE (park-and-step-in): a DEC-designated primitive site right next to a public highway in a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness -- you park at the road/pull-off and walk the last few steps in; you cannot legally drive onto the site itself (about 110 feet from the road). Note: a roadside primitive site in the popular Chapel Pond area off NY 73 (about 110 feet from the highway), roughly 560 feet from Chapel Pond itself (Beede Brook runs ~350 feet off). Park in a legal NY 73 pull-off and step in; the Chapel Pond corridor is busy with very limited parking. No driving onto the site in this motor-free Wilderness. This is Adirondack WILDERNESS backcountry, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth, hookups, showers or potable water, and no legal car access onto the site; do not confuse it with the developed fee state campgrounds the DEC page points amenity-seekers to (Lincoln Pond Campground and Sharp Bridge Campground). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Giant Mountain Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND, but this is a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness reached on foot (three roadside sites are a park-and-step-in off the highway; the rest are a 0.1-2.4 mile walk in). DEC's current advisory asks hikers to postpone the higher trails ABOVE Giant's Washbowl, 'the Cobbles' and Owl Head Lookout during mud season / high-elevation wet conditions -- none of these campsites is in that zone, but several sit at trailheads for it. NY 73 through Chapel Pond is a busy, narrow pass with very limited parking; arrive early and park only in legal pull-offs. Plan for a self-sufficient trip and confirm current road, gate and trail status with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) 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 Ray Brook Office at (518) 897-1200 (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, no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so carry water or treat what you take from a brook or pond. 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/giant-mountain-wilderness) or with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

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

• Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~8.9 mi S
• Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~9.1 mi S

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.5 mi
• Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13930] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.6 mi
• Jct Roaring Brook Trail To Washbowl Trail [DEC #13928] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.7 mi
• Jct Roaring Brook Trail To Washbowl Trail [DEC #13927] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.7 mi

How we know this

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