Agency-listedNY DECFree

Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.93714, -73.98274

Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.

Ask about this camp →

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 primitive camping. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Cheney Pond Campsite #1') in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the Newcomb-Minerva-Indian Lake area (Essex/Hamilton County). New York's Forest Preserve allows backcountry camping at these designated sites at NO CHARGE (the DEC unit page lists the fee as 'Free'), first-come/first-served -- they cannot be reserved. A FREE New York State Forest Ranger permit is required ONLY if you stay more than 3 nights in one spot or camp in a group of 10 or more; otherwise no permit and no fee. Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc). This is a primitive site: no hookups, no potable water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules. This site is named for a pond/lake, so it may require a short hike or a paddle to reach; confirm access on the DEC unit page. Rules and site status change -- confirm with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/vanderwhacker-mountain-wild-forest) or a regional DEC office before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Weather outlook — at Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,740 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker 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 Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest) · Vanderwhacker 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

@Mail7 mi
OOutfitter8 mi
GGrocery10 mi
FFuel12 mi
EVEV fast charger12 mi
HHardware13 mi
WWater13 mi
LLaundry13 mi
DDump15 mi
RxPharmacy16 mi
+Urgent care16 mi
ShShower17 mi
MMechanic18 mi
AAir-up48 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

1,740 ft

Ground slope

6.3% · gentle

Nearest rail line

~1.8 mi · main line

State

Coordinates

43.93714, -73.98274

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest) · Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest · NY (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureCheney Pond · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
Nearest townBoreas River · ~1.0 mi
Nearest rail line~1.8 mi · main line
Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelSullivan's Store · ~11.7 mi
Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~29.7 mi
Dump station~21.6 mi
GroceriesMurdie General Store · ~10.2 mi
PharmacyRite Aid Pharmacy · ~16.3 mi
Hospital / clinicNorth Creek Health Center · ~16.5 mi
HardwareCurtis Lumber Co., Inc. · ~12.7 mi

EV charging — from Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest) · Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger12.4 mi straight-line E — North Hudson, NY - Tesla Supercharger · Tesla · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles. · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach9 within 25 mi · 38 within 50 · 255 within 100 · 509 within 150
Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.5 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.2 mi — TOWN OF NEWCOMB TON3 · 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 331348 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest) · Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~14.8 mi E
Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~14.9 mi E

Coming out here — Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest) · Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest · NY

Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Cheney Pond as a perennial lake or pond, ~0.1 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 6.3% — gentle. 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 ~1.8 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 Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest) elsewhere

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

Other camps near Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Cheney Pond Campsite #1 is in Vanderwhacker 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.

Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest →

How we know this — Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Permit

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

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 3784, ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', FACILITY='Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest'; coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-22 via the layer's /find endpoint (the /query path is WAF-blocked). FREE confirmed by DEC's own place page (dec.ny.gov/places/vanderwhacker-mountain-wild-forest, read 2026-07-22): Fee='Free', '38 designated primitive tent sites ... available on a first come - first served basis and cannot be reserved,' marked with a yellow 'Camp Here' disc; and DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules): backcountry/primitive camping allowed on Adirondack Forest Preserve, Forest-Ranger permit only for stays >3 nights or groups of 10+. Ingest 2026-07-22. | water 2026-08-25 (fire 1780, NY batch 2): no drinking water. DEC place page https://dec.ny.gov/places/vanderwhacker-mountain-wild-forest (read 2026-08-25) states "There are no hook-ups for water or electricity at campsites" for this unit, walks every campsite cluster in it (Moose Pond Rd, North Woods Club Rd, Cheney Pond, Huntley Pond, Oliver Pond, Boreas River, Fourteenth Rd) without naming a water source at any of them, lists one accessible facility unit-wide (a hand boat launch), and routes campers who want more amenities to Eagle Point / Lake Harris / Scaroon Manor Campgrounds -- that is an INFERENCE of no drinking water, not a DEC sentence saying so. Surface water distance is the true minimum from DEC's own coordinate to USGS NHD high-resolution hydrography (https://hydro.nationalmap.gov/arcgis/rest/services/nhd/MapServer, layer 6 flowline / layer 12 waterbody, queried 2026-08-25); NHD FCODE flow regime carried through verbatim, so an intermittent draw is labelled intermittent, and a named NHD ArtificialPath (FTYPE 558, the flow line drawn down a mapped river -- how NHD carries the Hudson and the Boreas here) is reported as mapped surface water with NO flow-regime claim, because FCODE 55800 carries none. Nothing here is called potable: DEC's Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest UMP, April 2005, p.80 (https://dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/vmwfplanonly.pdf) says "The Department cannot regularly test waters in VMWF for potability. To be safe, recreationists should always filter water from any stream or waterbody in VMWF before drinking", and DEC's current State Land Camping Rules (https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules) say "Drinking and cooking water should be boiled for 5 minutes, treated with purifying tablets or filtered through filtration device to prevent instances of giardia infection." NHD nearest features at this pin: Cheney Pond lake/pond perennial 0.15 mi; Vanderwhacker Brook stream/river perennial 0.22 mi. NOT a field check -- no one has stood at this site; NHD is a map layer, not an observation of flow on the day you arrive.

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 Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker 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
Seasonal & winter access
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 — Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest)

Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →

Is this page wrong about Cheney Pond Campsite #1 (Vanderwhacker 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.

Anything else, in your own words (optional)Your email — optional, and only so Dave can ask you a follow-up. It does not go on a list, and nobody is promising you a reply.

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.