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Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.55774, -74.77578
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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 camping at the Clear Pond Campsite 3, a DEC-designated site in the White Hill Wild Forest (St. Lawrence County, northern Adirondacks, part of DEC's Raquette Boreal Complex, Region 6). New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the unit as 'Free' and open year-round, and states 'There are six designated primitive tent sites and two designated campsites,' with designated sites marked by a yellow 'Camp Here' disc. This is one of the designated sites on the shore of Clear Pond (35-acre brook-trout pond with a firm sandy shoreline and a hand launch). Treat any water you take from the pond. These are FREE, first-come, designated sites -- no reservation, no fee, and no facilities (no hookups, no showers, no potable water), though DEC/SCA installed privies at several of them. CONFIDENCE / RULES NOTE -- please read: this is MEDIUM confidence. The DEC page says Clear Pond has four designated tent sites and one campsite, but DEC's mapping data shows only three points on Clear Pond, so treat this as an established, DEC-mapped designated Clear Pond site rather than a certified specific one; on the ground, camp only where you see a round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc. 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 6 Potsdam office at (315) 265-3090 (Forest Rangers via 911 or 1-833-NYS-RANGERS / 1-833-697-7264)). Bring water or treat what you take from the pond, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food from bears (this is black-bear country). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists the unit as open year-round, but northern-Adirondack access and conditions vary by season -- confirm current conditions and this specific site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/raquette-boreal-complex) or with the DEC Region 6 office (315-265-3090) before you go; we have not visited.

Can I go now? — Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
Open today Year-round per the agency record.
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)
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Weather outlook — at Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,305 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill 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 Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 25 miWDump · 8 miDKunnoco · Fuel · 8 miFThe Country Store · Grocery · 10 miGHarris Medical · Pharmacy · 13 miRxEvans and Whites · Hardware · 13 miHMartin's · Mechanic · 13 miMPotsdam Laundry & Dry cleaners · Laundry · 13 miLShower · 8 miShSt. Lawrence Health Urgent Care · Urgent care · 13 mi+Raquette River Outfitters · Outfitter · 29 miOMail · 6 mi@EVolve NY Potsdam · EV fast charger · 13 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • @Mail6 mi
  • ShShower8 mi
  • DDump8 mi
  • FFuel8 mi
  • GGrocery10 mi
  • +Urgent care13 mi
  • HHardware13 mi
  • RxPharmacy13 mi
  • LLaundry13 mi
  • EVEV fast charger13 mi
  • MMechanic13 mi
  • WWater25 mi
  • OOutfitter29 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)

Access
Drive-up
Land
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Elevation
1,305 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
44.55774, -74.77578
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)

  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~7.9 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~7.9 mi
  • GroceriesThe Country Store · ~10.3 mi
  • PharmacyHarris Medical · ~13.0 mi
  • Hospital / clinicSt. Lawrence Health Urgent Care · ~12.6 mi
  • HardwareEvans and Whites · ~12.9 mi

EV charging — from Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest) elsewhere

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Other camps near Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)

Open season
Year-round
Permit
Free permit needed only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more
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 11402, NAME verbatim 'Clear Pond Campsite 3', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='White Hill Wild Forest', DEC Region 6. DESCRIP='SCA installed privy summer 2024'; NOTES='Campsite 3'. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-25 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326). FREE + COUNT confirmed on dec.ny.gov/places/raquette-boreal-complex (Raquette Boreal Complex (White Hill Wild Forest), read 2026-07-25): 'Fee: Free', open year-round (most properties), St. Lawrence County, DEC Region 6 Potsdam (315) 265-3090; the page states 'There are six designated primitive tent sites and two designated campsites', 'Clear Pond has four designated tent sites and one campsite', 'Long Pond has a designated tent site', 'Lilypad Pond has a designated tent site', and that designated sites are marked with a yellow 'Camp Here' disc. CONFIDENCE (MED): the page says Clear Pond has four designated tent sites and one campsite (five designated) but DEC's GIS maps only three Clear Pond points, and the uniform GIS ASSET type does not distinguish the page's tent-site vs campsite designation, so -- while every mapped point is certainly among the designated ones -- this specific numbered point is filed at the honest MEDIUM floor with the GIS-vs-page gap disclosed rather than over-claimed as HIGH. IDENTITY/LOCATION CORROBORATION (OSM `out geom`, overpass.kumi.systems, 2026-07-25): this point is about 106 feet from OSM 'Clear Pond'. LOCATION: on the Clear Pond shore. MED: page says Clear Pond has 4 designated tent sites + 1 campsite (5) but GIS maps only 3 Clear Pond points -- cannot pin this numbered GIS point to a specific page slot; GIS<page gap disclosed. ELEVATION ~1305 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-25) -- low northern-Adirondack elevation, no elevation restriction applies. PAID-NEIGHBOUR (guardrail 2): no fee campground found near this remote unit; Clear Pond even has a free ADA hand launch; no access/day-use/permit fee. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): DEC-designated, publicly-usable site, first-come, no-reservation. Plus DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules): free Forest Ranger permit only 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 Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill 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.

Before you go — Clear Pond Campsite 3 [DEC #11402] (White Hill Wild Forest)

Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →Cold-weather camping →Off-grid communication →All field notes →
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