Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)

FREE primitive camping in the Debar Mountain Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve in the northern Adirondack Park -- 81,160 acres in the Towns of Brighton, Duane and Franklin, Franklin County (DEC Region 5), reached off State Route 30, State Route 86 and the Port Kent-Hopkinton Turnpike. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Clear Pond Campsite'). New York provides these designated primitive tent sites at NO CHARGE -- the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free' -- and they are first-come, first-served and cannot be reserved. PADDLE-IN. DEC says Clear Pond -- the northern one, also called Boy Scout Clear Pond -- "has one primitive tent site on its shore which may be accessed from the Clear Pond Hand Launch", and that launch, along Meacham Road off State Route 30, has its own free parking area a short paddle away. Note there are TWO Clear Ponds in this unit; this is the northern 82-acre one near Meacham Lake, not the small Clear Pond down by Rainbow Lake. For orientation, the nearest DEC-published access coordinate is the Clear Pond Hand Launch parking area on Meacham Road, about 0.3 miles away in a straight line -- real travel distance will be longer. PERMITS: a free New York State Forest Ranger permit is required for any stay of more than three nights in one spot, or for a group of ten or more (neither DEC page sets a stricter local threshold, so the statewide rule governs). Arrange any permit in advance through the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook Office at 518-897-1200 (Mon-Fri, 8:30 AM to 4:45 PM). Camp only at the marked site -- look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc -- because elsewhere on the Forest Preserve camping is prohibited within 150 feet of any road, trail, spring, stream, pond or other water. These are primitive sites: typically just a fire ring, no hookups, no toilets and no potable water, and designated TENT sites are for tents. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food away from black bears. Do not confuse this with the nearby Meacham Lake and Buck Pond Campgrounds, which are DEC's developed PAID campgrounds. The area is open year-round, but many of the access roads here are seasonal and winter travel is on ski or snowshoe. One more thing worth knowing: DEC has a Unit Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement underway for this area whose stated scope includes changes to "trails and tent sites", so this inventory can shift. Confirm current rules, road and trail conditions and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/debar-mountain-wild-forest) or with the Ray Brook office before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

EV charging — from Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

• Nearest public DC fast charger17.9 mi straight-line N — Aldi TUL 3 Malone (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
• Public DC fast stations within reach6 within 25 mi · 31 within 50 · 116 within 100 · 333 within 150
• Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)20.9 mi — Aldi TUL 46 Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
• Nearest listing CHAdeMO18.0 mi — ELLIS CHEVY ELLISDCFC, Malone
• Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.8 mi — VIC AND CAMPUS SUGAR SHACK 1.2, Paul Smiths, NY · 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 451464 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest) · 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 Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest) elsewhere

Other camps near Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Clarks Landing Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~3.1 mi
• Skiff Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~4.9 mi
• Debar Meadows Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~5.4 mi
• Mtn. Pond Campsite #6 (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~7.5 mi

How we know this — Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)

What we don’t know about Clear Pond Campsite (Debar 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 — Clear Pond Campsite (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)