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

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

• No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

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

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