Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)
FREE primitive camping at a DEC-DESIGNATED tent site near the Colgate Lake trailhead at the west end of the lake in the Colgate Lake Wild Forest, a Catskill Forest Preserve unit in the northern Catskills near East Jewett (Greene County, DEC Region 4). New York provides this at NO CHARGE: the DEC Colgate Lake Wild Forest page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served (no reservations), with free parking at the Colgate Road trailhead. It is a DEC-designated, wheelchair-accessible primitive tent site near the Colgate Lake trailhead at the west end of the lake. This is an officially DEC-designated primitive tent site and DEC lists it as wheelchair-accessible -- camp right at the site (look for the round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc). COUNT DISCLOSURE: the DEC Colgate Lake Wild Forest page lists '6 designated primitive campsites' and does not individually name or number them; DEC's mapping data returns SEVEN 'Primitive Tent Site' points here, of which two are flagged 'Designated' in the GIS attributes and five 'Not Designated'. Every one of the seven was measured against OpenStreetMap and sits more than 150 feet from the nearest road, trail and water (the one accessible designated site is exempt from that setback anyway), so primitive camping is legal at each under New York's Forest-Preserve rules, and this batch ships all seven: the two GIS-designated sites at high confidence and the five not-designated sites at medium. The DEC page's count of six 'designated' sites and the GIS's two 'Designated' flags DISAGREE, so treat the designated/not-designated label on any individual site as uncertain and confirm with DEC. No pins were invented. This is free, first-come Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the Colgate Lake Wild Forest -- day use and the Colgate Lake trailhead parking are free and there is NO fee campground at Colgate Lake; do NOT confuse it with the reservable DEC fee campgrounds elsewhere in the northern Catskills (North-South Lake near Haines Falls, ~6 mi SE, and Devil's Tombstone near Hunter, ~8 mi S), which gate nothing here. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Colgate Lake Wild Forest as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but the sites are reached on foot from the Colgate Lake trailhead on Colgate Road (some a short walk near the lake, others farther in along the Colgate Lake Trail) -- trails and the access road can be wet, muddy, snow-covered or blowdown-blocked, so confirm current trail and site conditions with the DEC Region 4 Stamford office (607-652-7365) or the unit page before you go. RULES: no reservation and no fee; 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 4 Office in Stamford at (607) 652-7365 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site is around 2080 feet elevation. These are primitive sites: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the lake. 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, trail status and this specific site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/colgate-lake-wild-forest) or with the Stamford office (607-652-7365) before you go; we have not visited.
![USGS topographic map of Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)](img/colgate-lake-ada-accessible-primitive-campsite-d-ny-42239n74120w-topo.png)
![Aerial image of Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)](img/colgate-lake-ada-accessible-primitive-campsite-d-ny-42239n74120w-aerial.jpg)
Everything you need — measured from Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest) · Colgate Lake Wild Forest · NY
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- EVEV fast charger3 mi
- RxPharmacy3 mi
- MMechanic3 mi
- LLaundry3 mi
- OOutfitter3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- WWater3 mi
- HHardware4 mi
- +Urgent care6 mi
- AAir-up15 mi
- ShShower16 mi
- DDump19 mi
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 3 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 — Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)
Nearby & resupply — around Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest) · Colgate Lake Wild Forest · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureColgate Lake · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Also mapped (OSM)East Kill (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townEast Jewett · ~1.3 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.4 mi
- FuelStewart's · ~3.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~18.7 mi
- GroceriesTannsersville Works · ~3.1 mi
- PharmacyWellness Rx · ~3.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicWindham Medical Care · ~6.2 mi
- HardwareVillage Hardware · ~5.3 mi
EV charging — from Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest) · Colgate Lake Wild Forest · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger3.0 mi straight-line S — Thorpe's GMC, TANNERSVILLE, NY · EV Connect · CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach28 within 25 mi · 137 within 50 · 643 within 100 · 1506 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)12.2 mi — Malden Service Plaza, Malden-on-Hudson
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO20.6 mi — PRESHYUN PKG 1, Kingston
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)1.3 mi — DEERMOUNTAININN 1, Tannersville, 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 254289 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest) · Colgate Lake Wild Forest · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaMalden Travel Plaza · ~12.3 mi SE
- Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~12.3 mi SE
- Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~14.6 mi SE
- Highway rest areaUlster Travel Plaza · ~16.7 mi S
Coming out here — Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest) · Colgate Lake Wild Forest · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Colgate Lake 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 2.4% — flat. 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.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on 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 Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest) elsewhere
Other camps near Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Colgate Lake Designated Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16108] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)~0.1 mi
- Colgate Lake Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16106] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)~0.1 mi
- Colgate Lake Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16107] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)~0.2 mi
- Colgate Lake Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16109] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)~0.2 mi
The unit that manages Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)
Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] is in Colgate Lake 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.
How we know this — Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake Wild Forest)
What we don’t know about Colgate Lake ADA-Accessible Primitive Campsite [DEC #16165] (Colgate Lake 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