Echo Lake -- Campsite 1 (Indian Head Wilderness)

FREE primitive camping at ECHO LAKE, the remote backcountry lake in the valley between Overlook and Plattekill Mountains near Woodstock, in the Indian Head Wilderness of New York's CATSKILL Forest Preserve (DEC Region 4, Greene/Ulster Counties). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Echo Lake -- Campsite 1'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Indian Head Wilderness page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. This site is reached only on foot -- roughly a 2.5-mile hike one way (about a 5-mile round trip) from the Overlook Mountain trailhead on Meads Mountain Road near Woodstock, via the Overlook Trail and the 0.7-mile Echo Lake Trail spur down to the lake (a longer ~9-mile round trip from Platte Clove is the alternate route). This is free, first-come Catskill Forest Preserve backcountry (Indian Head Wilderness) -- do NOT confuse it with a reservable fee campground; the nearest paid DEC campgrounds (Devil's Tombstone on Route 214, North-South Lake) are a separate, paid system a few miles away. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Indian Head Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but every site here is a backpack/hike in over steep Catskill trails, and the trailhead roads and the notch trails may not be plowed or maintained in winter -- confirm current road, gate and trail status with the Stamford office (607-652-7365) before you go. RULES: this is a designated, first-come first-served free site -- no reservation and no fee. Look for the round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' marker. Standard Catskill Forest Preserve rules apply: camp only at the designated site, keep 150 feet from water/trails/roads unless the marked site itself is closer, and 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 Stamford Office at (607) 652-7365 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site sits below 2,700 feet, under the 3,500-foot line, so the March 21-December 21 Catskill high-elevation camping ban does not apply here -- but note it DOES bar camping higher up on the Devil's Path in that season; confirm current fire rules on site. This is a primitive backcountry site: expect at most a fire ring -- no privy, no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so carry water or treat what you take from the lake or stream. 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, road/trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/indian-head-wilderness) or with the Stamford office (607-652-7365) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

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

• Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~6.2 mi SE
• Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~6.7 mi E
• Highway rest areaMalden Travel Plaza · ~6.9 mi E
• Highway rest areaUlster Travel Plaza · ~7.3 mi SE

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Echo Lake -- Campsite 2 (Indian Head Wilderness)~0.1 mi
• Echo Lake -- Campsite 7 (Indian Head Wilderness)~0.1 mi
• Echo Lake -- Campsite 6 (Indian Head Wilderness)~0.1 mi
• Echo Lake -- Campsite 5 (Indian Head Wilderness)~0.2 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