Elm Ridge Primitive Tent Site 2 [DEC #16144] (Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness)

FREE primitive camping beside the Elm Ridge Lean-To near the boundary with the Elm Ridge Wild Forest in the Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness, a high, rugged Catskill Forest Preserve unit in the northern Catskills near Windham/Maplecrest (Greene County, DEC Region 4). New York provides this at NO CHARGE: the DEC Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served (no reservations), with free parking at the DEC trailheads. It is a primitive tent site beside the Elm Ridge Lean-To on the Elm Ridge / Escarpment Trail, reached on foot from the Peck Road trailhead. DEC maps this as a primitive tent site, and it also sits well over 150 feet from the nearest road, trail and water, so primitive camping is legal here under New York's at-large Forest-Preserve rule. Where a designated site (round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc) is marked, use it; otherwise camp only 150+ feet from any road, trail or water and below 3,500 feet, and confirm this specific spot on the ground. COUNT DISCLOSURE: the DEC Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness page describes 'one lean-to, a primitive campsite and a privy' along the Batavia Kill Trail and a second lean-to at the Elm Ridge boundary, and states that at-large primitive camping is also allowed (campsites at least 150 feet from the nearest road, trail or water, and below 3,500 feet elevation). DEC's mapping data returns SEVEN 'Primitive Tent Site' points in the unit -- two named 'Elm Ridge 1/2' by the Elm Ridge Lean-To, three by the Batavia Kill Lean-To (matching the page's named primitive campsite grouping), and two higher up on the Black Dome Range Trail. The GIS carries no 'designated' flag on any of them, and the page names only one primitive campsite, so this batch does not assert which individual points are officially designated; every one was checked against USGS elevation data and sits below the 3,500-foot limit, and every distance quoted was measured against OpenStreetMap. No pins were invented. This is free, first-come Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness -- day use and the Big Hollow Road (Batavia Kill) and Peck Road (Elm Ridge) DEC trailheads are free and there is NO fee campground in this unit; do NOT confuse it with the reservable DEC fee campgrounds elsewhere in the northern Catskills (North-South Lake near Haines Falls, ~7 mi SE, and Devil's Tombstone near Hunter, ~9 mi S), which gate nothing here. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists the Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but the sites are reached on foot -- the Batavia Kill and Black Dome Range Trail sites from the Big Hollow Road trailhead, the Elm Ridge sites from Peck Road / the Escarpment Trail -- and this is high, steep northern-Catskill terrain, so trails can be wet, muddy, snow- or ice-covered or blowdown-blocked. 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; campsites must be at least 150 feet from any road, trail or water (unless at a marked designated site) and below 3,500 feet elevation; 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 2324 feet elevation. These are primitive sites: expect at most a fire ring (and, at the two lean-to areas, a first-come lean-to and privy) -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the 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, trail status and this specific site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/windham-blackhead-range-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 areaMalden Travel Plaza · ~17.5 mi SE
• Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~17.6 mi SE
• Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~19.9 mi SE
• Highway rest areaNew Baltimore Travel Plaza · ~20.5 mi NE

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Elm Ridge Primitive Tent Site 1 [DEC #16143] (Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness)~0.0 mi
• Black Dome Range Trail Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16253] (Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness)~3.9 mi
• Black Dome Range Trail Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16254] (Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness)~3.9 mi
• Batavia Kill Primitive Tent Site [DEC #16276] (Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness)~4.2 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