Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)

FREE primitive camping in Giant Mountain Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, the Chapel Pond / Roaring Brook Falls country along NY 73 in Essex County, near Keene Valley / St. Huberts). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite', on Giant's Washbowl), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. HIKE-IN: this is a foot-access site in a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness, about 21 feet from the Giant's Washbowl trail; plan on roughly a 0.3-mile walk in from the nearest public road/trailhead. Note: a pondshore site right on Giant's Washbowl (a ~4-acre pond, about 9 feet from the water), roughly 0.35 mile in from NY 73 on the Washbowl trail. This is Adirondack WILDERNESS backcountry, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth, hookups, showers or potable water, and no legal car access onto the site; do not confuse it with the developed fee state campgrounds the DEC page points amenity-seekers to (Lincoln Pond Campground and Sharp Bridge Campground). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Giant Mountain Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND, but this is a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness reached on foot (three roadside sites are a park-and-step-in off the highway; the rest are a 0.1-2.4 mile walk in). DEC's current advisory asks hikers to postpone the higher trails ABOVE Giant's Washbowl, 'the Cobbles' and Owl Head Lookout during mud season / high-elevation wet conditions -- none of these campsites is in that zone, but several sit at trailheads for it. NY 73 through Chapel Pond is a busy, narrow pass with very limited parking; arrive early and park only in legal pull-offs. Plan for a self-sufficient trip and confirm current road, gate and trail status with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) before you go. RULES: this is a designated, first-come first-served free site -- no reservation and no fee. Look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc that marks each designated site. Standard Adirondack Forest Preserve rules apply: camp only at the designated site, keep 150 feet from water/trails/roads unless the site itself is marked 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 5 Ray Brook Office at (518) 897-1200 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch)). DEC prints no other night limit for these sites, so plan around that statewide 3-night default and confirm 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 a brook or pond. 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/giant-mountain-wilderness) or with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

EV charging — from Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

• Nearest public DC fast charger9.0 mi straight-line NE — Egglefield Bros, Elizabethtown, NY (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
• Public DC fast stations within reach15 within 25 mi · 60 within 50 · 219 within 100 · 460 within 150
• Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)13.2 mi — North Hudson, NY - Tesla Supercharger, North Hudson
• Nearest listing CHAdeMO13.2 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
• Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.2 mi — McDonough's Valley Hardware, Keene Valley, NY (at a hardware store) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-08-15 · 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 358297 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

• Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~8.8 mi S
• Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~9.0 mi S

Open Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness) elsewhere

Other camps near Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13930] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.0 mi
• Chapel Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.5 mi
• Jct Roaring Brook Trail To Washbowl Trail [DEC #13928] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~0.9 mi
• Jct Roaring Brook Trail To Washbowl Trail [DEC #13927] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~1.0 mi

How we know this — Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)

What we don’t know about Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)

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 — Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)