Found · unverifiedNY DECFree

Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.55255, -74.03607

We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.

FREE primitive camping: this is a large drive-up style designated primitive campsite (Goldsmith Road) in the Chazy Highlands Wild Forest. It sits on Adirondack Forest Preserve in the Chazy Highlands Wild Forest (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest, DEC Region 5). New York provides it at NO CHARGE -- the DEC page lists the unit as 'Fee: Free' and 'Open for recreation: Year-round'. A free Forest-Ranger permit is required only for stays longer than 3 nights or groups of 10 or more; otherwise just show up. There are no hookups and no potable water at primitive sites -- bring or treat all water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and DEC fire rules, and store food from animals. Note: DEC's Chazy Highlands Wild Forest page confirms the unit is free and open to camping but does not describe this specific site by name (it is DEC's own mapped designated site), so treat the exact spot as approximate and confirm on arrival. The town hopes you will stop in and spend a little locally while you are passing through. Rules and site status can change and we have not visited -- confirm current conditions on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/chazy-highlands-wild-forest) or with the DEC Region 5 office (Ray Brook) at (518) 897-1200 for the Adirondack units, or the DEC Region 5 Warrensburg sub-office / local Forest Ranger via (518) 897-1300; Forest Rangers in an emergency via 911 or 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264) before you go.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest)

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,375 ft.

Fire & smokeNIFC · AirNow

Checking active fires & air quality…

Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.

Everything you need — measured from camp

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

@Mail7 mi
FFuel12 mi
GGrocery12 mi
+Urgent care15 mi
RxPharmacy16 mi
OOutfitter16 mi
HHardware16 mi
MMechanic16 mi
WWater16 mi
DDump16 mi
ShShower16 mi
LLaundry25 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 12 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

1,375 ft

State

Coordinates

44.55255, -74.03607

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureNorth Branch Saranac River (river) · nearby
Nearest townLoon Lake · ~1.0 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelMobil · ~15.8 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump stationDump station · ~16.4 mi
GroceriesLittle Super Market · ~15.8 mi
PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~15.5 mi
Hospital / clinicAdirondack Medical Center · ~15.3 mi
HardwareSturdy Supply & Rental · ~16.1 mi

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

Highway rest areaValcour · ~27.0 mi E

Open this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this

Source

NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Confidence

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

How it was placed

NY DEC 'Primitive Campsite' GIS layer (https://gisservices.dec.ny.gov/arcgis/rest/services/dil/dil_land_assets_prm_cmp/MapServer/0), ASSET_UID 15670, GIS NAME verbatim 'Goldsmith Road Campsite', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Chazy Highlands Wild Forest'. DESCRIP='Primitive Campsite'; NOTES='Large Drive Up Style Primitive Campsite'. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-26 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326, one paced bundled curl covering five facilities -- the DEC GIS host rate-blocks bursts). FREE confirmed on the DEC page dec.ny.gov/places/chazy-highlands-wild-forest (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest, read 2026-07-26): 'Fee: Free', 'Open for recreation: Year-round'. CONFIDENCE (MED): GIS returns this as a PUBLICUSE=Y designated primitive tent site in the Chazy Highlands Wild Forest (page 'Fee: Free', camping allowed unit-wide); the page's prose does not name this specific site and OSM maps none -> MED. LOCATION CORROBORATION: no OSM camp node mapped there; page + GIS carry existence. ELEVATION ~1375 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-26) -- an Adirondack Region 5 unit, far below any high-elevation camping restriction (the 3,500-ft Catskill ban does not apply). LAND/FEE (guardrail 2): Adirondack Forest Preserve (Wild Forest / Primitive Area) land; the only permit is a FREE Forest-Ranger permit for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): a DEC-DESIGNATED PUBLICUSE primitive tent site, camping explicitly allowed, per DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules). Ingest 2026-07-26.

Field check

Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Likely until someone does.

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

Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →Power off-grid →All field notes →

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →