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

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

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New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

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.

Can I go now? — Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

Open today Year-round per the agency record.

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.

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

Loading the latest forecast…

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

Fire & smoke — around Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest)NIFC · 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 Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

@Mail7 mi
FFuel12 mi
GGrocery12 mi
+Urgent care15 mi
RxPharmacy16 mi
OOutfitter16 mi
EVEV fast charger16 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); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗

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

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 — around Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (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 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

EV charging — from Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger15.6 mi straight-line S — Upstate Auto, Saranac Lake, NY · VIALYNK · J1772, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 55 within 50 · 123 within 100 · 342 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)17.0 mi — Aldi TUL 46 Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
Nearest listing CHAdeMO23.9 mi — ELLIS CHEVY ELLISDCFC, Malone
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.1 mi — VIC AND CAMPUS SUGAR SHACK 1.2, Paul Smiths, 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 351665 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaValcour · ~27.0 mi E

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

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

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest)

Open season

Year-round

Permit

Free permit needed only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more

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.

Season

Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.

EV chargers

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

Field check

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.

What we don’t know about Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands 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

Before you go — Goldsmith Road Campsite [DEC #15670] (Chazy Highlands Wild Forest)

Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →Fire rules & restrictions →How to read this page →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 →