Agency-listedNY DECFree

Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.40370, -74.11385
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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. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite') in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the southern Adirondacks between Northville and Stony Creek (Hamilton, Warren and Saratoga County). New York's Forest Preserve allows backcountry camping at these designated sites at NO CHARGE (the DEC unit page lists the fee as 'Free'), first-come/first-served -- these backcountry sites cannot be reserved. A FREE New York State Forest Ranger permit is required ONLY if you stay more than 3 nights in one spot or camp in a group of 10 or more; otherwise no permit and no fee. Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc). This is a primitive site: no hookups, no potable water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules. This site is named for its access road, so it is likely a roadside / drive-up site, but confirm on the DEC unit page. Rules and site status change -- confirm with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/wilcox-lake-wild-forest) or a regional DEC office before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)
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Weather outlook — at Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,527 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake 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 Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 15 miWDump · 16 miDFuel · 13 miFTops · Grocery · 12 miGWalgreens · Pharmacy · 12 miRxAllen & Palmer True Value · Hardware · 13 miHMain Street Auto · Mechanic · 13 miMNorthville Laundromat · Laundry · 13 miLShower · 16 miShAir-up · 24 miAInfirmary · Urgent care · 13 mi+FISH307.com · Outfitter · 20 miONorthville Post Office · Mail · 13 mi@Warren Ford · EV fast charger · 18 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • GGrocery12 mi
  • RxPharmacy12 mi
  • FFuel13 mi
  • HHardware13 mi
  • @Mail13 mi
  • MMechanic13 mi
  • LLaundry13 mi
  • +Urgent care13 mi
  • WWater15 mi
  • ShShower16 mi
  • DDump16 mi
  • EVEV fast charger18 mi
  • OOutfitter20 mi
  • AAir-up24 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 — Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)

Access
Drive-up
Land
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Elevation
1,527 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
43.40370, -74.11385
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureEast Stony Creek (river) · nearby
  • Nearest townBakertown · ~0.9 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~12.6 mi
  • Propane / LPGPropane · ~24.5 mi
  • Dump station~15.6 mi
  • GroceriesTops · ~12.5 mi
  • PharmacyWalgreens · ~12.5 mi
  • Hospital / clinicNorth Creek Health Center · ~21.3 mi
  • HardwareAllen & Palmer True Value · ~12.6 mi

EV charging — from Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest) elsewhere

Other camps near Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)

Permit
Free permit needed only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more
Source
NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
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 9465, ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', FACILITY='Wilcox Lake Wild Forest'; coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-22 via the layer's /find endpoint (the /query path is WAF-blocked). FREE confirmed by DEC's own place page (dec.ny.gov/places/wilcox-lake-wild-forest, read 2026-07-22): Fee='Free', '63 primitive campsites and 4 lean-tos', permit 'issued by area Forest Rangers free of charge' only for stays >3 nights or groups of 10+; and DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules): backcountry/primitive camping allowed on Adirondack Forest Preserve, first-come, cannot be reserved. Ingest 2026-07-22.
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 Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake 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.

Before you go — Harrisburg Lake Road Campsite (Wilcox Lake Wild Forest)

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 →