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Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.11149, -74.66586
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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 DEC-designated tent site 'Hitchins Pond Campsite 6' on the Hitchins Pond in the Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area of the Bog River Complex (Adirondack Forest Preserve, DEC Region 6, near Lows Lake / the Lows dams). It is a paddle-in / water-access site reached by canoe or kayak on the Bog River Flow (Lows Lake) -- non-motorized boats only; there is a carry at the Lows Lower Dam. New York provides it at NO CHARGE -- the DEC Bog River Complex page lists the unit as 'Fee: Free' and 'Open for recreation: Year-round'. It is a first-come, first-served DESIGNATED tent site (tents only, marked with a yellow 'Camp Here' disc) with a fire ring and a full-sized pit privy; maximum nine persons per site (groups of six or fewer are encouraged). A free Forest-Ranger permit is required only for stays over 3 nights, groups of 10 or more, or use of the Virgin Timber/Boone's/Moose Bay shared landings in June-August -- otherwise just show up. There are no hookups and no potable water: bring or treat all water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and DEC fire rules, and store food from bears. This is one of exactly five designated campsites on Hitchins Pond, the small flow just above the Lows Lower Dam. The area is prime loon, eagle and osprey habitat, so camp and paddle quietly. The nearby towns hope 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/bog-river-complex) or with the DEC Region 6 Potsdam office / local Forest Ranger at (315) 265-3090 (Mon-Fri 8:00-4:30); Forest Rangers in an emergency via 911 or 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264) before you go.

Can I go now? — Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area) · 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 Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)
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Weather outlook — at Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,726 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)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 Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 19 miWDump · 19 miDFuel · 12 miFStewart's Shops · Grocery · 13 miGKinney Drugs · Pharmacy · 13 miRxAubuchon Hardware · Hardware · 13 miHBrent’s Auto Repair · Mechanic · 12 miMLaundry · 25 miLShower · 19 miShCamp Massawepie Health Lodge · Urgent care · 11 mi+Raquette River Outfitters · Outfitter · 11 miOWanakena Post Office · Mail · 13 mi@Indian Lake - Welcome Center · EV fast charger · 30 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • +Urgent care11 mi
  • OOutfitter11 mi
  • FFuel12 mi
  • MMechanic12 mi
  • GGrocery13 mi
  • HHardware13 mi
  • @Mail13 mi
  • RxPharmacy13 mi
  • WWater19 mi
  • ShShower19 mi
  • DDump19 mi
  • LLaundry25 mi
  • EVEV fast charger30 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 12 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 30-mi run (and back).

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 — Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)

Access
Drive-up
Land
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Elevation
1,726 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
44.11149, -74.66586
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureHitchins Pond (water) · nearby
  • Nearest townHorseshoe · ~2.3 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~12.5 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~19.4 mi
  • GroceriesStewart's Shops · ~12.7 mi
  • PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~13.1 mi
  • Hospital / clinicCamp Massawepie Health Lodge · ~10.8 mi

EV charging — from Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area) elsewhere

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Other camps near Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)

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
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 3287, GIS NAME verbatim 'Hitchins Pond Campsite 6', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area'. DESCRIP='Designated Campsite With Pit Privy. Full Sized Privy'; NOTES='Checked 11/2015'. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-26 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326, one paced bundled curl -- the DEC GIS host rate-blocks bursts). FREE confirmed on the DEC page dec.ny.gov/places/bog-river-complex (Bog River Complex, read 2026-07-26 via WebFetch): 'Fee: Free', 'Open for recreation: Year-round' (the May 1-Sep 30 window applies only to the Big Tupper/Piercefield Flow conservation easements, not this Forest Preserve Primitive Area). CONFIDENCE (HIGH): the DEC Bog River Complex page states verbatim that Hitchins Pond has 'Five campsites with fire rings and pit privies ... on a first-come, first-served basis', and this GIS layer returns exactly five Hitchins Pond campsites, each DESCRIP-confirmed with a privy -- an exact count + named-location + feature match. LOCATION CORROBORATION: no OSM camp_site node mapped near this backcountry water-access site (normal for the Adirondack interior); DEC page + DEC GIS point carry existence. ELEVATION ~1726 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-26) -- DEC Region 6 (Western Adirondacks), no high-elevation camping restriction applies. LAND/FEE (guardrail 2): Adirondack Forest Preserve Primitive Area, no entry/access/day-use fee; the only permit is a FREE Forest-Ranger permit for stays over 3 nights, groups of 10+, or use of the Virgin Timber/Boone's/Moose Bay shared landings June-Aug. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): a DEC-DESIGNATED PUBLICUSE primitive tent site (yellow 'Camp Here' disc, tents only), camping explicitly allowed, first come-first served, per DEC State Land Camping 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 Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)

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 — Hitchins Pond Campsite 6 [DEC #3287] (Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area)

Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →Dispersed camping tips →All field notes →
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