Indian Lake Tent Site [DEC #6065] (Shaker Mountain Wild Forest)

FREE backcountry primitive camping at Indian Lake in the Shaker Mountain Wild Forest of New York's southern ADIRONDACK Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, in the Caroga / Bleecker / Arietta area of Fulton and Hamilton Counties). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Indian Lake Tent Site [DEC #6065]'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Shaker Mountain Wild Forest page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served (no reservations). It is on the shore of Indian Lake (a small Fulton-County pond near Caroga, not the Indian Lake hamlet up north) -- reach it on foot via the Stewart and Indian Lakes Trail. COUNT DISCLOSURE: the DEC unit page enumerates six designated primitive tent sites on this wild forest -- two at Pine Lake and one each at Indian, Stewart, Holmes and Chase Lakes -- plus a Holmes Lake and a Chase Lake lean-to (a separate structure not listed here). DEC's mapping data returns seven 'Primitive Tent Site' points: those six lake sites plus a Mud Lake Outlet site on the Northville-Placid Trail that the unit page does not separately enumerate. This batch ships six (the three lake sites verified on their OpenStreetMap shorelines at high confidence, plus Stewart Lake, the first Pine Lake site, and the Mud Lake Outlet site at medium confidence) and HOLDS the second Pine Lake point, whose coordinate sits about half a mile from Pine Lake with no water body at the pin, pending a shoreline coordinate. No pins were invented. This is free, first-come Adirondack Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the Shaker Mountain Wild Forest -- do NOT confuse it with a reservable fee campground; the nearest fee campgrounds are the SEPARATE Caroga Lake Campground and Northampton Beach Campground, both miles away, and neither charges to reach these sites. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Shaker Mountain Wild Forest as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but every site here is reached on foot along a hiking trail -- trails can be wet, muddy, snow-covered or blowdown-blocked, so confirm current trail and site conditions with the DEC Region 5 Northville office (518-863-4545) or the unit page before you go, especially in winter or mud season. RULES: no reservation and no fee; camp only at a designated site (look for the round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc) or, elsewhere in the wild forest, more than 150 feet from any road, trail or water; 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 Office in Northville at (518) 863-4545 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site is around 2007 feet elevation, well below any Adirondack high-elevation camping restriction. These are primitive sites: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the lake. 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, trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/shaker-mountain-wild-forest) or with the Northville office (518-863-4545) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

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

• Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~17.5 mi S
• Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~17.5 mi S
• Highway rest areaIroquois Travel Plaza WB · ~20.6 mi SW
• Highway rest areaIndian Castle Travel Plaza EB · ~20.8 mi SW

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Stewart Lake Tent Site [DEC #6064] (Shaker Mountain Wild Forest)~0.7 mi
• Holmes Lake Tent Site [DEC #6071] (Shaker Mountain Wild Forest)~2.0 mi
• Pine Lake Tent Site #1 [DEC #6066] (Shaker Mountain Wild Forest)~2.3 mi
• Broomstick Lake #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~3.7 mi

How we know this

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