Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest)
FREE backcountry primitive camping. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Jabe Pond Campsite 2') in the Lake George Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the southeastern Adirondacks around Lake George and the upper Hudson River -- the Towns of Bolton, Chester, Hague, Horicon, Lake George, Lake Luzerne, Queensbury and Warrensburg in Warren County, the Towns of Dresden, Fort Ann and Putnam in Washington County, and the Towns of Ticonderoga and Schroon in Essex 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' -- 63 designated tent sites free for overnight use), first-come/first-served -- these backcountry sites cannot be reserved. NOTE ON ACCESS: this unit is a MIX -- some sites are drive-up along the Hudson River road corridor (Buttermilk, Gay Pond, Bear Slide and River Roads), some are short hikes in the Shelving Rock area on Lake George's eastern shore, and many are hike-in sites on small backcountry ponds. THIS particular site is on a small backcountry pond in this unit, most likely reached ON FOOT by trail (a few of these ponds may also have a nearby road or paddle access) -- confirm THIS site's trailhead, route and distance on the DEC unit page / DECinfo Locator. DON'T CONFUSE THESE FREE SITES WITH THE PAID LAKE GEORGE ISLANDS: the Lake George Islands Campgrounds & Day Use Areas -- the Glen Island, Long Island and Narrow Island groups of reservable, fee-based island tent sites reached by boat are separate developed facilities that charge a fee and take reservations -- these designated Wild-Forest sites are the free ones. Camping for more than 3 nights in one spot requires a FREE New York State Forest Ranger permit; a free New York State Forest Ranger permit is required for any stay of more than three nights at one spot, or for a group of ten or more (the DEC unit page sets no stricter local group threshold). Arrange any permit in advance through the DEC Region 5 Warrensburg Office (Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4:45 PM) at (518) 623-1200 -- they name the local Forest Ranger for the permit. Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc), and keep camp 150 feet from water, roads and trails unless the site is otherwise designated. This is a primitive site: no hookups, no potable water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules. Rules and site status change -- confirm with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/lake-george-wild-forest) or the Region 5 Warrensburg office before you go; we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest) · Lake George Wild Forest · NY
- @Mail2 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- ShShower6 mi
- WWater9 mi
- DDump9 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- OOutfitter23 mi
- AAir-up28 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest)
Nearby & resupply — around Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest) · Lake George Wild Forest · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureJabe Pond · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Also mapped (OSM)Little Jabe Pond (water) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townSilver Bay · ~1.7 mi
- Nearest rail line~6.5 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.7 mi
- FuelFuel · ~4.8 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~10.9 mi
- Dump station~9.1 mi
- GroceriesHague Market · ~3.0 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~12.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicElizabethtown Community Hospital - Ticonderoga · ~10.7 mi
- HardwareCurtis Lumber Co., Inc. · ~14.8 mi
EV charging — from Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest) · Lake George Wild Forest · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.9 mi straight-line W — Chestertown, NY - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach6 within 25 mi · 57 within 50 · 288 within 100 · 824 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS15.7 mi — Town of Fair Haven, Fair Haven
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO15.7 mi — Town of Fair Haven, Fair Haven
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.2 mi — Ticonderoga Country Club · VIALYNK · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Ridin Hy Ranch, Warrensburg, 11.7 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only
- 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 154440 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest) · Lake George Wild Forest · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaFair Haven Welcome Center · ~14.8 mi SE
- Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~22.6 mi N
- Highway rest areaIra Parking Area · ~22.8 mi E
- Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~22.8 mi N
Coming out here — Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest) · Lake George Wild Forest · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Jabe Pond as a perennial lake or pond, under 0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 12.6% — noticeable. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~6.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. The atlas also records Amtrak service on it. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest) elsewhere
Other camps near Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Jabe Pond Campsite 1 (Lake George Wild Forest)~0.0 mi
- Jabe Pond Campsite 7 (Lake George Wild Forest)~0.3 mi
- Jabe Pond Campsite 3 (Lake George Wild Forest)~0.4 mi
- Jabe Pond Campsite 4 (Lake George Wild Forest)~0.5 mi
The unit that manages Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest)
Jabe Pond Campsite 2 is in Lake George Wild Forest, a wild forest managed by NY DEC. Stay limits, permits, road closures and fire restrictions are set there, not at the campsite — check before you go. Its page maps every camp in it.
How we know this — Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George Wild Forest)
What we don’t know about Jabe Pond Campsite 2 (Lake George 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
- Seasonal & winter access
- 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