Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)
FREE primitive camping (water-access canoe country -- many sites here are PADDLE-IN or boat-access, not drive-up). DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Lake Lila # 20') in the William C. Whitney Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the central Adirondacks in the Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County (DEC Region 5, off NY Route 30 via the Sabattis and Lake Lila roads, near Little Tupper Lake). 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 (call the local Forest Ranger at 518-828-0236); group size is capped below the statewide 10-person threshold at this unit -- about 8 people at most sites and 9 at Lake Lila / in Round Lake Wilderness. 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 particular site is named for a pond/lake, so it most likely requires a paddle or a hike to reach (this is Adirondack canoe country); confirm access on the DEC unit page. Rules and site status change -- confirm with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/william-c-whitney-wilderness-and-round-lake-wilderness) or a regional DEC office before you go; we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness) · William C. Whitney Wilderness · NY
- GGrocery13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- OOutfitter16 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- WWater17 mi
- HHardware17 mi
- MMechanic21 mi
- ShShower21 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- DDump28 mi
- EVEV fast charger28 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 13 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 — Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness) · William C. Whitney Wilderness · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLake Lila · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Also mapped (OSM)Harrington Brook (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townNehasane · ~1.4 mi
- Nearest rail line~1.3 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelKickerville Station · ~15.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~27.8 mi
- GroceriesOtto's Abode · ~12.6 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~21.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicClifton Fine Hospital · ~18.9 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware - Old Forge Department Store · ~23.0 mi
EV charging — from Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness) · William C. Whitney Wilderness · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger28.5 mi straight-line SE — Indian Lake - Welcome Center · VIALYNK · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 14 within 50 · 216 within 100 · 451 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)37.9 mi — ChargeSmart EV - Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO47.5 mi — EVolve NY Potsdam, Potsdam
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.6 mi — Otto's Abode, Wanakena, NY (at a parking lot) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-03-14 · 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 405740 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness) · William C. Whitney Wilderness · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness) · William C. Whitney Wilderness · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Lake Lila 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 2% — flat. 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 ~1.3 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. The atlas also records tourist, museum or scenic passenger 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 Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness) elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lake Lila # 19 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)~0.1 mi
- Lake Lila # 18 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)~0.2 mi
- Lake Lila # 21 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)~0.3 mi
- Lake Lila # 17 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)~0.4 mi
The unit that manages Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)
Lake Lila # 20 is in William C. Whitney Wilderness, a wilderness 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 — Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)
What we don’t know about Lake Lila # 20 (William C. Whitney Wilderness)
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