Long Pond Site 2 (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)

FREE primitive camping in the 114,010-acre Siamese Ponds Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the east-central Adirondacks between Indian Lake and North Creek -- Towns of Johnsburg and Thurman in Warren County and Towns of Indian Lake, Lake Pleasant and Wells in Hamilton County (DEC Region 5), reached from NY 8, NY 30 and the Thirteenth Lake / Old Farm Clearing roads off NY 28. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Long Pond Site 2'). New York provides these designated primitive tent sites at NO CHARGE (the DEC unit page lists the fee as 'Free'); sites are first-come and cannot be reserved. This is a HIKE-IN backcountry site. DEC's page routes it from the John Mack trailhead or the Cisco Brook trailhead via the John Mack Pond and Long Pond Trails. For orientation, the nearest DEC-published trailhead or parking coordinate is the Cisco Brook trailhead at the end of Elm Lake Road, about 2.6 miles away in a straight line -- trail mileage will be longer. ONE ACCESS COST TO KNOW ABOUT (the camping itself is still free): DEC's page routes this site from EITHER the John Mack trailhead, which sits on the Indian Lake shoreline and is reached by boat from the DEC Indian Lake boat launch, OR the Cisco Brook trailhead at the end of Elm Lake Road, which you drive to. The Indian Lake boat launch charges a launch fee while the Indian Lake Islands Campground is open (roughly the weekend before Memorial Day through Columbus Day weekend) and is free the rest of the year -- so if you want to spend nothing at all, walk in from Cisco Brook. PERMITS: 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 threshold, so the statewide rule governs). Arrange any permit in advance through the DEC Region 5 Warrensburg Office at 518-623-1200 (Mon-Fri, 8:30 to 4:45). Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc) -- elsewhere on the Forest Preserve, camping is prohibited within 150 feet of any road, trail, spring, stream, pond or other water. These are primitive sites: typically just a fire ring, no hookups and no potable water, and designated TENT sites are for tents only. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food away from black bears. The unit is open year-round, but winter access is on ski or snowshoe and several stream crossings here have no bridge -- confirm current conditions, closures and this site's access with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/siamese-ponds-wilderness) or the Warrensburg office before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

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

• No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Long Pond Site 3 (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)~0.1 mi
• Long Pond Site 1 (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)~0.2 mi
• Rock Pond Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)~0.8 mi
• John Mack Pond Campsite (Siamese Ponds Wilderness)~1.5 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