Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness)
FREE primitive camping in Giant Mountain Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, the Chapel Pond / Roaring Brook Falls country along NY 73 in Essex County, near Keene Valley / St. Huberts). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Marie Louise Pond Campsite', on Marie Louise Pond), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. HIKE-IN: this is a foot-access site in a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness, about 102 feet from the East Trail (to Giant); plan on roughly a 2.4-mile walk in from the nearest public road/trailhead. Note: a pondshore site on Marie Louise Pond (about 55 feet from the water), the deepest site in this batch at roughly 2.37 miles in from the nearest public road via the East Trail. No nearby OSM camp_site node, so DEC's coordinate is the sole source. This is Adirondack WILDERNESS backcountry, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth, hookups, showers or potable water, and no legal car access onto the site; do not confuse it with the developed fee state campgrounds the DEC page points amenity-seekers to (Lincoln Pond Campground and Sharp Bridge Campground). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Giant Mountain Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND, but this is a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness reached on foot (three roadside sites are a park-and-step-in off the highway; the rest are a 0.1-2.4 mile walk in). DEC's current advisory asks hikers to postpone the higher trails ABOVE Giant's Washbowl, 'the Cobbles' and Owl Head Lookout during mud season / high-elevation wet conditions -- none of these campsites is in that zone, but several sit at trailheads for it. NY 73 through Chapel Pond is a busy, narrow pass with very limited parking; arrive early and park only in legal pull-offs. Plan for a self-sufficient trip and confirm current road, gate and trail status with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) before you go. RULES: this is a designated, first-come first-served free site -- no reservation and no fee. Look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc that marks each designated site. Standard Adirondack Forest Preserve rules apply: camp only at the designated site, keep 150 feet from water/trails/roads unless the site itself is marked closer, and 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 Ray Brook Office at (518) 897-1200 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch)). DEC prints no other night limit for these sites, so plan around that statewide 3-night default and confirm on site. This is a primitive backcountry site: expect at most a fire ring -- no privy, no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so carry water or treat what you take from a brook or pond. 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, road/trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/giant-mountain-wilderness) or with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
- @Mail4 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- OOutfitter5 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- RxPharmacy6 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- ShShower13 mi
- WWater14 mi
- DDump16 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- AAir-up59 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 — Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness)
Nearby & resupply — around Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townElizabethtown · ~7.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelStewart's · ~6.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~15.7 mi
- GroceriesValley Grocery · ~5.1 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~6.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicMoriah Health Center · ~10.6 mi
- HardwareAubuchon Hardware · ~6.6 mi
EV charging — from Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger6.8 mi straight-line NE — Egglefield Bros, Elizabethtown, NY (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach14 within 25 mi · 62 within 50 · 212 within 100 · 456 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)14.3 mi — North Hudson, NY - Tesla Supercharger, North Hudson
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO14.3 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)5.1 mi — McDonough's Valley Hardware, Keene Valley, NY (at a hardware store) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-08-15 · 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 358297 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~9.6 mi S
- Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~9.8 mi S
Open Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness) elsewhere
Other camps near Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13930] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~2.3 mi
- Giant'S Wash Bowl Campsite [DEC #13929] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~2.3 mi
- Jct Roaring Brook Trail To Washbowl Trail [DEC #13928] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~2.7 mi
- Jct Roaring Brook Trail To Washbowl Trail [DEC #13927] (Giant Mountain Wilderness)~2.7 mi
How we know this — Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain Wilderness)
What we don’t know about Marie Louise Pond Campsite (Giant Mountain 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
- 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