Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)
FREE backcountry primitive camping. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Mckenna Brook Campsite') in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the northern Adirondacks -- the Towns of Brighton, Franklin, Harrietstown, Santa Clara and Tupper Lake in Franklin County and the Towns of North Elba and St. Armand in Essex County -- in the Saranac Lake / St. Regis lakes-and-ponds canoe country. 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. NOTE ON ACCESS: this unit is a MIX -- some sites are drive-up along Floodwood Road or Route 3, but MANY are on lakes, ponds and rivers reached by canoe/kayak (or on foot). THIS particular site is on a lake, pond or river in this canoe country, so it is most likely reached by canoe/kayak (some pond sites can also be reached on foot or from a nearby road) -- confirm THIS site's access and the nearest launch/parking on the DEC unit page / DECinfo Locator. DON'T CONFUSE THESE FREE SITES WITH THE NEARBY PAID CAMPGROUNDS: Fish Creek Pond, Rollins Pond and Meadowbrook Campgrounds and the Saranac Lake Islands Campground (which covers the Lower and Middle Saranac Lake sites) are separate developed facilities that charge a fee -- 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; the DEC unit page states organized groups of 20 or more require a permit (the statewide rule is a permit for groups of 10 or more). Arrange any permit in advance through the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook Office (Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4:45 PM) at (518) 897-1200 -- 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 (the DEC page notes sites are added and closed) -- confirm with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/saranac-lakes-wild-forest) or a regional DEC office before you go; we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest) · Saranac Lakes Wild Forest · NY
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- +Urgent care7 mi
- OOutfitter7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- RxPharmacy7 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- WWater8 mi
- DDump8 mi
- ShShower10 mi
- LLaundry33 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)
Nearby & resupply — around Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest) · Saranac Lakes Wild Forest · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMcKenna Brook · ~0.2 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Nearest townWawbeek · ~5.4 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~7.0 mi
- FuelMobil · ~6.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~8.3 mi
- GroceriesALDI · ~6.9 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~7.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicAdirondack Medical Center · ~7.6 mi
- HardwareSturdy Supply & Rental · ~7.1 mi
EV charging — from Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest) · Saranac Lakes Wild Forest · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger6.8 mi straight-line NE — ChargeSmart EV - Saranac Lake · CHARGESMART_EV · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach8 within 25 mi · 34 within 50 · 162 within 100 · 387 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO32.2 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.8 mi — Saranac Lake - 3 Main St · SYNERGEV · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 434123 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest) · Saranac Lakes Wild Forest · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest) · Saranac Lakes Wild Forest · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps McKenna Brook as a perennial stream, ~0.2 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 15.9% — steep. 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.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on 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 Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest) elsewhere
Other camps near Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Halfway Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)~1.1 mi
- Route 3 Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)~1.4 mi
- Route 3 Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)~2.3 mi
- Saranac River Site 2 (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)~3.4 mi
The unit that manages Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)
Mckenna Brook Campsite is in Saranac Lakes 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 — Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)
What we don’t know about Mckenna Brook Campsite (Saranac Lakes 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