Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)
FREE backcountry primitive camping on the shore of Middle Settlement Lake in the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness of New York's ADIRONDACK Forest Preserve (DEC Region 6, Herkimer County, west of Old Forge). This is a DEC-mapped primitive tent site ('Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825]'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Ha-De-Ron-Dah page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. It sits about 58 feet from Middle Settlement Lake (measured against OpenStreetMap). This is a hike-in: reach it on foot, about 1.2 miles in via the Middle Settlement Lake Access Trail from the Brown's Tract Trail (cnyhiking.com) -- the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness is closed to motor vehicles and bicycles, so you carry in. COUNT DISCLOSURE: DEC's GIS 'Primitive Campsite' layer tags 7 tent-site records for this wilderness, but the DEC unit page names only this one designated tent site (on Middle Settlement Lake) plus two lean-tos and says 'there are no additional designated campsites on the unit.' This IS that one DEC-named site, so it is shipped at high confidence; the other six GIS pins were held pending review, not shipped. This is free, first-come Adirondack Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness -- do NOT confuse it with a reservable fee campground; the nearest paid DEC campgrounds (Nicks Lake near Old Forge, Limekiln Lake near Inlet) are a separate, paid system several miles to the east. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but every site here is a HIKE-IN reached on foot (Wilderness = no motor vehicles and no bicycles) -- trails can be wet, snow-covered or blowdown-blocked, so confirm current trail and site conditions with the DEC Region 6 Herkimer office (315-866-6330) or the unit page before you go, especially in winter or mud season. RULES: no reservation and no fee; camp only at a designated site (look for the round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' marker) or, elsewhere in the wilderness, more than 150 feet from any road, trail or water; 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 6 Herkimer Office at (315) 866-6330 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site is around 1744 feet, well below any Adirondack high-elevation camping restriction. These are primitive sites: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the lake. 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, trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/ha-de-ron-dah-wilderness) or with the Herkimer office (315-866-6330) before you go; we have not visited.
![USGS topographic map of Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)](img/middle-settlement-lake-designated-campsite-dec-1-ny-43687n75096w-topo.png)
![Aerial image of Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)](img/middle-settlement-lake-designated-campsite-dec-1-ny-43687n75096w-aerial.jpg)
Everything you need — measured from Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- RxPharmacy6 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- DDump12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- OOutfitter14 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- WWater16 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- +Urgent care33 mi
- EVEV fast charger33 mi
- ShShower35 mi
- AAir-up40 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 33-mi run (and back).
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 — Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)
Nearby & resupply — around Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMiddle Settlement Lake · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFastrac · ~5.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~11.6 mi
- GroceriesFastrac Cafe · ~5.8 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~6.0 mi
- HardwareOld Forge Hardware Store · ~6.4 mi
- Nearest rail line~2.1 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
EV charging — from Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger32.8 mi straight-line NW — Aldi Carthage TUL 27, West Carthage, NY (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 28 within 50 · 218 within 100 · 509 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO40.7 mi — IONIQ L3 #1, Yorkville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.3 mi — 108 Crosby Blvd Parking, Old Forge, NY (at a street parking) · SWTCH · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2023-05-03 · 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 434178 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Middle Settlement Lake 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 8.3% — 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 ~2.1 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 Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness) elsewhere
Other camps near Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Big Otter Lake Campsite #1 [DEC #15492] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)~2.6 mi
- Primitive Tent Site (Independence River Wild Forest)~2.8 mi
- Primitive Tent Site (Independence River Wild Forest)~3.1 mi
- Primitive Tent Site (Independence River Wild Forest)~4.9 mi
Who holds the land at Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness, manager on record: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (state). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness)
What we don’t know about Middle Settlement Lake Designated Campsite [DEC #18825] (Ha-De-Ron-Dah 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