Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area)
FREE primitive camping (Adirondack canoe country -- most sites here are PADDLE-IN, reached by canoe with short carries between ponds, not drive-up). DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Monty Flats') in the Saint Regis Canoe Area, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the northern Adirondacks northwest of Saranac Lake -- the Towns of Santa Clara and Brighton in Franklin County (DEC Region 5), a 20-pond paddling network reached off NY Route 30 / Route 186 near Paul Smiths and the Saranac Inn area. New York provides these designated primitive tent sites at NO CHARGE (the DEC unit page lists the fee as 'Free' and describes 70 designated primitive tent sites across roughly 20 ponds); sites are first-come and cannot be reserved. HOW YOU REACH THIS SPECIFIC SITE IS NOT CONFIRMED by the DEC page -- this is a canoe area, so it is most likely paddle-in, but the page does not state this site's access, so confirm whether it is paddle-in or foot access with DEC before you rely on either. DON'T CONFUSE THESE FREE SITES WITH THE NEARBY PAID CAMPGROUNDS: the DEC-operated Fish Creek Pond Campground and Rollins Pond Campground on the southern edge of the canoe area -- developed, reservable, fee-based public campgrounds that charge a fee and take reservations -- these primitive 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, or for a group of ten or more (the DEC page sets no stricter local threshold, so the statewide rule governs). 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. Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc), keep camp 150 feet from water and trails unless the site is otherwise designated, and follow the posted canoe-area rules. These are primitive sites -- typically only a fire ring and a pit privy, no hookups and no potable water; pack out all trash and follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules. The canoe area is open year-round, but winter access is on ice/ski -- confirm conditions, and the current rules and this site's access, with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/saint-regis-canoe-area) or the Region 5 Ray Brook office before you go; we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area) · Saint Regis Canoe Area · NY
- @Mail4 mi
- DDump9 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- WWater9 mi
- ShShower9 mi
- EVEV fast charger11 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- LLaundry36 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area)
Nearby & resupply — around Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area) · Saint Regis Canoe Area · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSaint Regis River · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial river
- Nearest townKeese Mill · ~1.9 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.1 mi
- FuelFuel · ~9.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~9.1 mi
- GroceriesStore · ~9.2 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~11.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicAdirondack Medical Center · ~11.2 mi
- HardwareSturdy Supply & Rental · ~12.3 mi
EV charging — from Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area) · Saint Regis Canoe Area · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.4 mi straight-line SE — Upstate Auto, Saranac Lake, NY · VIALYNK · J1772, CCS · 2 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 · 32 within 50 · 123 within 100 · 352 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)13.6 mi — Aldi TUL 46 Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO29.0 mi — ELLIS CHEVY ELLISDCFC, Malone
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.0 mi — VIC AND CAMPUS SUGAR SHACK 1.1, Paul Smiths, NY · ChargePoint Network · 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 351665 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area) · Saint Regis Canoe Area · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area) · Saint Regis Canoe Area · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Saint Regis River as a perennial river, ~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 1.6% — 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.
- 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 Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area) elsewhere
Other camps near Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- St. Regis Mtn. Campsite (Saint Regis Canoe Area)~1.6 mi
- Slush Pond Campsite #6 (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~2.5 mi
- Slush Pond Campsite #5 (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~2.5 mi
- Slush Pond Campsite #4 (Debar Mountain Wild Forest)~2.7 mi
The unit that manages Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area)
Monty Flats is in Saint Regis Canoe Area, a canoe area 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 — Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area)
What we don’t know about Monty Flats (Saint Regis Canoe Area)
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