Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)
FREE backcountry primitive camping on the shore of the Saranac River near the Moose Creek confluence in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness of New York's ADIRONDACK Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, north of Ray Brook and Saranac Lake). This is a DEC-mapped designated primitive tent site ('Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102]'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC McKenzie Mountain Wilderness page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. It sits about 163 feet from the Saranac River near the Moose Creek confluence (measured against OpenStreetMap). This site is on a rise on the eastern bank of the Saranac River near its confluence with Moose Creek -- the DEC page says this site can only be reached by water, so you paddle in; it sits within earshot of Route 3 across the river. COUNT DISCLOSURE: the DEC unit page enumerates eight designated tent sites -- seven on the shores of Moose Pond (three on the west shore reachable via the Moose Pond Trail or by water, four water-access only) and one on the eastern bank of the Saranac River near the Moose Creek confluence (water access only). DEC's GIS maps five of these eight; this batch ships all five mapped sites (each named by DEC's GIS layer, enumerated on the DEC page, and located on its namesake shore in OpenStreetMap) and does not invent the three unmapped Moose Pond sites. No pins were invented. This is free, first-come Adirondack Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness -- do NOT confuse it with a reservable fee campground; the nearest fee campgrounds are the SEPARATE Saranac Lake Islands island sites on Lower Saranac Lake and Meadowbrook State Campground on Route 86, both miles away, and neither charges to reach these sites. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists McKenzie Mountain Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but every site here is reached on foot or by paddle (Wilderness = no motor vehicles and no bicycles) -- trails and the Moose Pond paddle can be wet, snow-covered, blowdown-blocked or ice-bound, so confirm current trail, water and site conditions with the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) 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 5 Ray Brook Office at (518) 897-1200 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site is around 1539 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 pond or river. 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/mckenzie-mountain-wilderness) or with the Ray Brook office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited.
![USGS topographic map of Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)](img/moose-creek-designated-tent-site-dec-12102-mcken-ny-44359n74101w-topo.png)
![Aerial image of Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)](img/moose-creek-designated-tent-site-dec-12102-mcken-ny-44359n74101w-aerial.jpg)
Everything you need — measured from Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness) · Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness · NY
- RxPharmacy2 mi
- +Urgent care2 mi
- EVEV fast charger2 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- HHardware2 mi
- MMechanic3 mi
- OOutfitter3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- WWater4 mi
- DDump12 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)
Nearby & resupply — around Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness) · Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSaranac River · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial river
- Nearest townTrudeau · ~1.5 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~2.6 mi
- FuelMobil · ~3.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~11.9 mi
- GroceriesGrand Union · ~2.5 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~2.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicAdirondack Medical Center · ~2.3 mi
- HardwareSturdy Supply & Rental · ~2.5 mi
EV charging — from Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness) · Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger2.4 mi straight-line SW — 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 · 52 within 50 · 139 within 100 · 374 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)3.3 mi — Aldi TUL 46 Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO33.6 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)0.9 mi — FEHBOCES ADK ED CNTR 1, Saranac Lake, 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 Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness) · Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness) · Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Saranac River as a perennial river, 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 10.7% — 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.
- 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 Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness) elsewhere
Other camps near Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Moose Pond Designated Tent Site #4 [DEC #13645] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)~1.6 mi
- Moose Pond Designated Tent Site #3 [DEC #13646] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)~1.8 mi
- Moose Pond Site 7 (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)~1.9 mi
- Moose Pond Site 8 (Saranac Lakes Wild Forest)~2.1 mi
The unit that manages Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)
Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] is in Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness, a wilderness 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 — Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie Mountain Wilderness)
What we don’t know about Moose Creek Designated Tent Site [DEC #12102] (Mckenzie 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