Pond Mountain Game Land camping area #5

public land records

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

COORDINATE: NCWRC "Game Land Access" ArcGIS feature service, layer 0 "Camping Areas" (service description: "Parking, camping areas, hunting blinds and public shooting ranges associated with NCWRC-managed Game Lands"), OBJECTID=260, TYPE=camping, queried 2026-08-17 -- https://services1.arcgis.com/YfqBAUM5nWR3yhGP/arcgis/rest/services/Game_Land_Access/FeatureServer/0 . This is an agency map record, NOT a visit -- nobody has been here for us. GAME LAND: joined to NCWRC layer "Game Lands - detail" (https://services1.arcgis.com/YfqBAUM5nWR3yhGP/arcgis/rest/services/gamelands_detail/FeatureServer/22) by spatial intersect within 50 m -- GML_HAB="Pond Mountain", landowner GML_OWN="USDA Forest Service", county=Ashe, hunting designation GML_DESIG="Seven-days-per-week". LEGAL BASIS -- 15A NCAC 10D .0102(i) "Camping" (official NC Administrative Code PDF, read 2026-08-17, http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2015a%20-%20environmental%20quality/chapter%2010%20-%20wildlife%20resources%20and%20water%20safety/subchapter%20d/15a%20ncac%2010d%20.0102.pdf): "(1) No person shall camp on a game land except on an area posted by the landowner for camping. (2) Camping on posted camping areas is allowed from September 1 through the last day of February and from March 31 through May 31 unless otherwise specified in rules of this Subchapter. (3) On game lands owned by the State of North Carolina, where the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is the primary custodian, the maximum period of consecutive overnight camping at a designated camping area is 14 days within any 30-day period, unless otherwise specified in rules of this Subchapter. After 14 consecutive days of camping, personal belongings shall be removed from the game land. (4) A hunting, fishing, trapping or Game Lands License is required for individuals age 16 or older to camp on game lands in areas posted for camping except when camping within 100 yards of the Roanoke River on the state-owned portion of the Roanoke River Wetlands Game Land, within 100 yards of the Neuse River on that portion of the game land west of NC-43, and in posted areas along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail on Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land." READ THAT SEASON WINDOW BEFORE YOU DRIVE: unless the game land's own rule says otherwise, NC game-land camping is CLOSED roughly March 1-30 and June 1 - August 31. NO PER-NIGHT CAMPING FEE is stated in any rule we read, but the licence in (4) is a real cost -- see LICENCE below. CAVEAT: 15A NCAC 10D .0261, the codified rule for Pond Mountain Game Land (http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2015a%20-%20environmental%20quality/chapter%2010%20-%20wildlife%20resources%20and%20water%20safety/subchapter%20d/15a%20ncac%2010d%20.0261.pdf, read 2026-08-17), is SILENT on camping -- it contains no camping clause at all. The legal basis for camping here is therefore only the general rule .0102(i)(1) "posted by the landowner for camping", and this GIS point is NCWRC's own record of such an area. Treat as lower confidence than the game lands whose rule names camping. LICENCE: we could not find a standalone "Game Lands License" product on NCWRC's current fee tables; NCWRC's authorised digest says "The use of game lands is now included with most annual and lifetime hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses" (https://www.eregulations.com/northcarolina/hunting/general-game-lands-regulations and https://www.eregulations.com/northcarolina/hunting/hunting-trapping-licenses, read 2026-08-17). Cheapest licence we saw that satisfies .0102(i)(4) is the 10-day inland fishing licence, $12 resident / $29 non-resident; annual inland fishing is $32 resident / $56 non-resident (https://www.eregulations.com/northcarolina/fishing/fishing-licenses, read 2026-08-17). PRICES NOT RE-VERIFIED AGAINST THE STATE LICENCE PORTAL -- confirm before relying on them. WATER: NCWRC states nothing about water at these points. water is NULL. No natural water anywhere near these sites is claimed potable. FACILITIES: NCWRC publishes no per-site facilities for this layer. Table, fire ring, toilet and surface are UNKNOWN and none is claimed. NEAREST TOWN: Lansing, 11.1 mi -- straight-line distance to the centroid of the Census place/CDP polygon, NOT road miles (US Census TIGERweb Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD, state FIPS 37, queried 2026-08-17). | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.

Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.