Agency-listedNY DECFree

Primitive Campsite [DEC #16154] (Hunter-West Kill Wilderness)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 42.16845, -74.25743

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

HIKE-IN backcountry site: this is a FREE, first-come DEC-designated primitive tent site in the 19,250-acre Hunter-West Kill Wilderness, a high Catskill Forest Preserve ridge (Towns of Lexington/Hunter/Shandaken, Greene & Ulster Counties, DEC Region 4). This site (Primitive Campsite) sits near Diamond Notch on the Diamond Notch Trail (about a mile from Diamond Notch Falls), in the southwestern part of the wilderness, at about 2,676 feet -- well below the Catskill high-elevation limit, so it has no seasonal closure. New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the wilderness as 'Fee: Free' and open year-round, and says primitive camping is allowed. It is a backcountry tent site (no potable water, no hookups, no privy guaranteed -- bring or treat all water); the nearby Diamond Notch Lean-To is a separate free first-come shelter. RULES: camp only at the designated site or 150+ feet from any road, trail or water; a free Forest Ranger permit is required only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more; pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and DEC fire rules, and store food from bears. IMPORTANT CATSKILL RULE: camping is PROHIBITED above 3,500 feet elevation between March 21 and December 21 -- this site is below that, but several other DEC tent points on this ridge sit right at the 3,500-ft line and are off-limits most of the year, so mind your elevation. Rules and site status can change -- confirm current conditions on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/hunter-west-kill-wilderness) or with the DEC Region 4 Stamford Office (M-F 8:30 AM-4:30 PM) at (607) 652-7365; Forest Rangers via 1-833-NYS-RANGERS / 1-833-697-7264 or 911 before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Primitive Campsite [DEC #16154] (Hunter-West Kill Wilderness)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Primitive Campsite [DEC #16154] (Hunter-West Kill Wilderness)

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,676 ft.

Fire & smokeNIFC · AirNow

Checking active fires & air quality…

Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.

Everything you need — measured from camp

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

WWater3 mi
@Mail3 mi
MMechanic4 mi
FFuel4 mi
HHardware4 mi
GGrocery4 mi
AAir-up6 mi
+Urgent care6 mi
RxPharmacy7 mi
LLaundry7 mi
OOutfitter7 mi
ShShower10 mi
DDump11 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

2,676 ft

State

Coordinates

42.16845, -74.25743

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Nearest townHunter · ~3.6 mi
Drinking waterWater · ~2.8 mi
FuelValero · ~3.7 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump stationDump · ~10.6 mi
GroceriesHunter Country Store · ~3.8 mi
PharmacyWellness Rx · ~6.6 mi
Hospital / clinicMedical Associates of the Hudson Valley · ~6.5 mi
HardwareVillage Hardware · ~3.7 mi

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~15.9 mi E
Highway rest areaMalden Travel Plaza · ~16.0 mi E
Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~16.1 mi SE
Highway rest areaUlster Travel Plaza · ~16.9 mi SE

Open this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this

Source

NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Confidence

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

How it was placed

NY DEC 'Primitive Campsite' GIS layer (https://gisservices.dec.ny.gov/arcgis/rest/services/dil/dil_land_assets_prm_cmp/MapServer/0), ASSET_UID 16154, GIS NAME verbatim 'Primitive Campsite', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Hunter-West Kill Wilderness', DEC Region 4, WMU 3A. DESCRIP=''; NOTES=''. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-26 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326, one paced curl -- the DEC GIS host rate-blocks bursts). FREE + year-round confirmed on the DEC page dec.ny.gov/places/hunter-west-kill-wilderness (Hunter-West Kill Wilderness, read 2026-07-26): 'Fee: Free', 'Open for recreation: Year-round'. The page states 'primitive camping is allowed. Campsites must be at least 150 feet away from the nearest road, trail, or body of water,' and enumerates the unit's three lean-tos (Diamond Notch, Devil's Acre, John Robb) but does NOT individually count/locate the primitive tent sites. CONFIDENCE (MED): the DEC page confirms primitive camping is allowed in this Forest Preserve wilderness and this is a DEC-designated 'primitive tent site' GIS asset with its own point geometry, corroborated by the OSM Diamond Notch Lean-To 422 ft away; but the page enumerates only the unit's three lean-tos, not the individual tent sites, so the specific site is not page-enumerated -- MED, not HIGH. LOCATION CORROBORATION: OSM node 2955316647 shelter_type=lean_to 'Diamond Notch Lean-To' 422 ft away (Overpass, maps.mail.ru mirror, 2026-07-26; overpass-api.de/kumi/private.coffee returned 406/000 this fire). ELEVATION ~2676 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-26) -- 824 ft below the 3,500-ft Catskill high-elevation camping ban (the page: 'Camping is prohibited above an elevation of 3,500 feet in the Catskills, between March 21 and December 21'), so no seasonal restriction here. ELEVATION KILLS (same GIS facility, NOT ingested): sibling cluster [16158] 3,488 ft, [16159] 3,477 ft, [16160] 3,504 ft (~1.66 mi NE, a ~100-ft-wide knot by the John Robb Lean-To) sits ON the 3,500-ft ban line -- one reads over, the others within DEM noise -- so it cannot be honestly listed as free year-round camping and was killed. ACCESS/FEE (guardrail 2): Forest Preserve wilderness (19,250 ac), free trailheads (Diamond Notch Rd / Spruceton Rd), no entry/day-use fee; Overpass sweep found no fee campground nearby (only the three free lean-tos). LEGALITY (guardrail 1): DEC-designated primitive tent site, camping allowed, per DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules). Ingest 2026-07-26.

Field check

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.

What we don’t know

A land record can put you within a few metres 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

Before you go

Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →Power off-grid →All field notes →

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →