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Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.49627, -73.37896

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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.

WATER-ACCESS ONLY (paddle / small boat): this is one of three FREE first-come primitive tent sites on the WESTERN SHORE of Schuyler Island, a 161-acre state-owned island in Lake Champlain (Town of Chesterfield, Essex County; eastern Adirondack Park; part of the DEC Lake Champlain Islands Complex, DEC Region 5). There is no road and no bridge -- you reach it by kayak, canoe or small boat, about 1 mile from the free public DEC Port Douglas boat launch, and it is a stop on the Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail. This site (Schuyler #3) sits on the southern part of the island's western shore, on the 0.3-mile trail linking the three sites; DEC files it under the Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail. New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the Lake Champlain Islands Complex as 'Fee: Free' and says Schuyler Island 'has three campsites on its western shore which are connected by a 0.3-mile trail.' The sites are first-come, marked with a round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc and a site number, and have pit privies and fire rings -- but no potable water, no hookups and no showers (bring or treat all water; Lake Champlain is the only source). PERMIT NOTE: between Memorial Day and Labor Day DEC runs a free first-come camping-permit system on the neighbouring VALCOUR ISLAND through an on-site caretaker (voicemail 518-897-1298); that permit/caretaker system is described for Valcour, not Schuyler, but island rules can change -- if you want certainty, confirm the current Schuyler permit and camping rules with DEC before you launch. Camp only at a marked designated site; a free Forest Ranger permit is otherwise 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, watch the weather and your boat, and store food from animals. SEASON / ACCESS vary and this is exposed open-water paddling -- confirm current conditions and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/lake-champlain-islands-complex) or with the DEC Region 5 office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited. Contacts: the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook Office at (518) 897-1200; the Valcour Island caretaker voicemail for island camping permits is (518) 897-1298 (Forest Rangers via 911 or 1-833-NYS-RANGERS / 1-833-697-7264).

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Weather outlook — at Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 102 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)NIFC · 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 Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area) · Schuyler Island Primitive Area · NY

▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.

Nearest of each

@Mail3 mi
FFuel5 mi
GGrocery5 mi
WWater5 mi
RxPharmacy6 mi
HHardware7 mi
LLaundry7 mi
DDump7 mi
MMechanic8 mi
EVEV fast charger8 mi
+Urgent care8 mi
OOutfitter8 mi
ShShower17 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

102 ft

Ground slope

4.4% · gentle

Nearest rail line

~0.8 mi · main line

Nearest highway

~5.5 mi · Interstate 87

State

Coordinates

44.49627, -73.37896

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area) · Schuyler Island Primitive Area · NY (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureLake Champlain · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
Nearest townPort Douglass · ~2.0 mi
Nearest rail line~0.8 mi · main line
Nearest highway~5.5 mi · Interstate 87
Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.4 mi
FuelKeeseville Mobil · ~5.0 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump station~7.0 mi
GroceriesHannaford · ~6.5 mi
PharmacyLakeside Pharmacy · ~8.4 mi
Hospital / clinicPlanned Parenthood · ~8.3 mi
HardwareCity Hardware · ~8.3 mi

EV charging — from Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area) · Schuyler Island Primitive Area · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger7.9 mi straight-line E — B E CHARGERS BE19, Burlington, VT · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach39 within 25 mi · 73 within 50 · 159 within 100 · 341 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)9.4 mi — Peru, NY - Tesla Supercharger, Peru
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)3.4 mi — Ausable Brewing Company, Keeseville, NY · VIALYNK · J1772 · 4 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 388129 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area) · Schuyler Island Primitive Area · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaValcour · ~9.3 mi NW
Highway rest areaColchester North Weight Station · ~10.6 mi NE
Highway rest areaWilliston North Rest Area · ~15.4 mi E
Highway rest areaWilliston South Rest Area · ~15.4 mi E

Coming out here — Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area) · Schuyler Island Primitive Area · NY

Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Lake Champlain 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 4.4% — gentle. 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 ~0.8 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. The atlas also records Amtrak 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.
Interstate 87 is mapped ~5.5 mi from the pin. Straight-line, from the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025) — the divided, limited-access highways, which is why a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not appear here.
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 Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area) elsewhere

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Other camps near Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] is in Schuyler Island Primitive Area, a primitive 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.

Schuyler Island Primitive Area →

How we know this — Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Source

NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Confidence

Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.

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 12608, GIS NAME verbatim 'Schuyler #3', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Schuyler Island Primitive Area', DEC Region 5. DESCRIP='Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail'; NOTES=''. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-26 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326, one paced curl request -- the DEC GIS host rate-blocks bursts). FREE confirmed on the DEC page dec.ny.gov/places/lake-champlain-islands-complex (Lake Champlain Islands Complex, read 2026-07-26): 'Fee: Free'. The page states verbatim: 'Schuyler Island has three campsites on its western shore which are connected by a 0.3-mile trail.' COUNT: page 3 = GIS 3 = OSM 3 (three tourism=camp_pitch nodes on the western shore). CONFIDENCE (HIGH): the DEC page counts exactly THREE campsites on the western shore, matched 1:1 by GIS and OSM; this GIS point sits 118 ft from its OSM camp_pitch node and carries the DEC descriptor 'Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail'. LOCATION CORROBORATION: OSM node 11557109645 tourism=camp_pitch 118 ft away (overpass.private.coffee mirror, 2026-07-26; overpass-api.de and kumi returned 504/406 this fire); OSM also maps relation 17088314 leisure=nature_reserve name='Schuyler Island Primitive Area' (identical to the GIS FACILITY), way 32023288 place=islet 'Schuyler Island', and way 1243506845 'Schuyler Island Shoreline Paddle'. ELEVATION ~102 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-26) -- just above Lake Champlain level, far below any high-elevation camping restriction (the 3,500-ft Catskill ban does not apply; this is the Adirondack Park). ACCESS/FEE (guardrail 2): the island is 161 ac, ~1 mi from the FREE public DEC Port Douglas boat launch, reached by paddle or small boat (Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail); no monetary charge anywhere in the complex. The summer (Memorial Day-Labor Day) first-come permit system with an on-site caretaker is described for VALCOUR ISLAND (the other primitive island, ~29 sites), NOT Schuyler; a free self-issued/first-come permit is allowed under guardrail 2 regardless. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): DEC-DESIGNATED primitive tent site (yellow 'Camp Here' disc + site number; pit privies and fire rings), land classified Primitive, per DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules). Sources also: DEC Lake Champlain Islands Complex UMP (extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/lcimcump.pdf). Ingest 2026-07-26.

EV chargers

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.

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 about Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive 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
Seasonal & winter access
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

Before you go — Schuyler #3 [DEC #12608] (Schuyler Island Primitive Area)

Cold-weather camping →Fire rules & restrictions →Dispersed camping tips →Picking a spot →All field notes →

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