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Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 44.22646, -73.36349

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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.

FREE first-come primitive camping at the Snake Den Harbor Campsite, one of the four DEC-designated shoreline campsites in the Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest (Essex County, eastern Adirondacks, on the largest undeveloped stretch of Lake Champlain shoreline in New York, DEC Region 5). New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest page lists the unit as 'Free' and open year-round, and states 'Four designated campsites are located on the shoreline of Lake Champlain at Barn Rock Bay (2), Palisades, and Snake Den Harbor.' This is the designated site at Snake Den Harbor, on the Lake Champlain shoreline -- reach it by canoe/kayak or small boat. These are FREE, first-come, designated sites -- no reservation, no fee, no facilities (no hookups, no showers, no potable water); this is NOT the developed Lincoln Pond or Crown Point campground. The most common way in is by canoe, kayak or small boat from the free DEC Westport Boat Launch. 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 1-833-NYS-RANGERS / 1-833-697-7264)). Camp only on the designated/hardened site (look for a round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' disc), bring water or treat what you take from the lake, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food from bears (this is black-bear country). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists the unit as open year-round, but Lake Champlain conditions and wind/water levels vary by season -- confirm current conditions and this specific site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/split-rock-mountain-wild-forest) or with the DEC Region 5 office (518-897-1200) before you go; we have not visited.

Can I go now? — Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) · Split Rock Wild Forest · NY

Open today Year-round per the agency record.

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Weather outlook — at Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 122 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)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 Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) · Split Rock Wild Forest · NY

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

Nearest of each

HHardware4 mi
GGrocery5 mi
EVEV fast charger5 mi
@Mail5 mi
FFuel6 mi
RxPharmacy7 mi
MMechanic7 mi
LLaundry7 mi
ShShower8 mi
OOutfitter11 mi
WWater12 mi
DDump12 mi
+Urgent care13 mi
AAir-up54 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, 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 — Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Access

Drive-up

Land

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Elevation

122 ft

Ground slope

63.8% · steep

Nearest rail line

~3.0 mi · main line

Nearest highway

~6.9 mi · Interstate 87

State

Coordinates

44.22646, -73.36349

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) · Split Rock Wild Forest · NY (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureLake Champlain · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
Nearest townRock Landing · ~3.0 mi
Nearest rail line~3.0 mi · main line
Nearest highway~6.9 mi · Interstate 87
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelMobil · ~6.0 mi
Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~27.0 mi
Dump station~12.1 mi
GroceriesErnie's Market and Deli · ~4.6 mi
PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~7.0 mi
Hospital / clinicElizabethtown Community Hospital · ~11.5 mi
HardwareAubuchon Hardware · ~7.2 mi

EV charging — from Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) · Split Rock Wild Forest · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger4.6 mi straight-line SW — Town of Westport · VIALYNK · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach28 within 25 mi · 82 within 50 · 184 within 100 · 468 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)7.1 mi — Vergennes, VT - Tesla Supercharger, Vergennes
Nearest listing CHAdeMO6.9 mi — Norwich EV - Vergennes Charging Center, Vergennes
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)3.9 mi — FURNACE POINT FPEV2, Westport, NY · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Basin Harbor - Tesla Destination, Vergennes, 2.0 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
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 334460 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) · Split Rock Wild Forest · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaWilliston South Rest Area · ~20.1 mi NE
Highway rest areaWilliston North Rest Area · ~20.2 mi NE
Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (South) · ~22.3 mi SW
Highway rest areaHigh Peaks (North) · ~22.4 mi SW

Coming out here — Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) · Split Rock Wild Forest · 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 63.8% — steep. 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 ~3.0 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 ~6.9 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 Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest) elsewhere

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Other camps near Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] is in Split Rock Wild Forest, a wild forest 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.

Split Rock Wild Forest →

How we know this — Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Open season

Year-round

Permit

Free permit needed only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10 or more

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 4469, NAME verbatim 'Snake Den Harbor Campsite', ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', ACCESSIBLE='N', FACILITY='Split Rock Wild Forest', DEC Region 5. DESCRIP=''; NOTES=''. Coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-25 via the layer's /query endpoint (outSR=4326). FREE + COUNT confirmed on dec.ny.gov/places/split-rock-mountain-wild-forest (Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest, read 2026-07-25): 'Fee: Free', open year-round, Essex County, DEC Region 5 Ray Brook (518) 897-1200. CONFIDENCE (HIGH): the page enumerates exactly -- 'Four designated campsites are located on the shoreline of Lake Champlain at Barn Rock Bay (2), Palisades, and Snake Den Harbor' -- count 4 = GIS 4 and the per-location split matches the GIS points location-for-location, so this designated site is individually certifiable (Crystal Lake enumeration basis). IDENTITY/LOCATION CORROBORATION (OSM `out geom`, overpass.kumi.systems, 2026-07-25): LOCATION: Snake Den Harbor (Lake Champlain shore; paddle access). OSM also carries the 'Lake Champlain Shoreline Paddle' route past the site, corroborating the shoreline placement. ELEVATION ~124 ft (USGS EPQS, 2026-07-25) -- Lake Champlain shoreline; no elevation restriction applies. LEGALITY (guardrail 1): DEC-designated, publicly-usable campsite; first-come, no-reservation. ACCESS (guardrail 2): free -- paddle/boat from the free DEC Westport Boat Launch, or on foot via the Barn Rock Trail for the southernmost Barn Rock Bay site; no access/day-use/permit fee; nearest developed fee campgrounds (Lincoln Pond, Crown Point) are miles off and are day-trip alternatives only. Plus DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules): free Forest Ranger permit only for stays over 3 nights or groups of 10+. Ingest 2026-07-25.

Season

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.

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 Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

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

Before you go — Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)

Water on public land →Cold-weather camping →Fire rules & restrictions →Reading the aerial →All field notes →

Is this page wrong about Snake Den Harbor Campsite [DEC #4469] (Split Rock Wild Forest)?

This page was built from a public land record, not from a visit. If you have actually pulled in here and it does not match, that is worth more than anything we can read off a map. Tell Dave what is off — it goes to him, not onto the page.

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A reader report is not a fact, and this one will not change a word of this page by itself. Dave reads it and checks it against the agency’s own record, because that record is what this site says. If reader reports are ever shown here they are labelled “reader report, unverified” with the date, and they are never merged into the agency fields.