Agency-listedNY DECFree
Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.24306, -74.58472
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →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 primitive camping. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Spectacle Lake #5') in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve, in the southern Adirondacks in Fulton, Hamilton and Herkimer County (DEC Region 5, near Stratford, Caroga and Arietta). New York's Forest Preserve allows backcountry camping at these designated sites at NO CHARGE (the DEC unit page lists the fee as 'Free'), first-come/first-served -- these backcountry sites cannot be reserved. A FREE New York State Forest Ranger permit is required ONLY if you stay more than 3 nights in one spot or camp in a group of 10 or more; otherwise no permit and no fee. Camp only at the marked site (look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc). This is a primitive site: no hookups, no potable water, pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules. This site is named for a pond/lake/creek, so it may require a short hike or a paddle to reach; confirm access on the DEC unit page. Rules and site status change -- confirm with the DEC unit page (dec.ny.gov/places/ferris-lake-wild-forest) or a regional DEC office before you go; we have not visited.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,734 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake 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 Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery8 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- DDump10 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- OOutfitter18 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- EVEV fast charger19 mi
- AAir-up20 mi
- WWater21 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Access
Drive-up
Land
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Elevation
1,734 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
43.24306, -74.58472
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureDry Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townArietta · ~3.4 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelStewart's · ~16.7 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~22.6 mi
- Dump station~10.0 mi
- GroceriesPrice Chopper · ~17.6 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~13.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicNathan Littauer Hospital · ~17.5 mi
- HardwareAllen & Palmer True Value · ~20.8 mi
EV charging — from Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger19.1 mi straight-line SW — Iroquois Travel Plaza, Little Falls, NY (at a rest stop) · APPLEGREEN · CHAdeMO, CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-03-12 · hours: 24 Hours Daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach7 within 25 mi · 72 within 50 · 277 within 100 · 726 within 150
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.8 mi — Gloversville City Hall · VIALYNK · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast charger$0.64 per kWh (as listed by AFDC)
- 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 320691 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaIroquois Travel Plaza WB · ~19.1 mi SW
- Highway rest areaIndian Castle Travel Plaza EB · ~19.2 mi SW
- Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~22.8 mi SE
- Highway rest areaParking/Rest Area · ~22.8 mi SE
Coming out here — Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: Dry Lake (water). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- 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 — Dave gets service credit if you sign up through it. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) elsewhere
Other camps near Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Spectacle Lake #4 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~0.2 mi
- Spectacle Lake #3 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~0.6 mi
- Spectacle Lake #2 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~0.9 mi
- Third Lake #2 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~1.6 mi
How we know this — Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Permit
Forest Ranger permit needed 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 6493, ASSET='PRIMITIVE TENT SITE', PUBLICUSE='Y', FACILITY='Ferris Lake Wild Forest'; coordinate is DEC's own point geometry (WGS84), pulled 2026-07-22 via the layer's /find endpoint (the /query path is WAF-blocked). FREE confirmed by DEC's own place page (dec.ny.gov/places/ferris-lake-wild-forest, read 2026-07-22): Fee='Free', '97 designated primitive campsites', 'Camping for more than three nights or in a group of ten or more requires a permit from a Forest Ranger' (the standard FREE NYS Forest Ranger backcountry permit); and DEC State Land Camping Rules (dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/state-land-rules): backcountry/primitive camping allowed on Adirondack Forest Preserve, first-come, cannot be reserved. Ingest 2026-07-22.
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 Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake 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
- 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 — Spectacle Lake #5 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →How to read this page →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 →