Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)
FREE backcountry primitive camping on the shore of Sprague Pond in the Blue Ridge Wilderness of New York's ADIRONDACK Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, between Blue Mountain Lake and Raquette Lake). This is a DEC-mapped designated primitive tent site ('Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289]'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Blue Ridge Wilderness page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. It sits about 15 feet from Sprague Pond (measured against OpenStreetMap). This is a hike-in: reach it on foot via the Sprague Pond Trail from the free Sprague Pond trailhead pull-off on Cedar River Road -- the Blue Ridge Wilderness is closed to motor vehicles and bicycles, so you carry in. COUNT DISCLOSURE: the DEC unit page names only Sprague Pond among designated primitive tent sites (two sites) and describes Sagamore Lake as a waterway-access site with a 300-foot carry (lean-tos, a separate asset, are at Cascade, Wilson and Stephens Ponds). DEC's GIS returns six primitive-tent-site points for the unit; this batch ships the two page-named Sprague Pond sites plus the GIS-named Sagamore Lake site, and HOLDS three unnamed GIS points near the northern trailhead area that are not named on the DEC page and could not be corroborated on any water or in OpenStreetMap. No pins were invented. This is free, first-come Adirondack Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the Blue Ridge Wilderness -- do NOT confuse it with a reservable fee campground; the DEC unit page charges a day-use fee only at the SEPARATE Stephens Pond Trailhead parking and at the Lake Durant Campground to the north, NOT at the free Sprague Pond or Sagamore Lake trailheads used to reach these sites. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Blue Ridge Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but every site here is reached on foot or by paddle (Wilderness = no motor vehicles and no bicycles) -- trails can be wet, snow-covered or blowdown-blocked and water crossings vary, so confirm current trail, water and site conditions with the DEC Region 5 Northville office (518-863-4545) or the unit page before you go, especially in winter or mud season. RULES: no reservation and no fee; camp only at a designated site (look for the round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' marker) or, elsewhere in the wilderness, more than 150 feet from any road, trail or water; 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 Northville Office at (518) 863-4545 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site is around 1843 feet, well below any Adirondack high-elevation camping restriction. These are primitive sites: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so 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). Confirm current rules, trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/blue-ridge-wilderness) or with the Northville office (518-863-4545) before you go; we have not visited.
![USGS topographic map of Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)](img/sprague-pond-designated-tent-site-1-dec-11289-bl-ny-43794n74378w-topo.png)
![Aerial image of Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)](img/sprague-pond-designated-tent-site-1-dec-11289-bl-ny-43794n74378w-aerial.jpg)
Everything you need — measured from Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness) · Blue Ridge Wilderness · NY
- ShShower3 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- MMechanic6 mi
- LLaundry6 mi
- EVEV fast charger6 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- OOutfitter17 mi
- WWater20 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- DDump21 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- AAir-up52 mi
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 — Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)
Nearby & resupply — around Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness) · Blue Ridge Wilderness · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSprague Pond · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Nearest townLong Lake · ~12.2 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~5.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~20.9 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~5.1 mi
- PharmacyRite Aid Pharmacy · ~20.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~12.2 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~20.9 mi
EV charging — from Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness) · Blue Ridge Wilderness · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger5.8 mi straight-line E — Indian Lake - Welcome Center · VIALYNK · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 19 within 50 · 257 within 100 · 522 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)30.9 mi — Chestertown, NY - Tesla Supercharger, Chestertown
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO33.9 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)5.8 mi — The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake · 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 405740 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness) · Blue Ridge Wilderness · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness) · Blue Ridge Wilderness · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Sprague Pond 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 26.2% — 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.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- 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 Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness) elsewhere
Other camps near Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #2 [DEC #11288] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)~0.1 mi
- Rock Lake Site [DEC #15860] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)~3.0 mi
- Rock Lake [DEC #15861] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)~3.1 mi
- Rock Lake Site [DEC #15862] (Blue Mountain Wild Forest)~3.4 mi
The unit that manages Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)
Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] is in Blue Ridge Wilderness, a wilderness 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.
How we know this — Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)
What we don’t know about Sprague Pond Designated Tent Site #1 [DEC #11289] (Blue Ridge Wilderness)
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