Agency-listedNY DECFree

Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)

Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.14312, -74.59608
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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 primitive camping. DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Stewart Landing #1') 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 check the DEC unit page / DECinfo Locator for this site's access (drive-up vs hike-in). 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
USGS topographic map of Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
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Weather outlook — at Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,592 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Stewart Landing #1 (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 Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 25 miWDump · 6 miDFuel · 6 miFCaroga Lakeview Store · Grocery · 6 miGKinney Drugs · Pharmacy · 9 miRxZipp's Hardware · Hardware · 9 miHTimothy's Towing and Garage · Mechanic · 14 miMKing Cole Coin Drop Laundry · Laundry · 14 miLShower · 25 miShAir-up · 15 miADialysis Clinic · Urgent care · 14 mi+The Sportsman's Den · Outfitter · 15 miODolgeville Post Office · Mail · 9 mi@Iroquois Travel Plaza · EV fast charger · 14 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel6 mi
  • GGrocery6 mi
  • DDump6 mi
  • RxPharmacy9 mi
  • HHardware9 mi
  • @Mail9 mi
  • EVEV fast charger14 mi
  • LLaundry14 mi
  • MMechanic14 mi
  • +Urgent care14 mi
  • OOutfitter15 mi
  • AAir-up15 mi
  • WWater25 mi
  • ShShower25 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)

Access
Drive-up
Land
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Elevation
1,592 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
43.14312, -74.59608
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureSprite Creek (stream) · nearby
  • Nearest townStewart Landing · ~0.1 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelStewart's · ~10.8 mi
  • Propane / LPGPropane · ~17.1 mi
  • Dump station~6.5 mi
  • GroceriesApplegreen · ~13.6 mi
  • PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~9.2 mi
  • Hospital / clinicNathan Littauer Hospital · ~14.3 mi
  • HardwareMohawk Valley Vintage Woods · ~14.5 mi

EV charging — from Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) elsewhere

Other camps near Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Stewart Landing #1 (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 6506, 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 Stewart Landing #1 (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.

Before you go — Stewart Landing #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)

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 →