Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest)

FREE primitive camping in Grass River Wild Forest, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 6, the Tooley Pond Road waterfall country of St. Lawrence County in the northwestern Adirondacks). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Stone Dam Campsite 9', on Middle Branch Grasse River), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free'. HIKE-IN: reach it on foot -- about 22 feet from the nearest mapped trail and 1039 feet from the nearest mapped road (an unclassified road (~1,040 ft off)), on Middle Branch Grasse River (~149 ft from the water). Note: HIKE-IN on the Old Stone Dam Trail (~2.3 miles per the DEC page); about 22 feet off the trail and about 150 feet from the Middle Branch of the Grasse River. This is interior Adirondack Forest Preserve, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth, hookups, showers or potable water; do not confuse it with a developed fee campground such as Higley Flow State Park to the north. SEASON / CLOSURE: DEC lists these Wild Forest parcels as open YEAR-ROUND. The combined Grass River Complex page also notes an annual Oct 1 - Dec 15 closure -- but that closure applies to the separate Grass River CONSERVATION EASEMENT TRACT, NOT to this Wild Forest site, so it does not close this spot. Even so, these are unplowed backcountry trailheads and woods roads: expect snow-covered or impassable access in winter and early spring, and confirm current road/trail status with the Potsdam office before a late-fall, winter or early-spring trip. RULES: this is a designated, first-come first-served free site -- no reservation and no fee. Look for the yellow 'Camp Here' disc that marks each designated site. Standard Adirondack Forest Preserve rules apply: camp only at the designated site, keep 150 feet from water/trails/roads unless the site itself is closer, and 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 6 Potsdam Office at (315) 265-3090 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch)). DEC prints no other night limit for these sites, so plan around that statewide 3-night default and confirm on site. This is a primitive site: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the river or pond. 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 and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/grass-river-complex) or with the Potsdam office ((315) 265-3090) before you go; we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

EV charging — from Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

• Nearest public DC fast charger20.8 mi straight-line N — EVolve NY Potsdam · Electrify America · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
• Public DC fast stations within reach4 within 25 mi · 16 within 50 · 130 within 100 · 356 within 150
• Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)20.9 mi — Potsdam, NY - Tesla Supercharger, Potsdam
• Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.2 mi — Otto's Abode, Wanakena, NY (at a parking lot) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-03-14 · hours: 24 hours daily
• Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Canton, Canton, 19.3 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; guest use 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 279325 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

• No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.

Open Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest) elsewhere

Other camps near Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Stone Dam Campsite 8 (Grass River Wild Forest)~0.0 mi
• Stone Dam Campsite 10 (Grass River Wild Forest)~0.0 mi
• Stone Dam Campsite 11 (Grass River Wild Forest)~0.1 mi
• Brumagin Rapids Campsite (Grass River Wild Forest)~5.6 mi

How we know this — Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest)

What we don’t know about Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River 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 — Stone Dam Campsite 9 (Grass River Wild Forest)