Sucker Brook 1 (West Canada Lake Wilderness)
FREE primitive camping in West Canada Lake Wilderness, part of New York's Adirondack Forest Preserve (DEC Region 5, the remote Northville-Placid Trail interior of Hamilton County between Piseco and Indian Lake). This is a DEC-designated primitive tent site ('Sucker Brook 1'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. HIKE-IN: this is a foot-access site in a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness, about 57 feet from the Sucker Brook Trail; plan on roughly a 1.2-mile trip in from the nearest public road/trailhead. Note: a designated site on the Sucker Brook Trail about 1.2 miles in from NY 30; note DEC warns the Sucker Brook Trail is UNMAINTAINED beyond the height of ground between Lewey and Cellar Mountains (about 4.4 miles west of the Lewey Lake Campground), so the through-route is rough. No named water within a third of a mile; no nearby OSM camp_site node, so DEC's coordinate is the sole source. This is interior Adirondack WILDERNESS, not a developed campground -- there is no campground office, fee booth, hookups, showers or potable water, and no car access to the site itself; do not confuse it with the developed fee state campgrounds the DEC page points amenity-seekers to (Lewey Lake, Indian Lake Islands, and the Piseco Lake campgrounds). SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists West Canada Lake Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND, but this is a motor-vehicle-free Wilderness reached only on foot or by canoe, and DEC's live backcountry report (week of 7/23/2026) warns that access from the Jessup River Road (Perkins Clearing) and the Limekiln Lake-Cedar River Road is LIMITED in the off-season because those trailhead roads close seasonally. Interior trails hold water and fords can run high after rain or in spring snowmelt. Plan for a self-sufficient backcountry trip and confirm current road, gate and trail status with the Northville office (518-863-4545) before you go. 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 marked 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 5 Northville Office at (518) 863-4545 (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 backcountry site: expect at most a fire ring -- no privy at most sites, no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so carry water or treat what you take from a stream or 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, road/trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/west-canada-lake-wilderness) or with the Northville office (518-863-4545) before you go; we have not visited.
Everything you need — measured from camp
- ShShower1 mi
- WWater10 mi
- GGrocery11 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- FFuel11 mi
- DDump11 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- RxPharmacy22 mi
- OOutfitter26 mi
- AAir-up43 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 11 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). Open in Google Maps ↗
The site
Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureFalls Brook (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townSabael · ~7.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~1.0 mi
- FuelStewart's · ~11.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationDump station · ~11.2 mi
- GroceriesCharlie Johns · ~10.7 mi
- PharmacyRite Aid Pharmacy · ~21.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicNorth Creek Health Center · ~21.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware - Old Forge Department Store · ~28.2 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Open this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Mason Lake 1 (Jessup River Wild Forest)~3.8 mi
- Mason Lake 1A (Jessup River Wild Forest)~4.0 mi
- Mason Lake 2 (Jessup River Wild Forest)~4.1 mi
- Mason Lake 3 (Jessup River Wild Forest)~4.3 mi
How we know this
What we don’t know
A land record can put you within a few metres 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