Agency-listedNY DECFree
West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Drive-up · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY · 43.39660, -74.85759
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 ('West Canada Creek Campsite') 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 West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,412 ft.
Fire & smoke — around West Canada Creek Campsite (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 West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel13 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- ShShower23 mi
- DDump24 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- WWater25 mi
- EVEV fast charger25 mi
- AAir-up26 mi
- LLaundry26 mi
- +Urgent care26 mi
- OOutfitter26 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 13 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 — West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Access
Drive-up
Land
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Elevation
1,412 ft
State
NY
Coordinates
43.39660, -74.85759
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCitgo · ~12.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~23.9 mi
- GroceriesStewart's Shops · ~15.6 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~20.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicInfirmary · ~26.2 mi
- HardwarePoland Plumbing and Hardware Store · ~15.6 mi
EV charging — from West Canada Creek Campsite (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 charger25.1 mi straight-line S — Steet Ponte Chevrolet Herkimer · EV Connect · CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 34 within 50 · 243 within 100 · 623 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)25.4 mi — Schulyer Service Plaza, Frankfort
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.4 mi — Iroquois Travel Plaza, Little Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)21.5 mi — SWTCH Energy Inc., Old Forge, NY (at a parking lot) · SWTCH · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, no confirmation date on the record · 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 331330 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaSchuyler Travel Plaza WB · ~25.4 mi SW
- Highway rest areaIndian Castle Travel Plaza EB · ~26.4 mi S
- Highway rest areaIroquois Travel Plaza WB · ~26.4 mi S
Coming out here — West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) · New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation · NY
- No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
- 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 West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest) elsewhere
Other camps near West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Mud Lake (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~7.9 mi
- Mountain Home Road #1 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~8.2 mi
- Mountain Home Road #2 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~8.5 mi
- Mountain Home Road #4 (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)~8.5 mi
How we know this — West Canada Creek Campsite (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 19711, 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 West Canada Creek Campsite (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 — West Canada Creek Campsite (Ferris Lake Wild Forest)
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →Power off-grid →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 →