Search Results for “map powley road north campsites 2 ”

Site Map

🌲🌲 Our Public Lands 🌳🌲

Interactive maps with backcountry and roadside camping: New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia & Vermont.
List of NYS DEC Lean-Tos with map coordinates. List of NYS DEC Firetowers with map coordinates and more information.
Google Spreadsheet with Roadside, Primitive and Pay Campsites

Explore the Finger Lakes Trail, Long Path, Northville-Placid Trail and Long Trail/Appalachian in Vermont.
Catskill Park Mountain Peaks, Hudson Valley & Long Island Peaks, Peaks Over 3000 ft Elevation, Highest Peaks in Adirondacks, Interactive Map of All Named Summits in NYS, Blaze Colors in Catskill Park, Trailhead Parking Coordinates and Addresses in the Catskills.

Browse USGS Topo Quads as PDF 🆕 by State Lands or County. You can Bulk Download New & Old USGS Topograpic Maps.

Links to various NY State Land Websites 🆕. Get latest GIS Data from state Web Services.

⛺🌲 Camp 🌲🏕

Moose River Plains – Campsite Listing, Maps and photos of state’s largest free camping area.
Piseco-Powley Road – Campsite Listing, Maps and photos of 15 mile dirt road with camping.
Catskill Park Primitive Campsites – An overview of free camping locations in Catskill Park.
Burnt-Rossman Forest, Cattaraugus County, East Branch Sacandaga River, Finger Lakes National Forest, Madison County, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virigina.

Campsite Coordinates for Bog River Flow / Lows Lake, Hudson River SMA (Buttermilk Falls), Lake Lila, Oswegathie River, Nine-Corner Lake, Pharaoh Lake Wilderness, Saranac River Campsites, Stillwater Lake, Schoharie County, and Sugar Hill State Forest.

Overview of Camping Areas in the Catskills, Green Mountains, Southern Adirondacks, Central Adirondacks, Northern Adirondacks, Allegheny National Forest and Penna. DCNR Motorized Campsites and the Monongahela National Forest West Virginia.

Free Campsite Overview Maps: Adirondack – North Country, Catskills, Central NY, Finger Lakes, Western NY. Interactive Map.

Places I camped in 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Bicycle Trails and “Blackie” My Mountain Bike

Finally bought a mountain bike, after chewing over a mountain vs commuter bike. Really enjoying riding my bike to work and when it rains there is always a bike rack to safely take it back home. One way to get to adventures at Thacher Park is the Nature Bus.

Empire Trail – KMZ and Interactive Map. Parking along it.

More Trailways with KMZ files including the Albany County Rail Trail, Black Diamond Trail, Catharine Valley Trail, Catskill Scenic Trail, Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Rail Trail, Genesee Valley Trail, Link Trail.

🦌🌲 Hunt 🦃🐿

Wildlife Management Units (Deer) – KMZ Map shows the WMU boundaries.

Summer 2019 Aerial Photographs of WMUs

KMZ Maps of Deer Harvest Density by Town: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. By WMU 2017, 2016, 2015.

KMZ Maps of Buck Harvest Density by Town: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. By WMU 2017, 2016

2016 -2019 Deer and Buck Harvest by Town – KMZ Spreadsheet with FIPS codes for making your own calculations.

🎣🐡 Fish 🐟🐠

Parking and Access to Trout Streams – An interactive, downloadable KMZ Map.
Lakes with DEC Contour Maps – A KMZ Map links to Contour Maps for Fishing.

🌨🏔 Sled & Wheel 🚙❄

State Truck Trails Over A Half Mile – Dirt roads to explore in the backcountry.
NYS Statewide Snowmobile Trail System – State trails on public and private lands.

📉📊 Learn 💵📈

Interactive Maps of NY Census – Explore and download KML files.
Charts and Interactive Diagrams – From population to pollution control.
Andy Arthur GitHub – Git my R and Python scripts used to make maps and diagrams.
Use ArcPullR to Get Geospatial Data – Super easy way to connect to get GIS data in R from government servers.
GDAL Opens E00 Files – Most open source programs nowadays can open common geospatial formats.
NY Building Footprints – Where to find on the internet for making maps.
WMS and ArcMap Services – Downloadable CSV file listing services used on the blog.
2022 US Census Population Estimates – Red states, south continue to gain population.
2020 Cartogram of State Population

💳 🏛 Property Taxes 🏠💸

Properties in Albany Pine Bush Study Area, Excel Files: Various Tax Rolls, Find coordinates and political districts, Look Up State Tax Records and a Script for Processing RPTL 1520 PDFs. Match NY SWIS Codes to FIPS Codes and GEOID

🚗🚗 Big Red 🚗🚗

Big Red – Photos and Videos of my lifted truck with its camper shell. Big Red’s Dual Battery Setup for Camp Power, Video Tour and Diagram. Big Red is getting old. What is next? I’ve thought about going carless for a while to save money and reduce pollution. Or maybe going bigger? Or smaller? Five dollar gas sucks.

🔥🌲 Off-Grid Living 🏠🤠

I am seriously thinking about building an off-grid house. I have a first draft. I need to learn CAD! I have a road map towards buying land and building. I concede might have to live with long commute and give up traveling and camping. I need to be strong.

Why off grid? Well, I’m not into contemporary society. I want to own land, but not be called a landowner, and a cabin, not hooked to electrical grid, farm, raise pigs for food and burn my own trash. I’m saving for a better tomorrow, hoping to make the leap to another freer state. Having acreage is important. Cornfields aren’t bad neighbors. Maybe though my vision has grown smaller and more local. More on off-grid living.

I am 16 years into my career and have made some significant progress in my life. I love my job. But I do wonder on all the things I’m missing out but saving sure makes me high. Maybe it will be different when I own my own land — the end of goal of all this saving.

2020 into 2021 during the pandemic was a year of remote work. It was a struggle not having internet at home, worked a lot out of my truck. But I worked remotely from Horseshoe Lake which was super cool.

Generally I like the idea of owning land in a red state, particularly Idaho, Iowa, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin — and Midwest more generally. But I may settle for New York – it’s all about the f-ing money!

Learn to code for free modern HTML, Javascript, Python and SQL at freeCodeCamp and web development at the Odin Project.

Politics

Crunched Election Results with Turnout for Albany County: November 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and Primaries June 2019, Pres/June 2020, June 2021, June 2022, Aug 2022, June 2023.

Albany County Races converted to the new 2023 EDs using Super EDs and Code: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and Primaries June 2019, Pres/June 2020, June 2021, June 2022, Aug 2022.

Above Election Results as zipped Excel files.

Albany County Legi slature Districts 2024 Maps –

Maps Comparing 2017 and 2023 Albany County Election Districts and a Crosswalk Table Showing the Proposition of Voting Age Population in New and Old EDs

Maps of 2022 NYC Assembly Races, NYS Assembly Races, NY Senate Races, Governor’s Race in Erie County and Statewide. Partisan shift in governor race between 2010 and 2018.

A comparison of Democratic Performance 2022 Assembly Districts to those proposed in 2023 by the IRC. Here is latest 4/20/23 IRC Maps, showing ADP and how they change from existing Assembly districts. Most towns upstate, outside of cities, are quite red. Using LATFOR data with R to calculate Average Democratic Performance.

You can scrape employee salary data from SeeThroughNY using R. Other useful investigative resources.

I often think politics is for losers. I’m into the politics of statistical analysis and reading history books.

I believe strongly in the first amendment, second amendment, oppose gun restrictions and I support de-funding the police in favor of lower-cost technology and civilian employees. Maybe use red flag laws for voting to stop dangerous voters? And the media should stop promoting mass-shootings, even if it’s super profitable for all involved. They should tax the media when it promotes violence. I think some people are much too paranoid in politics. How elections are rigged under law to benefit incumbents. But vote, it’s the best option and inexpensive.

Yeah for the third parties! I voted for Larry Sharpe for Governor and Jo Jergenson for President but my views are complicated and often vote for Democrats, after voting Jill Stein Green Party in 2016.

Generally, I think Biden has been a good change over DJT and glad the Trump era is over and are glad prosecutors and grand jurors are holding him responsible by indicting him for many serious felonies. I don’t think Trump can win in 2024, as nothing has changed politically from 2020.

I think rural people should be left alone and not worship government workers or have parades for them. I am no fan of Donald Trump, his speeches are bad, I don’t like Trump’s embrace of radical environmentalists, but do admire the homemade roadside monuments to DJT.

I don’t toke. But whatever. There are too many transit authorities.

The Earth

Why I oppose wilderness areas and parks. It’s trendy to be green these days, but is eco-marketing good for the planet? I visited the Mount Storm Coal Plant and Corridor H.

I worry about a lot about overly-aggressive Climate Change Action, and Undermining Environment Laws for Climate Action. I think we should all admit we are Addicted to Fossil Fuels. These days, urban recycling has become a joke, when it’s still an option at all. It’s better to just buy less shit and avoid the alure of Costcos. I really don’t like how aging radicals have become industrial solar salespeople.

Big bucks are coming to state-designated disadvantaged communities under the CLCP. Which counties and political districts are in line for the the most pork? Interactive map.

I’m a big of farmers who are essentially Living Off the Earth and think Rednecks are Noble Savages. Dairy Farming are key to our rural landscape. I’d trust a farmer or a hunter in a pile of guts he’s butchered over any ivory-tower scientist.

🌎🔆 Industrial Solar 🌞 🏭

Hundreds of multi-acre industrial solar farms are being built in our state. How bad is solar for the environment? We should ask tough questions. Interactive of recently built solar farms, proposed facilities. List of proposed industrial solar facilities. See how the Greenville Solar Farm changed the landscape.

Saving Money

I am not a fan of ESG Investing as it’s not well diversified. I prefer index-funds and other tax-advantaged ways of saving. Why I am concerned about saving enough for retirement, even though I’m in my late 30s. We as a nation should save more, consume less. I like the idea of carbon tax to replace capital gains taxes to discourage consumption.

Mission Fifty & Being Healthier

I am now officially in my 40s! I am building to a better life in my 50s, which means getting up early, walking a lot, saying no to cake and yes to more fruit. In many ways, the forties are an awesome time to be alive.

And eating healthy for less without losing sleep over arsenic. And I don’t think we should subsidize unhealthy habits. How I got started in eating healther. Meals are too focused on meat and carbs due to how we describe them, maybe I eat too many bananas in the office, what to eat while camping, worry more about salt then GMOs, eat more beans. Do spend extra for farmers market peaches, especially doughnut peaches and plums. Consider ethnic supermarkets. Thinking about how to make a healthier macaroni and cheese, spinach-mackeral-pasta salad, quick-cook biscuits and whole-wheat bread. That said, too many recipes are junk food crap. Okay in moderation is not okay. The fact that I’m thinner is not a sign I’m dying.

A few years back I decided to explore my mental illness with therapy, thinking about why I have so much anxiety and how many of my values are rational or just thinking too much rednecks’ burn barrels and how much of a throwaway society we live in. Do I want to change?

I’ve learned to care less about the world, and focus more on myself. Maybe I am happier as I am now, saving and investing a lot towards owning my own land, where I don’t have to deal with all the bullshit of modern life.

Mission Fifty: Getting to the point where I own my own land.
Healthy Eating / Growing My Wealth
Healthy Thoughts / Enjoying Life

Questions, comments? Feel free to email me at andy@andyarthur.org.

I use GNU open source software.
Plus I like buck goats,
because they’re real macho men
spraying their beards with goat urine.

“March is upon us. Get out, enjoy it, be safe with fire and burning shit, and remember soon enough black flies are waiting.” – Andy Arthur

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September 4, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Back to School Day 🎒! It’s a Hump Day although so far traffic hasn’t been too bad. Taking the express in today. 🚌 Wednesday is September 11th 🇸. Hard to believe 18 years has passed since then. A child born after September 11th can vote this year. ☑ I was 18 when the attacks happened, I’m twice that now.

Mostly cloudy and 66 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. ⛅ There is a south breeze at 13 mph. 🍃 wit. There is a touch of humidity with the dew point around 60 degrees. The skies will clear around 4 pm. Not a terrible walk but brisk because I was a little bit late.🚶

Today will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 1pm and 4pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Mostly cloudy ☁ , with a high of 79 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 65 at 3pm. Southwest wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 89 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1929.

The sun will set at 7:24 pm with dusk around 7:53 pm, which is one minute and 43 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 59 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 13 hours of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 47 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be scattered showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then isolated showers between 7pm and 8pm. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy , with a low of 54 degrees at 5am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 9th. Maximum dew point of 59 at 6pm. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 37 occurred back in 1974.

Yesterday was a busy day as expected 💼 but what got needed to be done got done. I ended up going to the library for a while last night to work on a work project that I had fallen behind schedule somewhat.📚 I was going to work on the blog and some other stuff down there, but the work stuff consumed all my time, and then it was time to go home. Then I ended up going home, and just watching a video I downloaded on my laptop.📼 I also put away my camping gear. I misplaced my Bluetooth adapter — I think it’s in my truck but it was getting dark and I couldn’t find it last night.

Still looks like this weekend will be sunny but cool. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Maximum dew point of 55 at 7pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Maximum dew point of 55 at 6am. Typical average high for the weekend is 76 degrees.

This weekend I am thinking I’ll get a hair cut, 💈and maybe then on Sunday go hiking 🚶 before I go out to my parents house, maybe down in the Catskills. Or maybe I’ll head up to Partridge Run and do some hunting, hiking, and fishing. Not totally sure. 💭 I don’t want to plan a big adventure to save money, and also because I have a lot of things I need to do around the house, including getting the Save the Pine Bush Map Pyramid Properties Map printed at a print shop before next week. Next Tuesday I’ll be down in New York City, so that will take up most of my day in the evening. The hearing is Wednesday.

Two weeks from Saturday is the Pine Bush Bird Watching Hike 🐦🕊 so I will probably stay in town that weekend, and then there is only one more weekend in September — and the first week of October I’m leaving for West Virginia. 🚘 So who knows how many more times I’ll get out this month. I do think I want to do a fall trip up to Piseco-Powley Road, although sometimes those campsites get snapped up quickly during hunting season. 🐿️ That said, my West Virginia trip is early enough in October this year so I might be able to do a late October trip.🍂

I’ve been continuing to research the various Python and Javascript libraries available for interacting with Renology Rover MPPT controller. 🔳 I am increasingly thinking that’s what I will get around Christmas this year, when sales are available, and I want to hook up the Raspberry Pi to use it to broadcast battery status information to my phone using Bluetooth, and then also read data from the starting battery, and dumping excess current into the starting battery to keep it topped up. Using a Raspberry Pi and the MPPT controller could minimize the amount of wires and components I need to build my smart relay, reducing the chance of failure.💻

Today in 1970, Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile. 🇨🇱 Only three years later on September 11th, he would be assassinated with the help of the United States by one of the most notorious tyrants Augusto Pinochet. ✊ The Price is Right went on CBS for the first time in 1972, and over the past five decades hasn’t changed much.🤑 I used to like watching it on my grandfather’s TV some 30 years ago.📺

Also, in 1949 The Peekskill riots were anti-communist race riots directed against African Americans and Jews attending a civil rights benefit concert. 🎷 The catalyst for the rioting was an announced concert by black singer Paul Robeson, who was well known for his strong pro-trade union stance, civil rights activism, communist affiliations, and anti-colonialism.⚖ The concert, organized as a benefit for the Civil Rights Congress, was scheduled to take place on August 27 in Lakeland Acres.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until 7 PM Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 6:59 pm with dusk at 7:27 pm. On that day in 2018, we had rain and temperatures between 84 and 68 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 71 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1891.

Adirondack Wild Forests I Camped in 2011

This past year, I got up to nine different Adirondack Wild Forests as part of my explorations of the Adirondack Park. Did a lot of hiking, kayaking, and camping. The map below shows the Adirondack Park’s various units.

I camped in Aldrich Pond (1 night), Black River (4), Debar Mountain (3), Ferris Lake (5), Independence River (2), Moose River Plains (3), Taylor Pond (2), Vandwhacker Mountain (1), and Wilcox Lake (4). My preference for certain Wild Forests over others, is not just based on scenic beauty or activities to do, as much as closeness to Albany and compatability with weekend plans.

I saw quite a bit of Adirondack Park for sure.

Aldrich Pond (1 night)

Camped one night on Streeter Lake Road in Aldrich Pond Wild Forest near the hamlet of Oswagatchie. Paddled part of Little River and Streeter Lake.

Black River (4 nights)

Camped two nights at Wolf Lake Landing Road. Paddled around Woodhull Lake, hiked over to Remsen Falls.

Camped two nights at North Lake. Sat down by the lake, enjoyed the moonlight. Explored Atwell and part of South Lake.

Debar Mountain (3 nights)

I camped for two nights at Mountain Pond near Paul Smiths, NY, while visiting the Saint Regis Canoe Area.

Then coming back from North Country, I decided to spend a night at Jones Pond, which is between Rainbow Lake and Paul Smiths.

Ferris Lake (5 nights)

I did two weekend trips up to Ferris Lake Wild Forest. The first was during Memorial Day Weekend, which was pretty wet and rainy for most of the weekend. The second was during the mid-summer on a super oppressive, hot and humid day out. While I explored Edick Roadside Camping, and also Good Luck Lake, both times I roadside camped on Piseco-Powley Road, three nights at PR 9, one night at PR 4, and one night at 11.

Independence River (2 nights)

Camped two nights at Independence River Wild Forest on Smith Road, at field Campsite 1. There are ten campsites on this road, including one with an outhouse. Several of them are located in old logging load pads, that are now mowed as fields for camping. Nothing particularly fancy here.

Moose River Plains (3 nights)

Planned to spend a week at Moose River Plains, brakes failed on third day up there. Still got three days of fall camping in along Cedar River – Limekiln Lake Road. Camped one night at Campsite 24, and two at Campsite 57 this year.

Taylor Pond (2 nights)

Camped up at Union Falls for two nights in the fall, while hiking and exploring several locations in Clinton County and eastern portion of the North Country.

Vandwhacker Mountain (1 nights)

Camped one night at Cheney Pond at the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest.

Wilcox Lake (4 nights)

Camped three nights up off of NY 8 — one at an old Gravel Pit along the East Sacandaga River in April when the snow was still there, two nights at Fox Lair Campsite, and one night at Hope Falls Road, which is off of NY 30, near Northville.

Ferris Lake Designated Roadside Campsites

The most popular area in Ferris Lake Wild Forest is to camp along the 20-mile long Piseco-Powley, a spectacular seasonally-gated, state truck trail. Other roads in area provide more remote roadside camping opporunities and are listed below.

The Ferris Lake Wild Forest Unit Management Plan mentions the following about Roadside Camping in the area…

“The FLWF provides a variety of different camping opportunities. The interior portion of the unit contains numerous primitive tent sites that are located along the shores of the more popular lakes. These sites are designated with a yellow camping disk and often contain a fire ring. There are also a number of car accessible sites located along secondary access roads, such as the Powley-Piseco Road, G Lake Road, Mountain Home Road Extension and Edick Road. Most of these sites can accommodate small camper trailers. There are no lean-tos within the unit.”

— NYSDEC Ferris Lake Wild Forest UMP.

Roadside Campsites Designated in UMP.

Road	Number of Campsites
Edick Road	2
G-Lake Road	3
Jerseyfield Road	2
Mountain Home Road Extension (Rough Truck Trail Past the Floe)	6
Powley-Piesco Road (Open Late Spring-December) Northern Hardwoods Section Near Mud Pond Central Section Near Marshlands of Powley Place Southern Section Near Potholers	Total: 22 5 10 7

More Resources…

CNY Hiking: Hiking Vanderwhacker Mountain

NYS DEC: Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest UMP

Location of Roads with Camping in Ferris Lake UMP.

Designated Campsites Along Edick Road.

This map is from the Ferris Lake Wild Forest UMP.

Designated Campsites Along G Lake Road.

Please note that the roadside campsites are noted by “GLR”. The “GL” sites are traditional primative tent sites, beyond the gated end of G Lake Road, that you have to backpack into. This map is from the Ferris Lake Wild Forest UMP.

Designated Campsites Along Piseco-Powley Road.

These maps are from the Ferris Lake Wild Forest UMP.

Designated Campsites Along Mountain Home.

This map is from the Ferris Lake Wild Forest UMP.

Camping Areas in Southern Adirondacks

Camping Areas in Southern Adirondacks ⛺

East Branch of Sacanadaga River, NY 8 – Roughly 10 campsites along NY 8. These are easily accessed throughout the year, as the road is plowed except when the snow banks are high during the winter. East Branch is not good for fishing due to wide variance in water levels, however there are some nice pools in sections of river for summer swimming. Lots of road noise. Some of the sites have cell service. Nearby locations include Cod Pond, East Branch Trail and Kibby Pond Trail.

Edick Road – There are a handful of very hidden campsites off of Edick Road. This road may be closed to vehicles due to wash outs autumn 2019, but worth a walk to explore this area.

Fawn Lake – A 1/2 mile hike back to a scenic lake ringed by primitive campsites outside of Lake Pleasant. Two miles beyond it is the scenic Willis Vly, which doesn’t have developed campsites but it’s remote wilderness where you might see a Moose or other wildlife.

Garnet Lake – Tent sites, some with drive-up access along the lake. No cell service, much of the upper road here is not maintained in the winter. Popular in the summer, no cell service.

Good Luck Lake – Scenic lake off of the West Branch Sacanadaga River that is ringed with tent sites that can be walked in from the Good Luck Lake parking area area or paddled in.

Hope Falls Road – Two or three campsites along the end of Hope Falls Road, some are drive-in only tent sites. Near the Tenant Creek Falls Trail. No cell service. Open June to autumn snowfall.

Harrisburg Road – There is a set of very rustic designated campsites along the rough Harrisburg Road past Harrisburg Lake. Somewhat near Crane Mountain, a couple mile hike to and Wilcox Lake. No cell service.

Lester Flow and Cheney Pond – Scenic lake that is popular for paddling. The 1/2 mile road down from Boreas Road as of June 2020 is closed due to washouts. Tent sites exist along the lake, along with one drive-to site on the road down there.

Mason Lake – Small lake located about 10 miles north of Speculator and 5 miles south of Lewey Lake that has several tent and drive-in campsites along it’s shore. Good to fair cell service here. Nice to hear loons, one of the best bass ponds in the area.

North Lake Reservoir – There are roughly 15 campsites on the east shore of North Lake Reservoir. Popular place in the summer, regularly staffed by conservation students. Noise from motorboats. No cell service. Nice if you want to camp right on water, hear loons at night..

Northwood Club Road – In Minerva, this road crosses the Boreas River and has several roadside campsites, and passes by Huntley Pond, the NL Tahawus Railroad (which can be hiked to the Boreas River at Hudson River), and the Blue Ledges on the Hudson tailhead.

Perkins Clearing – Conservation easement lands. Good to fair cell service here. Great place for hunting and wildlife observation as it’s mixed timber country. Near Mason Lake, Speculator, Pillsbury Mountain and Cedar Lakes.

Piseco-Powley Road – A dozen campsites along a 13 mile road with short hikes including Big Alderbed, House Pond, Sand Lake and the popular Potholers/Brayhouse Brook waterfall for swimming. As of June 2020, road is closed in Stratford/Fulton County portion, road is open north of Potholers/Brayhouse Brook (access via Piseco). Very limited cell service here.

Pumpkin Hollow Road – Three campsites above Willis Lake. Remote country except for the site on Willis Lake, no cell service. On the Willis – Wilcox Lake Trail. Very quiet area. Open June to autumn snowfall. No cell service here.

Rockwood State Forest – Three campsites along the end of Church Road which can be accessed by driving past the cemetery in the hamlet. Scenic lake, good fishing. Cell service available, but bring a trash bucket and gloves as litter can be a problem. Nice trails to stroll around in the old Rockwood Estate.

Stewart Landing – There are four campsites on a rough road that loops off of Stewart Landing Road. Popular area in the summer, Canada Lake is great for paddling and informal swimming. Also consider hiking back to Hilderbrandt Vly and Glassgow Lake from here. Moderate to poor cell service here.

Vanderwhacker Road -Five or six campsites exist along Vanderwhacker Road, which can be muddy in the spring and icy in late autumn. Additional designates campsites exist near where NY 28N crosses the Vanderwhacker River. Near the trail to the Vanderwhacker Firetower, No cell service.

White House, Wells – A grouping of 5 or 6 campsites at the end of White House in West River Road. Scenic area, old camp, with fields and a chimney. Campsites are kind of close together, not a wilderness experience. Near the North Country Placid Trail, lots of blueberries in mid-summer. No cell service. Open June to autumn snowfall.

Woodhull Lake Reservoir – Off of NY 28 in McKeevers, about 10 miles south of Old Forge. Not only is this beautiful reservoir to paddle, there are some campsites along the shore, with drive-to campsites along Wolf Lake Landing Road which leads to it. Part of Wolf Lake Landing Road is erroded, but other parts are fresh stone-dust. It’s remote wilderness but there good cell service in mcuh of the area.

Camping Log

January – June 2011.

Roadside: 9, Tent: 1, Leanto: 0 nights …

Date	Campsite	Where	Type	Notes
06/19/11	Campsite On Forest Road 70 Near Lye Wilderness	Forest Road 70, Green Mountains NF, Kelley Stand, VT	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Hiked towards Big Alder, but couldn’t cross stream. Rainy day, did a little paddling in Powley Place. Nicer day on Memorial Day
06/04/11	Campsite On Back Side of Stockmans Island	Stockmans Island, Hudson River State Park, NY	Tent camping after paddling in on kayak	Put in at Coxscakie Boat Launch, camped on an island in Hudson River.
05/29/11	Powley Place (Campsite 9)	Piseco-Powley Road, Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Stratford, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Hiked towards Big Alder, but couldn’t cross stream. Rainy day, did a little paddling in Powley Place. Nicer day on Memorial Day.
05/28/11	Powley Place (Campsite 9)	Piseco-Powley Road, Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Stratford, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Rainy day. Hiked around Powley Place.
05/27/11	Powley Place (Campsite 9)	Piseco-Powley Road, Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Stratford, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Left work early, drove up there. Nice evening before the rain.
05/21/11	Cheney Pond	Cheney Pond, Vanderwhacker Wild Forest, Newcomb, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Explored Vanderwhacker Wild Forest. Kayaked around Cheney Pond couple of times, explored Tawandus Ruins.
05/20/11	Fox Lair Campsite	NY Route 8, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Bakers Mills, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Much nicer this time, a little rain, things greened up. Got a little rain, very damp.
04/22/11	Fox Lair Campsite	NY Route 8, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Bakers Mills, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Woke up to 3” of cold wet snow and rain, decided to go home and abandon trip.
04/21/11	Gravel Pit Campsite	NY Route 8, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Griffin, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Cold morning, trees covered with ice. Hike up around part of 13th Lake near North Creek, NY
04/09/11	Moscow Hill Horse Camp	Brookfield State Forest aka Charles Baker State Forest, Brookfield, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	One other camper here, no equestrians this time of year. Wanted to camp on Cherry Ridge, however too much snow there.

March – December 2010.

Roadside: 28, Tent: 2, Leanto: 1 nights …

Date	Campsite	Where	Type	Notes
12/4/10	Old NY 8	Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Griffin, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Very cold. Ice and snow on truck in morning. Kind of close to NY 8, but all the best campsites taken by hunters.
11/12/10	Lower Assembly Area	Sugar Hill State Forest, Watkins Glen, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Woke up surrounded by Horse Trailers and equestrians in morning. Assembly area was closed this time of year, but horse trails still widely used.
11/11/10	Informal campsite on Forest Road 151	Allegheny National Forest, Near Sayre, PA	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Second night at Allegheny National Forest. I liked the site I stayed in the previous day a lot, and the days where too short (sunset at 4:45 PM), so no time to waste searching for a site.
11/10/10	Informal campsite on Forest Road 151	Allegheny National Forest, Near Bradford, PA	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Many sites in Allegheny National Forest. This one I particularly liked, so I decided to stay there.
11/09/10	Aspah Run Camping Area	Aspah, near Wellsboro, PA	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): paid primitive area	Decided due to a lack of a time due to early sunset, would have done roadside/back country camping, but for $10, and being alone, it was fine.
11/08/10	Aspah Run Camping Area	Aspah, near Wellsboro, PA	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): paid primitive area	Camped here, because I didn’t want to camp back country, and didn’t know the area well enough.
11/07/10	Lower Assembly Area	Sugar Hill State Forest, Watkins Glen, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Originally wanted to camp at Birds Eye Lake or something like that, but the map I had got me lost, and I couldn’t find the road campsite up there.
11/06/10	Campsite 7	Stoney Pond State Forest, Madison, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Frost/ice on puddles in morning. Some snow in some places.
09/05/10	Campsite 56	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Rain showers, enjoyed staying in a very private and quite campsite up in the sandy plains.
09/04/10	Campsite 56	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Hiked to Mitchells Pond. More rain. It was kind of wet and cold.
09/03/10	Campsite 56	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Kind of wet and rainy, hung out in camp, did a little exploring of the plains. Also, paddled in Cedar River Flow for a while. Enjoyed the very private drive in site here.
09/02/10	Campsite 2	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	I left work at 5 PM…. but with traffic, and wanting to get a pizza to eat on the way up, didn’t get to Moose River Plains until after 9 PM. Very dark, very tired, just wanted a place to collapse.
08/28/10	An Designated Campsite	Big Pond, near Margretville, NY	Kayak in Primitive Campsite: no charge	Did a little hiking an exploring around Ashfield Pinnacle, then drove south to Big Pond. Lantern did not work, a very dark night.
08/27/10	Betty Brook Campsite	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Nice night after work…. drove around Mallet Pond State Forest, looking for campsites and interesting places to explore.
08/14/10	Mountain Pond Campsite 4	Mountain Pond, Paul Smiths, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Last day of NY 30 Kayak vacation. Mountain Pon was nice, very remote, just off of NY 30.
08/13/10	Floodwood Road Campsite 3	Floodwood Road, Fish Creek Ponds, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Crowded, stayed down by Poliwog Pond… wouldn’t go there again.
08/12/10	Horseshoe Lake Campsite 8 (about a ½ mile from lake)	NY 421, Horseshoe Lake, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Couldn’t get a site right on Horseshoe Lake. Discovered Lows Lake – amazing.
08/11/10	Wakely Pond Campsite 7	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Wanted to paddle Cedar River Flow and enjoy camping up near water …
08/10/10	Undesigned Campsite, west side of road	Mason Lake, Spectulator, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	First day of kayak vacation, as I drove up from work, decided to go somewheres not too far away …
07/31/10	Undesigned Campsite, west side of road	Mason Lake, Spectulator, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Hiked to Pillsbury Mountain Firetower, then camped down at Mason Lake.
07/18/10	Otter Brook Campsite (MRP Number 110)	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped by the Otter Brook Bridge, at a rather large campsite. Not my favorite campsite, and it poured out.
07/17/10	Wakely Pond Campsite 8	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped down by Cedar River Flow, in a drive in site, a short way from the Flow, but also pretty private.
07/16/10	Wakely Pond Campsite 8	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped down by Cedar River Flow, in a drive in site, a short way from the Flow, but also pretty private.
07/15/10	Wakely Pond Campsite 8	Moose River Plains, Inlet, Adirondacks, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped down by Cedar River Flow, in a drive in site, a short way from the Flow, but also pretty private.
06/27/10	Balsam Swamp Camping Area Site 3	Balsam Pond, East East Pharsalia, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Came back to here, after exploring Labrador Hollow.
06/26/10	Balsam Swamp Camping Area Site 3	Balsam Pond, East East Pharsalia, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Stop over between Burnt-Rossman and Labrador Hollow. Liked camping here in the past.
06/25/10	Duck Pond Campsite	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Summit, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped up a Duck Pond for a change, after driving out here after work.
06/05/10	Leonard Hill Informal Overlook and Campsite	Leonard Hill, Broome Center, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped up by the Firetower at an informal campsite, watched sun set, weather turned to rain by morning …
06/04/10	Betty Brook Campsite	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Camped at Betty Brook, very humid, drove down to Utsaythana Firetower.
05/15/10	Alder Pond Campsite 2	Alder Pond, Balsam Lake Wild Forest, Margretville, NY	Tent campsite…. short backpack in: no charge	Camped at one of the campsites around Alder Pond.
04/03/10	Betty Brook Campsite	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY	Roadside camping, in a tent	Didn’t have the cap on my truck yet, but wanted to roadside camp.
03/21/10	Cotton Hill Lean To	Cotton Hill, Middleburgh	Short backpack into a leanto	There was about a foot of snow up by Cotton Hill Leanto on first day of spring, but due to abnormally warm weather, wasn’t all that cold until late into the night.

August – October 2009.

Roadside: 3, Tent: 0, Leanto: 0 (thru August 2009) …

Date	Campsite	Where	Type	Notes
10/11/09	Betty Brook Campsite	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	First really cold evening of the year, very much fall like. I didn’t bring my warm coat with me.
10/10/09	Betty Brook Campsite	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	Fairly cold night, but not as bad as one might have thought. On way out, stopped at Leonard Hill to take some pictures.
08/08/09	Betty Brook – informal campsite along road	Burnt-Rossman Hill State Forest, Schoharie, NY	Roadside camping (in pickup truck): no charge	After hiking Slide Mountain and Balsam Lake Firetower. Dead tired …

What Happened to Ferris Lake and Wilcox Lake Unit Management Plans?

What Happened to Ferris Lake and Wilcox Lake Unit Management Plans? The DEC released drafts and took public comment, yet never attempted to APA or Comissioner approval. The typical process for Unit Management Plans is:

Conduct resource inventory of the unit area.
Solicit written and verbal input from the public through press releases and meetings.
Development of a draft plan and address State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA) issues.
Prepare a draft plan (for the APA to review in the Adirondack Park).
Release draft UMP and conduct public hearings.
Resolve issues, revise the plan (with APA review for compliance with the APSLMP).
DEC Commissioner gives final approval and the UMP is adopted.

According to the DEC’s Unit Management Plans website, the following parcels of land in Adirondack Park had Draft Unit Management Plans and took public comment. The DEC got through Step 4 (Draft Plan and Public Comment), yet no final document was approved:

Ferris Lake Wild Forest – Public comment closed on December 2006
Wilcox Lake Wild Forest – Public comment closed on March 2007

These two parcels represent the two largest wild forests in the Southen Adirondacks, with the largest “developed” recreation facilities such as primative campsites, hiking and snowmobile trails. They are located within 30 miles of major interstate highways, namely the Thruway and Adirondack Northway.

Ferris Lake Wild Forest.

Wilcox Lake Wild Forest.

The Adirondack State Land Master Plan describes Wild Forests as:

A wild forest area is an area where the resources permit a somewhat higher degree of human use than in wilderness, primitive or canoe areas, while retaining an essentially wild character. A wild forest area is further defined as an area that frequently lacks the sense of remoteness of wilderness, primitive or canoe areas and that permits a wide variety of outdoor recreation.

Those areas classified as wild forest are generally less fragile, ecologically, than the wilderness and primitive areas. Because the resources of these areas can withstand more human impact, these areas should accommodate much of the future use of the Adirondack forest preserve. The scenic attributes and the variety of uses to which these areas lend themselves provide a challenge to the recreation planner. Within constitutional constraints, those types of outdoor recreation that afford enjoyment without destroying the wild forest character or natural resource quality should be encouraged.

Many of these areas are under-utilized. For example the crescent of wild forest areas from Lewis County south and east through Old Forge, southern Hamilton and northern Fulton Counties and north and east to the Lake George vicinity can and should afford extensive outdoor recreation readily accessible from the primary east-west transportation and population axis of New York State.

It’s not totally clear why the Spitzer and Paterson administrations did not proceed to revise the plans and seek final approval by the DEC Commissioner. Some issues one can think of:

The issue of controversal proposed road closures under Section 212, especially in the Wilcox Lake UMP. Many residents expressed concerns over certain roads are hearings and comments.
The issue of road-side camping? Developed facilities shown in maps appear to be incompatible with the seperation guidelines of the APSLMP, especially along Route 8 in Wilcox Lake and Piesco-Powley Road in Ferris Lake?
The role of ATVs and off-road vehicles in the UMP — should they be allowed? How do they fit in the APSLMP? This was not proposed in the draft UMP, however many in the public have expressed support for such facilities.

It’s too bad that these issues can not be resolved in a way that all sides can agree on. Closing off the campsites and the roads would be a disappointing option, yet at some point the state really should approve a UMP as:

Without a UMP, the management of these Forest Preserve lands can easily become a series of uncoordinated reactions to immediate problems. No new facility construction, designation, or major rehabilitation can be undertaken until a UMP is completed and approved, with current management limited to routine maintenance and emergency actions. A written plan stabilizes management despite changes in personnel and integrates related legislation, legal codes, rules and regulations, policies, and area specific information into a single reference document. Other benefits of the planning process that are valuable to the public include the development of area maps, fishing information handouts, and a greater awareness of recreational opportunities and needs within specific areas of the Adirondack Park. In view of tight budgets and competition for monetary resources, plans that clearly identify area needs have greater potential for securing necessary funding, legislative support, and public acceptance.

Let’s hope there can be some kind of compromise reached, so future facilities and investments can forward on these important pieces of land in the Southern Adirondacks.