Bog River Flow – Popular canoe area that is popular for camping and paddling. Short portage between Hitchens Pond and Lows Lake. Lows Ledge is a 1 mile hike from the portage up to a ledge with expansive views of lakes and surrounding locations. Good to no cell service depending on location.
Brasher State Forest – Roughly 10 miles south of Malone, this expansive state forest is home to the Walter Pratt Camping Area on Red River Pond. Part of Saint Lawrence Flatlands, this area is largely sandy remote country with vast pine forest. Good cell service.
Chazy Lake – There are two campsites along the end of Wildfred Kingdom Road on Chazy Lake. The end of the road to the campsites is gated, and at times the campsites are marshy, but the views from the campsites are amazing.
Deer River State Forest – The “rough” country just north of Adirondack Park in Franklin County, that has camping in a wild environment that is the transition from the Adirondacks to the Saint Lawrence Flatland, about 10 miles outside of Malone. Limited cell service.
Franklin Falls Pond – There are several tent sites along the shore of Franklin Falls Pond that are a short hike down from the road and right along a popular canoe route. No cell service.
Floodwood Road (St Regis Canoe Area) – A very popular and packed in camping area is along Floodwood Road. I camped there once, I don’t recommend it.
Lake Kushaqua – A very scenic lake with a few campsites along it’s shore, near the Buck Pond Campground. I’ve been told these sites are too good to put out on the Internet and can be very hard to get in season. This lake connects with Rainbow Lake under a culvert, however to reach the upper part of Rainbow Lake you must portage.
Horsehoe Lake – Horseshoe Lake in Franklin County, is located about 15 miles south west of Tupper Lake. There are 6 campsites along the lake, plus 4 others on roads nearby. Near the Hitchens Pond put-in for Lows Lake, a popular spot for camping and paddling. Good to no cell service depending on location.
Mountain Pond – Old routing of NY 30 north of the Paul Smith VIC. Rough asphalt road. Near Barnum Pond which is very scenic for paddling, and rather rough Slush Pond Road which offers additonal campsites. No cell service.
Jones Pond – Three campsites located along a rough dirt road along with several tent sites along the north shore of this small lake about 10 miles from Saranac Lake.
Streeter Lake – Old railroad grade with 8 roadside campsites spread out along it’s way, along with a few campsites around the lake and an lean-to.
Union Falls Pond – One drive in site and a few tent sites along the reservoir just north of Franklin Falls Pond. Great views of Whiteface Mountain from this reservoir. No cell service.
From the Department of Seems Like a Good Idea …. 🏕
I decided to upload the Scenic Vistas and Firetowers data from NYSDEC and OpenStreetMap into the Campsite Interactive map. While it works fine now, at first there was a typo in the KML that temporarily broke things, and because the way it was sideloaded into the system, it got cached and broke things. Now it’s fixed, although this may prove to a mistake, crashing slower computer browsers with all the points. But it still is pretty neat.
Cascade Lake – Scenic lake known for Cascade Falls, about a 1/4 mile north of the lake outside of Big Moose and Inlet. Tent campsites that are about a mile back from the road.
Eatonville Road and Otter Creek Area – Otter Creek State Forest and the portion of Independence River Wild Forest that is home to Confusion Flats, is a popular place for equestrians, but the Eatonville Road area is set aside for those who don’t have horses but want to explore the mix of sandy hills that make up the Western Adirondacks.
Francis Lake – If your looking for a campsite you can paddle to on a lake that isn’t so choppy or large near Stillwater Reservoir, consider camping at Francis Lake. Parking is on the shoulder of Number 4 Road outside of Lowville, there also is two designated handicap sites here.
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. No cell service.
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.
Moss Lake – Scenic sandy lake outside of Big Moose/Inlet in the Western Adirondacks. The lake is ringed by an old carriageway and is a popular place to camp and paddle. There is a sign in / peg board when you get to the lake’s parking area to know which sites are available.
Moose River Plains – The state’s largest wilderness drive-to camping area, with over 150 campsites spread out over 35 miles of dirt road.
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 trailhead. No cell service.
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.
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.
