Burnt-Rossman State Forest

Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest, spanning an impressive 10,588 acres, proudly holds the distinction of being Schoharie County’s largest state forest. This natural haven has garnered immense popularity among enthusiasts of outdoor pursuits such as hiking, camping, and various recreational activities.

Traversing a segment of this expansive landscape is the Long Path, a trail adorned with aqua blazes, stretching over 350 miles. Within this forest, the Eminence Lean To stands as a notable point of interest along the Long Path, positioned roughly 0.5 miles to the east of Old Cemetery Road. A crossing of Old Cemetery Road can be spotted just to the south of an ancient burial ground.

Among the captivating features of the forest are the campsites discreetly nestled along Betty Brook Road, as well as the inviting spots found at Duck Pond, situated along Burnt Hill Road.

For those with a penchant for angling and boating, Looking Glass Pond, located along Rossman Hill Road, offers an inviting prospect. This charming pond not only facilitates fishing and boating but also boasts well-maintained fishing platforms courtesy of the Fulton Fish and Game Club.

Camping at Duck Pond

|

On the maps of Burnt Rossman, and in the plan for this area, there is a primative campsite. While unmarked there, there are two developed campsites along the pond with stone-built campfire places, and some places where horses have been staked down in the past.

Campsite at Duck Pond

Bubb And Sis Lakes Trail

Duck pond which is mostly a swamp, is quite pretty in the evening. The bugs really weren’t that bad.

Duck Pond at Night

Cleaning up after dinner in the evening.

Camping at Duck Pond

The wildflowers where in full bloom in late June when I was camping out there.

Wildflowers

Wildflowers

Near the campsite is a monument commemerating Charles Hopkins, the first Forest Ranger who maintained these 13,000 acres of state land.

Camping in the Mountain Laurel

In the morning, I drove south toward Blenhium on the rather rough part of the Duck Pond Truck Trail, which becomes much rougher after Duck Pond.

Rough Lower Section of Burnt Hill Road

While I camped out there all night, I only saw one car in the morning driving by.

Here is a map of Duck Pond at Burnt Rossman.


View Larger Map

Burnt Rossman June 2010

|

My truck broke down on Memorial Day Weekend heading out to Burnt-Rossman State Forest, losing it’s brakes once again. After finally getting them fixed, I got out there for the first weekend of June 2010. I wanted to camp up top of Eminence hill, but due to logging in that area, I settled to camp down in my old favorite place, the small primitive campsite along Betty Brook.

At first, I couldn’t find any dry matches. But then after an hour stumbling around with the cigerette lighter in the truck, and a box a wet matches, I got some paper started, and off I went cooking dnner.

Cooking Dinner

Not much has changed at this camp site from last year, or actually in early April when I last camped here. Things are a bit more green for sure though.

I was quite happy to see that my little white gas stove was well behaved, and not leaking. Last year, when I was cooking something, the gas valve leaked, and the stove’s gas valve and I think also tank caught on fire (!!) I moved the stove away from everything, and fortunately it did not explode.

Making Coffee

At night, space is a little tight, so I have to stick all my crap up in the cap of my truck. It’s not a great situation having so little space, but I guess it works okay for now. In a thunderstorm, I can still get into the drivers side, despite having a lot of the camping crap packed in passenger side.

Despite the heavy rain in the morning, it was a nice night up there. From here, I went over to Luthernville State Forest and Clapper Hollow State Forest to explore some of those lands, in my truck.

Here is a map of Betty Brook, in case you don’t know where it is by now. Next time I camp up here, I will probably camp either at the lean-to or up by Doney Hollow Pond on Burnt Hill Road. I haven’t camped up there since Labor Day Weekend 2006.


View Larger Map