Public Lands Policy

NY State Nature and Historical Preserve

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New York State has the well known Forest Preserve in Adirondacks and Catskills (provided for in Section 1) and State Forests and Wildlife Management Areas (provided for in Section 2) outside of the Blue-line designated Forest Preserve Boundaries. Yet, on November 4, 1969 the voters of New York State admended the consitution to add a new section that called for a new type of land — The State Nature and Historic Preserve — now managed by the new Department of Environment Conservation.

Article XIV Section 4:Protection of natural resources; development of agricultural lands.

The policy of the state shall be to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products.

The legislature, in implementing this policy, shall include adequate provision for the abatement of air and water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise, the protection of agricultural lands, wetlands and shorelines, and the development and regulation of water resources.

The legislature shall further provide for the acquisition of lands and waters, including improvements thereon and any interest therein, outside the forest preserve counties, and the dedication of properties so acquired or now owned, which because of their natural beauty, wilderness character, or geological, ecological or historical significance, shall be preserved and administered for the use and enjoyment of the people.

Properties so dedicated shall constitute the state nature and historical preserve and they shall not be taken or otherwise disposed of except by law enacted by two successive regular sessions of the legislature.

Since 1969, only 35 facilities have been added to the State Nature and Historic Preserve. While most of these properties are not contigous, they consist of some the most interesting public lands in NY State.

Zoom in to see the specific properties.


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Here is a list of the properties, sorted by alphabetical order.

State Nature and Historical Preserve Acres
ALBANY PINE BUSH PRESERVE 1581.3
BARE HILL UNIQUE AREA 400.9
BOG BROOK UNIQUE AREA 131.7
BRANDOW POINT UNIQUE AREA 62.9
CAMILLUS FOREST UNIQUE AREA 351.5
CARPENTER FALLS UNIQUE AREA 38.2
CASTLE ROCK UNIQUE AREA 130.2
CROTON GORGE UNIQUE AREA 20.9
DAVID A. SARNOFF PINE BARRENS PRESERVE 2,572.5
EDGEWOOD OAK BRUSH PLAINS PRESERVE 729.6
HAWK WATCH TRAILWAY 5.0
HENDERSON SHORES UNIQUE AREA 890.3
JUNIUS POND UNIQUE AREA 105.1
KOWAWESE UNIQUE AREA 165.0
LABRADOR HOLLOW UNIQUE AREA 1464.4
LITTLE GALLOO ISLAND UNIQUE AREA 44.8
LONG ISLAND PINE BARRENS 581.2
MIDDLE GROUND FLATS UNIQUE AREA 372.4
MOUNT LORETTO UNIQUE AREA 211.0
NELSON SWAMP UNIQUE AREA 889.7
NEVERSINK RIVER UNIQUE AREA 6,579.9
OLD WESTBURY CONSERVATION-UNIQUE AREA 31.7
ONONDAGA ESCARPMENT UNIQUE AREA 52.3
RAYWOOD UNIQUE AREA 316.5
REINSTEIN WOODS NATURE PRESERVE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER 270.6
ROME SAND PLAINS UNIQUE AREA 1,786.3
RUSH OAK OPENINGS UNIQUE AREA 230.6
SALMON RIVER FALLS UNIQUE AREA 112.4
SPLIT ROCK UNIQUE AREA 34.1
SQUAW ISLAND UNIQUE AREA 0.2
THE GULF UNIQUE AREA 605.5
ZOAR VALLEY UNIQUE AREA 995.6
Total State Nature and Historical Preserve 21,764.5

Where to Camp in Black River Wild Forest

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I have spent a lot of this past summer exploring the Black River Wild Forest, and decided it would be a good to share my experiences and some of the roadside and other campsites I’ve discovered along the way. As of September 2011, Lands and Forests in Albany doesn’t have these campsites in the central inventory, so all of this campsite data is based on personal exploration of these campsites.

North Lake.

Some of the best camping in the Black River Wild Forest is North Lake in Atwell. There are 22 campsites — many of them vehicle accessible along this man made lake. The southern end of the lake has some private houses and cabins on it, but it still is relatively pristine and beautiful. Most sites have outhouses and fire pits. Some but not all sites have limited wood supply. All sites designated.

Motors are allowed on this lake — as are on all wild forest lakes — so don’t be surprised to hear a jet ski or small boat on there. There are no public boat ramp on lake, so only hand launched boats can get on the lake.

Click to download or print this map.

Total Greenhouse Gas Equalivent, by Country

South Lake.

South Lake is another Erie Canal Corp / Black River Reservoir near North Lake. There is a single large campsite on South Lake, with a private in-holding on the other side of the lake. There may be other campsites here, as I didn’t explore this whole lake. There is an outhouse here, grassy field for camping, fire pit.

Click to download or print this map.

Hudson Valley

Reeds Pond.

There are a couple of campsites along Reeds Pond, North Lake Road, and Farr Road as you head up to North Lake from Forestport. This pristine, but relatively small pond is fairly popular for camping.

Click to download or print this map.

Beaver Flow State Forest

Wolf Lake Road.

There are 5 fairly remote roadside campsites along Wolf Lake Road, as you head down to Woodhull Lake. Note also how there are lean-tos at Bear Lake and Woodhull Lake. The roadside campsites have no facilities, and some can be muddy as they are not hardened with gravel.

Wolf Lake Road has recently been rebuilt and resurfaced with gravel, however spring rains did lead to one part that may lead low-clearance cars to bottom out. Camp on this road, and your unlikely to see more then 2-3 people drive by on any particular day.

Be aware that the last 1/8th of a mile to Woodhull Lake is gated, so you’ll have to carry your boat the rest of the way down to the lake.

Click to download or print this map.

Adirondack Lakes

Remsen Falls.

Remsen Falls, which probably should be called “Remsen Rapids”, is a popular swimming place, and offers two well used campsites. There is an outhouse and picnic table down here. The trail follows a gated dirt road.

Click to download or print this map.

Roadway

What A Good Roadside Campsite Should Have

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1) Roughly a quarter mile separation between each campsite to enhance privacy, allow people to make noise or listen to music into the night, without disturbing other parties.

Moose Plains Road in Plains

2) A flat place to park and set up camp, far enough off the road to provide some privacy buffer and ensure safety – i.e. not having people putting up tents right next to the truck trail where cars could be passing at any moment.

Along the Kinderhook Creek

3) Provides wild forest experience, with tall and old growth or nearly old growth trees around the site.

Camping Back at Fox Lair

4) Not aggressive regulation of campsites, minimal patrolling by government bureaucrats.

Camping Only At Designated Sites

5) Provides a relatively flat and open place to camp with some gravel or elevation so it’s not too muddy even after use.

Campsite

6) A clean site without a lot of litter – people should be encouraged to burn their burnable garbage, and make sure to pack out anything that can’t be burned. Fireplaces and firepits are much more desirable then stone rings.

Campsite 21

7) Outhouses help enhance sanitary conditions at campsites, especially well used ones. Too often campsites have litter in the form of toilet paper, and to a lesser extent human waste, from it getting dug up by animals.

Outhouse

8) Picnic tables are nice to have but not essential. Bring your own table!

Clothes Line

Camping on Hope Falls and Pumpkin Hollow Roads

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There are several campsites a on side roads, little ways off of NY 30, as you head North from Northville towards Wells NY. These campsites are nice if you starting off into the Adirondacks, and are looking for a convenient place to camp for the night, and want campsites quieter then those on NY 8 / East Sacanadaga River.

These sites are all designated with official “Camp Here” discs.

Road Number of Sites
Hope Falls Road 3 Vehicle
3 Tent Sites
Pumpkin Hollow Road 2 Vehicle (Between Willis Lake and Inholding)
1 Vehicle (Beyond Inholding)

Hope Falls Road.

From Northville on Hope Falls Road, you drive north and north. The paved road goes on for several miles, until you finally reach the “Seasonal Use Only” sign, and hte pavement ends it becomes a one lane road.

Hammond Pond Wild Forest - Green Hill Parcel

Click the map above to print it.

None of these campsites are particularly fancy, although there is a single outhouse for the first grouping of campsites on the southern port of the road.

Gulls on the breakwater

All of the campsites run along Stoney Creek …

Stoney Creek

Pumpkin Hollow.

The campsites are a ways back on Pumpkin Hollow Road, a dirt road, beyond Willis Lake and the camps along it. Pumpkin hollow is a short ways south of the Sacanadaga River DEC Campground, it starts out as a paved road by a white house, then eventually a mile or two back becomes unpaved and one lane.

Blue skies

You can print the above map by clicking on it and printing it.

Willis Lake

Here’s sample designated campsite on Pumpkin Hollow Road.

Designated Campsite

And Pumpkin Hollow Road…

Pumpkin Hollow Road

Large NY State Forests Tend to Be Located In Rural Areas

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There are many state lands across New York State.

Paddling Cayuta Lake Inlet

The problem is, for many New Yorkers, the largest and most interesting parcels — the Catskill Forest Preserve, the Adirondack Forest Preserve, larger state forests like Brookfield Horse Camp, Brashier Falls, Tug Hill State Forest, Sugar Hill, are all a long drive from where they live.

This map shows the town population versus the location of state forest and forest preserve lands that are popular for hiking, camping, fishing and hunting. I did not include state parks. Note how unpopulated most areas are with large state forests.

Down By Long Pond

To demostrate how dramatic this is, take a look at a map of urbanized or otherwise developed areas of New York State based on Landstat data. Yellows are suburban areas, while reds are urbanized downtowns with few trees or forest — the kind of people you would think would most likely want to spend time in the woods.

Craziness at the Early Vote place

Maybe we don’t want lots of urban folks coming to the state forests. Maybe there remoteness keeps people away. Yet, it shows the large disconnect from large public lands and the population centers across our state.