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Campsites and Lean-Tos in DEC Region 7 (Central NY)

Andy | December 15, 2011

Today we look at Campsites and Lean-tos and other “developed” camping opporunties in DEC Region 7, which consists of lands in Central NY Counties of Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego, Tompkins and Tioga, and is based on data in Region 7 Recreation Master Plan.

Current 85 Designated Campsites/Lean-Tos.

Balsam Pond State Forest (Chenango 17) – 1 campsite at Baker’s pond
Balsam Pond State Forest (Chenango 34) – 9 campsites ³
Beaver Creek State Forest (Madison 12) – 2 campsites at the assembly area ⁴
Charles E. Baker State Forest (Madison 1) – 14 campsites at Moscow Hill ⁴
Charles E. Baker State Forest (Madison 1) – 2 lean-tos
Charles E. Baker State Forest (Madison 1) – 8 campsites at Cherry Ridge ³
Danby State Forest (Tompkins 1) – 2 lean-tos (Finger Lakes Trail)
Gee Brook State Forest (Cortland 17) – 6 campsites at Calico Pond
Long Pond State Forest (Chenango 35) – 8 campsites
Ludlow Creek State Forest (Chenango 6) – 1 lean-to (Finger Lakes Trail)

Mariposa State Forest (Chenango-Madison 1) – 1 lean-to (Finger Lakes Trail)
McDonough State Forest (Chenango 1) – 3 campsites at Whaley Pond
Morgan Hill State Forest (Cortland 4) – 1 lean-to
Morgan Hill State Forest (Onondaga 1) – 9 campsites at Spruce Pond ¹
New Michigan State Forest (Chenango 5) – 1 lean-to (Finger Lakes Trail)
Robinson Hollow State Forest (Tioga 3) – 1 lean-to
Shindagin Hollow State Forest (Tompkins 3) – 1 lean-to (Finger Lakes Trail)
Stoney Pond State Forest (Madison 13) – 12 campsites ²
Taylor Valley State Forest (Cortland 2) – 12 campsites ⁵
Tuller Hill State Forest (Cortland 9) – 1 lean-to
Whaupaunaucau State Forest (Chenango 31) – 1 lean-to
Wiley Brook State Forest (Chenango 7) – 1 campsite

¹ DEC Camping permit required. Call (607) 674-4036 to have a permit mailed to you.

²DEC Camping permit required from April 15-October 15th. Call (607) 674-4036 to have a permit mailed to you.

³ Vehicle accessible.

⁴Horse Assembly and Camping-area.

⁵ Currently undesignated sites (lacks “Camp Here Markers”) on an old loop road that was part of CCC Camp in Taylor Valley.

Related Maps.

DEC’s Future Plans for Region 7

1. Develop 31 additional campsites in Region 7. Twenty-eight of these will be open campsites and three will be lean-tos. A portion of the new campsite development will occur on Hall Island State Forest (Oswego 10), as noted in items b and c. The Department will consider the option of permanently closing any or all of the Island campsites if patrol or enforcement problems become an issue. Fiscal constraints and public demand will determine if any additional campsites are to be developed within the Region.

a. Development of the new campsites will be in compliance with the guidelines for access by people with disabilities.

b. Develop 12 to 15 open campsites on Hall Island State Forest (Oswego10). These campsites will be located on the south side of the Salmon River Reservoir and will only be accessible by water. A permit will be required to occupy these sites. Three of these sites will be developed for people with disabilities . c. On Hall Island State Forest (Oswego 10), upgrade two designated campsites on Burdick Island and two campsites on Huckleberry Island in the Salmon River Reservoir. A permit will be required to occupy these sites. Two of these sites will be developed for people with disabilities.

d. Develop one lean-to campsite along the Finger Lakes Trail on Perkins Pond State Forest (Chenango 22) in the Town of Otselic.

e. Develop two open campsites on the Marsh Pond State Forest (Broome 4) near the pond. One of these sites will be developed for people with disabilities.

f. Develop three campsites on Robinson Hill State Forest (Tioga 3) near Tricounty Pond. The exact number of sites will be determined from local demand. One or two of these sites will be developed for people with disabilities. Install kiosk and develop area brochure.

g. Develop one lean-to on the Genegantslet State Forest with access from Creek Road. The access trail to the lean-to will be approximately 0.7 miles of hiking trail.

h. Develop an open campsite in stand C-7 on Long Pond State Forest (Chenango 35) designed for access by canoe or boat.

i. Develop three open campsites on Oakley Corners State Forest (Tioga 2). One of these sites will be developed for people with disabilities. Use of these sites will be by permit only.

j. Upgrade and designate three formal sites on the Salmon River State Forest (Oswego 8). A permit will be required to occupy these sites.

k. Rebuild the lean-to along the trail on Chateaugay State Forest (Oswego 4 & 5).

l. Build one lean-to on Cuyler Hill State Forest (Cortland 6).

m. Inspect and, if necessary, repair or replace lean-tos on the Finger Lakes Trail.

2. Propose a change to the current regulations to address the conflicts encountered with camping within 150 feet of a road.

a. Propose a change to the current regulation that prohibits camping within 150′ of any road. The intent of this proposal is to accommodate the style of camping that is common during hunting season.

3. Provide camping opportunities on State Forests for people with disabilities. These ADA compliant facilities will be distributed throughout the Region. Most of the designated campsites will have fire rings and several of the sites will have picnic tables. Fire rings, picnic tables and benches will be of Universal Design. Accessible latrines will be located at areas with several campsites, such as Long Pond, Stoney Pond and Charles E. Baker State Forests. All camping areas that can be driven to will have at least one accessible parking space. a. Make alterations to the Moscow Hill campsites on the Charles E. Baker State Forest (Madison 1 & 4) so that at least four of the sites are accessible by people with disabilities.

4. Designate 14 campsites at Moscow Hill, Madison 1, camping area.

5. Maintain 85 existing campsites.

6. Propose a regulation to prohibit camping at Nanticoke Lake Multiple-Use Area and Redfield Island Day-Use Area

7. Remove the lean-to on New Michigan State Forest (Chenango 5) This lean-to is structurally poor and is no longer located on an active trail. The lean-to proposed in 1. d will replace this lean-to.

Land Uses in Mohawk Valley

Andy | September 8, 2011

How much of the Mohawk Valley is developed, how much is farmed, and how much is forested? These images give you a clear overview, with all agricultural cropland and pasture colored yellow, all forest lands colored green, waterways colored blue, and developed areas are red. This is based on LANDSTAT and USDA NASS Croplayer data.

Overwhelmingly, the Mohawk Valley is about agriculture, although as elevation increases and farming is no longer profitable, then farm fields revert to tree cover. And while their are certainly single family homes and other rural residents under the tree cover, by no means is development the overwhelming use of the land.

Most of the farming in the Utica-area, occurs south of the city, due to the sandy soils, short growing season, and elevation making farming unprofitable north of city. This map may actually distort how much land north of city is actually farmed, as many of farm fields shown on this map have been abandoned and are slowly reverting to brush and ultimately tree cover.

As you get around Canajoharie the amount of farming activity picks up dramatically, and except for a small section right next to the Mohawk Valley, most of this area is not developed.

Heading towards Albany-Schenectady, you see more development, but notice how you don’t have to get far from the city for forest cover to be dominant feature, and not agriculture. A lot of this is rural residents, with acreage, and hobby farms around here. Farming stops when you get up on the Rensselear Plateau, although the farm lands right around Brunswick are quite profitable, until you start heading towards Grafton where almost all farming stops.

Utica Marsh

Andy | August 27, 2011

Despite the Utica Marsh being located right off of I-790, and easily viewable from a car speeding into Utica from the North, it’s not quite as easy to get to as a pedestrian, as the former Barnes Avenue Bridge is closed off to all but pedestrians. You now have three options if you want to see the Utica Marsh up and close:

Park at the North Genesee Street Park and Ride / Harbor Lock Area, and follow Erie Canal Bikepath west, past NYSDOT building, past an old Utica garbage dump, over the Utica Harbor Lock, under I-790 to Utica Marsh. Roughly 1 mile.
Park at the end of Barnes Avenue, and hike over abandoned Barnes Avenue Bridge along abandoned junkyard, to Utica Marsh. Roughly 1.5 miles to over look, but views along western marsh when you hike in this way.
Kayak from somewheres on Erie Canal (e.g. somewheres around Utica, Whitesboro, Rome) to underneath most westernly I-790 bridge, pull out of water, walk like 100 ft to Marsh overlook.

I didn’t have my kayak with me this particular weekened, so I chose the Park and Ride lot. Nice hike, and you get to check out the Utica Harbor Lock — and actually cross it too. I didn’t particularly care for the gritty urban neighborhood that Barnes Avenue is located in, and didn’t feel safe parking there. So I recommend parking at the North Genesee Avenue Park and Ride Lot, which is just south of the Erie Canal, when you get off the Thruway.

You might want to include this in a kayaking trip along the beautiful Erie Canal in this area. While this is urban Utica, the reality the canal is cut into muck soils of the Mohawk River headwaters, and while much of the land is either landfilled or tiled for agriculture around it, it’s still very beautiful kayak ride with only one lock between South Utica and Rome.

This is a really good trip to make when returning from the Adirondacks in the evening — take NY 12 from NY 28 South to the Thruway. Or if your heading West to East in NY State, not a bad stop for an hour or two. Or you can head North from Madison County on NY 8. All worth the trip!

… I hope you enjoyed these pictures, and do check out this urban preserve.

The Pros and Cons of Getting a Camping Permit

Andy | July 10, 2011

New York State requires you to get a camping permit if you stay in a spot or a campsite for more then 3 nights. I have never bothered to get a permit, unless the rare times I see a forest ranger, and he asks me to fill out a camping permit. I generally do not get camping permits, because I don’t stay more then 3 nights in any one spot – if I was a hunter, setting up a base camp in big game season – it might be different.

Pros.

It shows that you are using the land, providing justification for the DEC to spend more funding on that piece of land versus another piece of land.
It’s nice to stay at one site for an extend period, if you plan to stay in that general area, so you don’t have to pick up and remake camp every couple of night.
You don’t have to necessarily camp at a designated spot or farther then 150 feet from road or water if you get the permit for another place.
In case you are reported lost or injured, the forest ranger knows where to look.
There is no charge, and all you have to do give forest ranger a call with your license plate and other basic information.

Cons.

You have to plan where you are going a couple of weeks in advance to give the forest ranger a change to mail you the perm
Staying in one place leads to more wear on the campsite.
It can be be boring to camp in one site for an extended period.
Do you really want to tell the government where your camping, so it can track you?

… in many ways the cons are longer then the pros.

The First Campfire

Andy | March 30, 2011

One of the things I look forward to is the first campfire of the year. I have not been camping since December, and with temperatures starting to warm up, it seems like the it won’t be long until I’m camping again.

It all starts by gathering up some tinder and some small kindling wood. Crumbling up some paper, stack some kindling. Get out a match, crack open a beer and maybe some honey roasted peanuts. Sit back on the tailgate or a lawn chair, slowly adding fuel to a good fire gets going.

Make some dinner up. Maybe clean up a fish I caught, or something else I brought on in. Fry it up in a cast iron frying pan over the fire, or cook something in a dutch oven. Sit back and listen to the evening news on the radio and maybe some music, as I enjoy dinner.

Toss some more wood on the fire. Clean up the pots and pans, burn up the dinner’s trash. Turn on the lights, sit back and read a book. Look up at the stars and the moon. Watch the fire roar along as the hour gets late. Sit back, and get ready to call it a night.

… I am so looking forward to warmer weather.

Reasons I Like Camping

Andy | November 24, 2010

No Real Rules except for Respect of Natural World.
No Schedule except the Fall of Darkness Over the Land.
Get to Visit Interesting Places; Explore New Lands.

Get to Play with Fire, Sit and Watch the Campfire.
Get to Burn All Your Camp Trash with Plastic Burning and Melting in the Fire.
Cooking Delious Meals Over the Fire or In Dutch Oven.

Beautiful Moonlit and Starlit Nights in the Woods.
Drinking beer and smoking cigerettes and watching the fire burn.
No Time to Get Up in the Morning.

Peace and quiet or music as one sees fit.
Having time to read and get away from all of it.
A big change in the routine.

Late Fall Camping at Sugar Hill

Andy | November 7, 2010

On my way down to Pennsylvania and on my way back to Albany, I spent a two nights camping out at Sugar Hill State Forest, lower Assembly area. While the area is primarily designed for equestrians, it does offer a person who seeks drive-in camping without a permit in Finger Lakes Region a place to stay.

On the Sunday night driving down to Pennsylvania, there was nobody else around but a bow hunter I saw in the morning. On Friday night, there where a lot of horse owners, because the Upper Assembly-area was closed for the winter. I drove around, hoping to visit the fire tower a top the Assembly area. Unfortunately, it was closed for the year. I did get some interesting shots from Tower Hill Road, heading up there, looking down at Seneca Lake.

On the other side of the ridge from Tower Hill Road, you can see Keuka Lake. It looks a lot different this time of year then in other times of year. I do wish I could have seen it from the fire tower, although I guess the fire tower has limited views due to trees growing up. I could have hiked up to the tower, but it’s a ways back, with the road gated off.

Next I drove down to Birdseye Hollow State Forest / Sanford Lake. Got lost. I know this time of year you don’t need camping permits for it, but it looked it was only tent sites. Things where pretty grown up, and it was getting late. I ended up driving back up the hill, to Sugar Hill, and settling in at the Lower Assembly area. On Sunday night, all the horse campers had packed up and gone back home.

I proceeded to make baked zita in the dutch oven, over a warm open fire. Somebody had left firewood from the previous weekend, and there was ample dead and down wood nearby in the forest, so I really nice warm fire.

I like the campsites down at Sugar Hill, although I wish they offered more privacy. Yet, I guess that’s not how Assembly areas work at horse camps. That said, on a Sunday evening, there was nobody else around. It was a bit more crowded the following Friday, for my return trip. It was a nice night, and great meal.

Morning unfortunately came early, with the change of day light savings time, and it was dark when I set my alarm clock for 6:30 AM. Yet I knew I had a big day ahead, driving down to Pennsylvania, so I was before dawn. But eventually the sun rose over the pines of the Lower Assembly day, and it was a beautiful morning.

I packed up my gear, headed across a muddy truck trail to get packed up, took kind of a bath using a tea-kettle with hot water, and I was on my way to Pennsylvania. The camera lens kind of was fogged up from the cold.

The drive to Pennsylvania was spectular, especially just South of Sugar Hill in Coon Hollow (really a wide valley), with beautiful farms lining the road, and tall mountains surrounding it.

As a side note, I also stayed here on Friday, November 12. There where a lot of equestrians that where using the area by around 9 PM, with lots of horse trailers. Many came late. This Lower Assembly area doesn’t get much use in the summer, compared to the Upper Assembly area, but this time of year with the Upper Assembly area closed, many where down here for the weekend. Weekdays, you’ll probably be alone camping here — especially in the winter.

Here is a map of Sugar Hill.

Andy Arthur.org

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