Looking For Rustic Campground

[mirandahagerty]

Hi Everyone!

This is my first post on here and I'd really appreciate any feedback you can give me! My family and I are planning a 4 night trip to the Adirondacks this summer and are looking for a really rustic campground. We have a dog who cannot go in boats, so we would need a site close to a road. Having said this, we still are looking for a really private and quiet site. It's important that these campgrounds DON'T have access to fancy facilities like showers and flush toilets, pit toilets are how we normally camp. Honestly, the less popular the campground is, the better! Thanks in advance for any input!

[Wldrns]

The Moose River Plains Wild Forest would fit your no-facilities bill. Car camping sites along a very long dirt road, but they are designated sites with perhaps a picnic table and nothing else.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/53596.html

[JoeCedar]

Coreys road has about 8 minimally improved designated and numbered sites. Day hiking in the Sewards is nearby.

[yellowcanoe]

Horseshoe Lake near Tupper. The problem is in the summer its unrealistic to find space in some of these areas.

Jones Pond. You have to be lucky. Its near Paul Smiths and the site goes fast. There will be a number of canoe nuts in the area in July.
Slush Pond.

You are not the only one seeking limited no facility drive in sites ( that are free...which leads to popularity too). Summer is a tough time

Ccnsider Browns Tract and Forked Lake. They are both mo shower places with pit toilets. You will have to walk or boat into Forked Lake sites

[stripperguy]

Do you need a pull in campsite? ('cause you have a trailer?)
Or can you tolerate a short walk from the car to a tent site?

[Buckladd]

Along with the aforementioned you may want to consider the following areas that have drive-to campsites:
•Flooded Road near St. Regis Canoe area
•North Point Road, between Forked and Raquette Lakes
•Powley/Piseco Road in the Southern ADKs
•North and South Lakes, Black River Wild Forest
•Moose Pond Club Road, Minerva
•Taylor Pond Campgrounds in Clinton County

Be sure you know the rules DEC has about camping, permits, firewood, etc...
Which is explained here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7872.html

[DSettahr]

Remember also that for a 4 night stay in one spot, you'll need a permit from the DEC (permits are required to camp at the same location for 4 or more nights). To obtain the permit, you need to contact the Forest Ranger who's district you'll be camped in a few weeks prior to your trip (to ensure that he/she has enough time to fill out the permit and get it to you in the mail). The permit is free.

You can see a list of Forest Rangers and their districts (their districts follow town boundary lines) on the DEC's website here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/about/50303.html

[mirandahagerty]

Thank you all SO much for your inputs! We actually decided to make reservations at Browns Tract Pond (site 87 which we are SERIOUSLY excited about). We were only able to reserve the site for 3 nights due to availability. @DSettahr, for 3 nights, we shouldn't need a permit, correct?

Thank you guys again! Next year, we will definitely explore all the other places you guys have mentioned!

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by mirandahagerty

Thank you all SO much for your inputs! We actually decided to make reservations at Browns Tract Pond (site 87 which we are SERIOUSLY excited about). We were only able to reserve the site for 3 nights due to availability. @DSettahr, for 3 nights, we shouldn't need a permit, correct?

Thank you guys again! Next year, we will definitely explore all the other places you guys have mentioned!

If you're staying at a developed DEC campground (like Browns Tract), the permit is included with your reservation.

[mirandahagerty]

Awesome! Thank you again!

[mirandahagerty]

Originally Posted by DSettahr

If you're staying at a developed DEC campground (like Browns Tract), the permit is included with your reservation.

The only time we could reserve the site we wanted was in the beginning of July. I've heard horror stories about black flies during June but was wondering if you've had any experience with them in July?

Thanks!!

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by mirandahagerty

The only time we could reserve the site we wanted was in the beginning of July. I've heard horror stories about black flies during June but was wondering if you've had any experience with them in July?

Thanks!!

Black Flies are usually done by the end of June. July is the height of mosquito/deer fly season.

I've generally found that bugs aren't too bad in the DEC campgrounds, though. There's usually enough smoke from campfires that they are kept pretty well at bay. Lots of citronella candles about as well, which I'm sure also helps. I would still bring bug spray, and if you can afford it, a net tent to go over the picnic table can be nice, but overall I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[yellowcanoe]

Originally Posted by mirandahagerty

The only time we could reserve the site we wanted was in the beginning of July. I've heard horror stories about black flies during June but was wondering if you've had any experience with them in July?

Thanks!!

I teach outdoors at Paul Smiths for two weeks in the beginning of July and have for 21 years.

Stable flies are the horror beasts then in the heat of the day. Blackflies are not ever that big an issue.

Of course I have lived in the woods of Maine and learned to coexist with them so they do not matter at all to me.
Wind is your friend. But you won't usually find many BF in July.

I wonder why these days BlackFlies are such a big deal and to be feared.

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by yellowcanoe

I wonder why these days BlackFlies are such a big deal and to be feared.

I'll take black flies over mosquitoes and deer flies any day. Black flies at least go away at night. Mosquitoes just get worse once dusk arrives and the wind dies down for the evening.

[mirandahagerty]

Originally Posted by DSettahr

I'll take black flies over mosquitoes and deer flies any day. Black flies at least go away at night. Mosquitoes just get worse once dusk arrives and the wind dies down for the evening.

Thank you both for your advice! We actually camped for 10 days in the UP of Michigan a few years back and I have NEVER in my life experienced anything worse than the mosquitoes up there! And you're right, no matter what time of day it is, THEY NEVER GO AWAY! I remember waking up one of the last mornings we were there and I could hear them all buzzing SO LOUDLY outside my tent. Made some coffee and there were probably 200 of them on my coffee mug! Probably will develop some kind of cancer from all the Deet we used that trip. (and not just the regular Deet of course, the 98.25%!)

Oh and we are DEFINITELY investing in one of those nets that go over the picnic table. For some reason we didn't think of this when we were in Michigan. That probably would have helped my sanity level quite a bit.

[yellowcanoe]

If you buy something netted make sure its no seeum netting. You WILL find them making a pest of themselves at dawn and dusk specially in grassy weedy areas. Their bites feel like mini fires.

Cliff Jacobsen from the Midwest came to Maine and told everyone not to bother with no seeum netting as they did not exist. Maybe in MN they don't and I never was bothered by them in Michigan but they do exist in Maine and the Adirondacks. We all laughed at his comment and three minutes later ( the presentation was outdoors, the no seeums arrived!)

Stay in exposed windier areas. We kayaked in the Apostie Islands two years ago and I did wonder where in July all the skeeters were. I don't know.

[electbc]

Here are a couple links for Brown Tract Pond CG, pictures and video. Enjoy your trip.

http://www.campadk.com/campsitephoto...own+Tract+Pond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oejPzMASEKU

[Buckladd]

Get a couple of ThermaCell units for the bugs. They really work. We usually put two of them on a table when camping, keep two of them going on our front porch (we live in the ADK) when we sit out at night, and I've got one stashed in my turkey hunting gear for the month of May as well as my fishing gear. I've used it from April to September. Each year is different. I've seen black flies horrendous around July 4 weekend, other times they're done by mid-June. No-see-ums can be just as bad, especially when it is damp.

[Boomz123]

Hello! I was about to post a thread with the exact same inquiry! Family, with dog, camping, no fancy facilities, remote and quiet. However, the suggestions you have a really far for me. I was hoping for something closer to Adirondack State Park since we are driving in from the north (Montreal) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[electbc]

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/33154.html
Taylor Pond looks like a good bet.
http://newyorkstateparks.reserveamer...=NY&parkId=537
When are you looking to go? This weekend is a holiday weekend and the end of season for a lot of DEC campgrounds. Some still can be used by the honor system after the season.
And Buck Pond is open to October 9, 2016
http://newyorkstateparks.reserveamer...=NY&parkId=572