Primitive camping within a couple/few hours of NYC?
 

Hoping to get out into the woods for some hiking, maybe swimming, and quiet. Probably Sept 25-28.

I'm used to USFS and state campgrounds in Michigan. Vault toilets and a well are really the only amenities I need. Don't really want to be camped next to an RV or in a packed and busy campground.

Suggestions?

Head into CT...likely into MA, up Route 7 until you lose cell service. Pull off the side of the road where you see a walking trail, enter with minimal gear, enjoy wilderness :)

Stokes State Forest, Sussex county NJ

Adirondack Park northwest of Albany. Lots and lots of wilderness.

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Are you allowed disperse camping? As for the vault toilets they suck. I recommend the trailer hitch receiver toilet seat...

Some serious wilderness in the Adirondacks... supposedly some of the only old growth timber left in the north east...When NYC, Boston, Philly, and other cities in the northeast were developing, the need for wood almost denuded the whole northeast...And seriously you can get to climb Nippletop next to Dix Mountain :-)


You could stop and look around in Paradox...

+1. Serious wilderness outside of the day use areas. You can drive up to the lake placid area, go down the service road towards the Adirondack Lodge , hike for a couple of hours, grab a lean-to, swim in the lake formed by the Marcy Dam and then spend the night.

A place we went to for years with the kids is Rich Lake or Harris Lake State Campground in Newcomb NY. They have canoes to rent. Plenty of good campsites right on the lake. It is more than 2 hours north of NYC, maybe 4 or 5, buy your groceries in Glens Falls, there is nothing up there but lakes, woods and trails. Make sure you check with the State Parks because the campgrounds will be closing soon (winter is not too far off up there). As I recall the Catskill's parks and campgrounds are too close to NYC to really get away.

Thanks guys! Good info.
I'm going with somebody who loves the outdoors but has never been camping like this. I really want to keep it simple and easy.

No need to go far. There are some great hikes in the Catskill mountains between NYC and Albany.

"Adirondaks High Peaks" area around Keene, on the way to Lake Placid is better. Noonmark is a great climb with a bald peak. Easiest of the 46 is Cascade, also just off Rt 73.

I'll second Blue mountain and Blue mountain lake.

No old growth in the Adirondaks. The reason the state owns the land was they bought it cheap after it was clear cut.

Also a great visit, the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

Wild Center | Ignite an enduring passion for the Adirondacks where people and nature can thrive together and set an example for the world.

I'd swing up 22 and take a look at Bash Bish Falls. Then I'd swing left onto 23, cross teh Rip Van Winkle Bridge, and then I'd head for the Adirondacks. There is a campground on 22 north of 23 that would be OK for a day or two. Small lake and some secluded tent spots on the lake shore.

That is not true...

Many areas of the Adirondacks were and still remain incredibly difficult to access...Mountainous areas with no rivers to transport the timber, no railroads, etc...

There is debate about how much old growth acreage there is...

There is even old growth in the remote areas of the Catskills..

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Sources:



Indentifying Adirondack First Growth Forests - - The Adirondack Almanack

TERRA: New York Old Growth Forests

DAY TRIPS - Where the Old Forest Roots Survive - NYTimes.com

http://www.adirondacklifemag.com/blogs/2012/05/08/finding-the-first-forests/




If you really want remote a few hours from NYC... 6 hours you can be in Vermonts "Northeast Kingdom"

Follow the Hudson River