Hermit Lake Shelters

Hermit Lake Shelter is about 2.5 miles up from Pinkham Visitor Center/Trailhead, so you're about halfway to summit – perfect place to camp for a sunrise hike. 

Restrooms, tent platforms and lean to shelters are all available at this USFS dispersed camping site right next to the AMC caretaker station. 

We had two platforms and a hammock in between, great location to watch the night skies. Then checked out one of the shelters, which is a super option if you don't want to pack a tent. 

Also a plus, fresh spring water is available just up the trail at the water pump.

And like the previous reviewer, we used the bear locker (definitely black bears in the area)

The shelters at Hermit Lake are secluded, off-the-grid, and pristine. You may think, being off Tuckerman's Ravine, they would be noisy, but all of the tent platforms and lean-tos are removed from the trail, usually involving a rocky, steep, root-y descent from the caretaker cabin. We never heard passing hikers from our tent platforms (#2 and #3). The caretaker is friendly and knowledgeable; there is potable water in summer, and there are FLUSHING toilets. The lake is pretty, and there is tons of wildlife around, from birds to red squirrels to moose, who often go for a dip in the lake. There is also a bear locker near the tent platforms! When I called Pinkham Notch (twice), they weren't sure if there was a bear locker, so I hiked in a bear can, but there was in fact a locker.