Bear Wallow Pond Dispersed Campsite in Pharsalia Woods is surrounded by forested terrain. Temperatures range from 20°F in winter to 80°F in summer. Campers can explore Bowman Lake State Park and the Finger Lakes Trail nearby.

Primitive camping is allowed. Campsites must be at least 150 feet away from the nearest road, trail, or body of water. Camping for more than three nights or in groups of ten or more requires a permit from a Forest Ranger. More details here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/41282.html

Primitive camping is allowed on many DEC lands, including Forest Preserve lands in the Catskills and Adirondacks, as well as on State Forest lands outside the Preserve. Primitive camping is prohibited on Unique Areas, Wildlife Management Areas, and a few other categories of state land.

Where to Set Up Camp
The best place to camp is at designated primitive tent sites. These sites are typically flatter than other areas and have deeper, harder soils more resistant to heavy use and erosion, minimizing the impacts of camping. Many sites have nearby pit privies and rock fire rings.

Yellow and black camp here marker attached to a tree "Camp Here" marker
Campers are encouraged to use designated tent sites. They are often close to trails and provide views of ponds, lakes, streams or rivers. These can be a source of water when properly treated.

All designated primitive tent sites have yellow and black "Camp Here" markers. Many sites on lakes and ponds are identified by a yellow number against a dark brown wooden plaque typically attached to a tree near the water's edge.

Bear Wallow Pond Dispersed Campsite in Pharsalia Woods

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South Plymouth

The Best Camping Near South Plymouth, New York

This is a primitive undeveloped campsite, there is a clearing for tenting but no potable water or amenities of any kind. The site is adjacent to a small parking area and fishing access on a really beautiful pond, which is unnamed on the map but is an impoundment of Bear Wallow Creek so it can be considered Bear Wallow Pond. I have been there in both summer, when the shoreline wildflowers are riotous, and in fall when the changing leaves are breathtaking. If you camp here, you can kayak or fish on the pond, go mountain biking on the network of state forest roads that are all part of the Pharsalia Woods Game Refuge, or access the Finger Lakes Trail or Canasawacta Creek Trail (see website for this listing for map of the refuge and more info at https://cnyhiking.com/FLT-PharsaliaWMA.htm)

You can get to the site from state highway 23 via the Benedict Hill Rd, or from the hamlet of Beaver Meadow going south and west of Cole Hill via Mud Lane. A peaceful pretty wooded spot not far from either Norwich or South Otselic for an easy overnight or weekend. I give it 4 stars not for amenities but for being an idyllic example of a dispersed primitive site

Photos of Bear Wallow Pond Dispersed Campsite in Pharsalia Woods

Real photos from real campers