Best Tent Camping near DeRuyter, NY
Primitive tent camping opportunities surround DeRuyter, New York with several options in nearby state forests and wildlife management areas. Morgan Hill State Forest offers two notable tent camping locations – the Onondaga Trailhead campground with designated sites adjacent to the National North Country Scenic Trail, and Spruce Pond Camping Area with ten primitive tent sites positioned around a scenic pond. The Pharsalia Woods State Forest, located south of DeRuyter, provides multiple backcountry tent camping options including the hike-in Pharsalia Woods Lean-To Campsite and the Y Pond primitive camping area.
Most tent sites in the region have basic amenities with fire rings but require campers to bring their own water. The Morgan Hill Forest campsites include picnic tables and fire pits on cement pads, while more remote areas like Bear Wallow Pond offer only cleared tent areas with no facilities. Many sites require permits despite being free to use. Spruce Pond has a new accessible outhouse, but most primitive sites have no toilets. Road access varies significantly - some areas like Morgan Hill can be reached via well-maintained forest roads, while others require navigation on unmaintained roads or hiking in from trailheads.
The tent camping experience in these forests provides genuine seclusion with opportunities for hiking, fishing, and wildlife observation. Areas like Spruce Pond offer both wooded and waterfront tent sites suitable for both solitary campers and groups. A visitor noted, "This is a small state forest campground from which you can directly access the Onondaga Trail branch of the National North Country scenic trail." The Finger Lakes Trail passes through several of these forests, allowing backpackers to set up camp along its route. Wildlife is abundant, with one camper mentioning, "This was a nice spot, but the animals at the pond are very active and made a lot of noise in the night."
