Best Dispersed Camping near Keene Valley, NY

We spent 3 nights backcountry camping on Catamount Island in Cranberry Lake and absolutely loved it! The sunsets from the island were truly incredible. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Ours had an extensive pile of dry wood, too. There is a decent privy tucked back in the woods. Bring your own TP though! Also, you will either need to bring your own potable water or filter from the lake, so don’t forget your water filter.

In addition to many cool places to kayak from the island, there are a few hiking trails where you can land your boat and hike for a few hours. The Curtis Pond hike was our favorite and there are some incredible beaver dams along the way. While the mosquitoes weren’t bad at the campsite itself or while kayaking, they are terrible on the trails this time of year; so bring your bug spray, or better yet, bug shirts! The millions upon millions of dragonflies help make up for the mosquitoes!

The Village of Cranberry Lake (which is accessible from the lake) has some supplies, but not much except the very basics at the general store.  You’ll need to head to Star Lake or Tupper Lake for anything of significance.

Backcountry camping is first come, first served…no reservations necessary or even possible. No permit is needed. The only fee is if you want to park your vehicle in the state park while you are camping on the island, it is $8 per day.

About 12 sites off National Forest Road 71. Beautiful area and very secluded. All have fire rings but that’s about it. Make sure to have a backup plan during the mud season and treat your skin and clothes during black fly season

It is a beautiful setting and the first nice weekend in May. There were quite a few folks there already but worth the visit. 

It is old Vermont farm land that the team of the US National Forest must manage. They have kept the clearing clear and access is pretty good. We are so lucky to have access like this for all of us to enjoy.

Just south of Warren Falls trail head and parking lot and just north of Green Mountains National Forest Road #25, is a small (4-5 sites, 3 picnic tables) camping and parking area wedged between the Mad River and Vermont Route 100. Grassy and Rocky sites, 4 fire rings, 3 porta-potties, and stream side (river) camping close to trails, Warren Falls swimming hole, the Lincoln Gap Road and hiking, and the "famous" Warren General Store, and covered bridge. There aren't any reservation or use instructions or signs posted.

We were unfortunately able to get a spot on the lake, also due to us having dogs that aren’t fond of riding in kayaks yet. We ended up camping out right past spot 6 on North Point Road. Loved it. Us and the dogs. Primitive camping at Forked Lake is always the best.

Beautiful meadow campsites overlooking the valley. Firepits and tent platforms are in place although most of the sites are drive-in. If you’re looking for a picture perfect campsite with a view this is the place for you!

Great campsite with a nice lean-to. 

Fire pit, picnic table, and a privy. 

A bit further you will find some tent spots too. 

Plenty of water around.

I was looking for the Austin Brook campsite north of this one, but someone on here gave directions to this site, which turns out has its own page on here. Right off the road, a small handful of camp sites, some picnic tables, presumably some fire rings although with snow coverage I didn’t see any. Main lot has plenty of parking, perfect for car camping. Pull through the trees has some spots for tents and smaller setups. Entrance and exit are a little steep and tricky in the winter, lot wasn’t plowed so AWD/4x4 and good ground clearance are recommended.

There seems to be a little confusion about where restricted day use ends and overnight dispersed sites begin. Some folks were camping in the picnic area. Past the gate at the end of the Texas Falls recreation area we found several sites with only a fire pit along the brook. They were well used with some litter. We packed out what we could find. There are posted signs on the opposite bank so we stayed on our side. Brook water filtered fine and was tasty. Relatively short walk to waterless toilets was welcome. Very pretty area.

This site has 3-5 campsites right off of route 100. This is right next to Mad River with a area to walk down into a swimming hole. Great place.

This area is wonderful, first Texas falls it a great place to stop and explore.  Then, if you venture further up into the mountains you come upon the campsites with fire pits and if your lucky you can get one on the river.

There is not much to these sites as far as amenities, just a fire pit.  But that is all I need.

Wow this site was so beautiful!

The road into the site was scenic and beautiful. We followed the river all the way to the very end of the road up on the mountain. From there we decided on a site at the top of the mountain at the end of the long road. We quickly got rained out and went back down to one of the brookside sites. This site had great tree coverage to easily set up a tarp. It even had a premade firepit! Make sure to bring your own trash bag and water. 

The next morning we decided to visit the sites for this actual dispersed site on the field. There were many spots on open fields with beautiful scenic views of the mountains. If we go and stay up there again we will definitely be staying at one of these. 

If you're considering a spot in Vermont to camp, come here!

Also, make sure your car has a bit of clearance as some sports have dips in the ground.

Came in on a Wednesday afternoon in late September and found several available camp sites.

There are no amenities at this campground. It is an open field on the left side of the road with two or three sites on the right side of the road that are walk in sites.

The scenic beauty of this place is amazing. There was some color in the forest but most of it was still green. There are wide open views of 3 mountain ranges. There are many flowering plants, wild apple trees on the right side of the road. Lots of birds, butterflies, and bees (they were not agressive).

The campground was very quiet at night except for an occasional owl hoot.

We were fortunate to have perfect weather for our stay. This would be an awesome place to see the fall colors.

we came here for a night and stayed at the camp 76 by the lake. it was beautiful. definitely top 5 best campgrounds we have ever been to. they had a picnic bench and an outhouse in good condition. great visibility at night and of the lake

This campground was beautiful. We boated in to our site with a kayak and a canoe with our supplies. We went during peak black fly season and got eaten alive though and decided to pack it up early. There was a bear den close to our site that was pretty cool.

Camped over many times and paddle the lake every chance I get!