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Best Tent Camping near Loon Lake, NY

532 Reviews

Tent camping options in the Adirondack region near Loon Lake, New York include primitive sites along waterfront locations and established campgrounds within forested settings. Jones Pond NYSDEC Primitive Campsites offers five free tent sites along the northeastern shore, while Saranac Lake Islands Adirondack Preserve Campground features boat-access-only island camping throughout the lake system, approximately 15 miles from Loon Lake.

Most primitive tent sites in this area require self-sufficiency as amenities remain minimal. At Jones Pond, sites operate on a first-come, first-served basis with a maximum three-night stay without permits. The access road consists of rough dirt tracks requiring high-clearance vehicles for most sites, though Site #1 accommodates larger vehicles. Sites #2, #4, and #5 sit close to water and are accessible by car, while Site #3 requires parking at the bottom of a hill and walking in. Basic pit toilets exist but lack maintenance, with one reported missing its door. Most Saranac Lake island sites provide fire rings and picnic tables but require boating equipment to access.

The secluded nature of these tent campgrounds creates unique camping experiences away from developed areas. One camper noted that at Jones Pond, "Site #4 is very large and could be occupied by a large group and multiple vehicles. It is accessible by car/suv/truck and near the water with a fire ring and access to the water." Island camping at Saranac Lake offers even greater privacy, with sites spaced so neighboring campers are rarely visible or audible. Many tent campers bring canoes or kayaks, though motorboats allow transport of more camping gear to remote sites. The Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake provides a more established tent camping experience with hot showers, flush toilets, and access to numerous hiking trails including the route to Mount Marcy. Most tent sites throughout the area offer excellent water views, good tree cover, and serve as ideal bases for exploring the surrounding Adirondack wilderness.

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Best Tent Sites Near Loon Lake, New York (27)

    1. Saranac Lake Islands Adirondack Preserve Campground

    15 Reviews
    Saranac Lake, NY
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (518) 891-2841

    $22 - $40 / night

    "You'll need a boat or canoe (rentals available in Saranac Lake). Sites have tables, fire rings, and outhouses. You'll need a tent, bag, pad, cooking equipment, etc."

    "All campsites have picnic tables, firepits/grills, and privies. Saranac Lake Marina has great rental boats. I even think the dogs look forward to these camping trips."

    2. Jones Pond NYSDEC Primitive Campsites

    3 Reviews
    Rainbow Lake, NY
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (518) 897-1200

    "It was over the July 4th week, so very busy and found people would just walk through your campsite. Which of course would make our dogs bark at them."

    "Jones Pond has five primitive campsites along its northeastern shore accessible by a two track service road. The sites are on a first come basis and are free to use."

    3. Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake

    9 Reviews
    Lake Placid, NY
    26 miles
    Website
    +1 (518) 523-3441

    $25 - $55 / night

    "There’s no explaining the views around here. The mountains are beautiful, Lake Placid is beautiful, and this campsite is amazing."

    "Rode in on a motorcycle late at night expecting to not be able to get in, but you can take a parking pass and drop an envelope with your fee at the entrance booth. $15 for a full day $8 after 1PM."

    4. Middle Pond Campsite

    1 Review
    Lake Clear, NY
    22 miles

    "This campsite is a first come first serve site located along Floodwood Road. The site sits on Middle Pond. Beautiful location but this campsite is popular during the summer months."

    5. Marcy Dam Backcountry Campsites

    2 Reviews
    Keene Valley, NY
    28 miles
    Website

    "This campground is conveniently located near the trails for Mt. Marcy, Mt. Colden, and Avalanche Pass. Everything is first come first serve."

    "The scenery was gorgeous and there were lots of nice hikes around."

    6. Blueberry lean-to campground

    1 Review
    Ray Brook, NY
    26 miles

    "On the Blueberry trail not far from the Ward lean-to. Very close to the trail to Seward, Donaldson and Emmons.

    Lean-to, privy, fire pit, table, and water around."

    7. Ward Brook Campsite

    1 Review
    Ray Brook, NY
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (518) 897-1200

    "Fire pit, picnic table, and a privy.  A bit further you will find some tent spots too. 

    Plenty of water around."

    8. Adirondack Acres Trail and Camps

    1 Review
    Keeseville, NY
    27 miles

    "This prime location is very private. There is absolutely no one around as far as the eye can see in the area close to the river. "

    9. MacIntyre Brook Falls campground

    1 Review
    Lake Placid, NY
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (518) 897-1200

    "It's on a side trail (left side). Bear canisters required."

    10. Poke-O-Moonshine

    2 Reviews
    Willsboro, NY
    29 miles
    +1 (518) 834-9045

    "Easy distance to Poko-moonshine mountain and several smaller mountains.Beautiful location. Removed from trafficked roads, very quiet. Can be busy in summer. Waterfront access to Long Pond."

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Loon Lake, NY

37 Photos of 27 Loon Lake Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Loon Lake, NY

532 Reviews of 27 Loon Lake Campgrounds

  • Amber A.
    Jul. 25, 2016

    Ausable Point Campground

    Ranger Review: Crazy Creek Air Chair Plus at Ausable Point Campground

    Campground Review: Lakeshore camping! Beautiful little peninsula where you can watch the sunrise/set. Lovely in autumn. Good birding, water activities, sunsets, geology/gorge, short easy forest hikes, beach walking, all the good stuff you expect from this part of New York. Most of the site is off limits because of wildlife preserve, still a lot to explore. Good as base camp for a few days in the area. Get the tents sites near the lake! Popular for day use area (picnics, birthday parties, etc). Stay here and you can say you camped in Peru! (Lots of upstate NY towns are named for countries.)

    Gear Review: As a The Dyrt Ranger I receive products to test and review. I won the Crazy Creek Air Chair Plus in a campground review contest in June 2016. I had been thinking of purchasing both a camp chair (for camping) and an air mattress (for camping & backpacking), as on my last few trips I got pretty sick of sitting on my closed-cell foam mat and a recent knee injury was making me rethink my open-cell foam ultralight sleeping pad. Well, this Crazy Creek Air Chair Plus does both and does them both well. It starts out as a camp chair (adjustable angle, typical back height) and flips open to a full size air pad made by Klymit. Sounds great right? I flew to NY for a whirlwind family/business/camping trip soon after receiving the chair and had ample opportunities to try it sleeping on friends’ floors and in tents. The chair portion was super comfortable, way better than any simple camp chairs I’d used. I was nervous about sitting on more rugged surfaces (I’m just paranoid about inflatables!) but so far so good. You can also flip open the bed part while you're sitting and have an extended leg rest to protect against hot sand or dirt. The conversion to the sleeping pad was simple. It inflates fairly easily, but at high altitude after a long day of hiking you might be a little annoyed puffing it all up. Sleeping on it was great: my knee and back were happier than with my open-cell foam mats (similar to the typical Thermarest). The one issue I had was that there’s a big dip/joint where the mattress flips out in the conversion from chair to bed---it’s not really that intrusive but I guess my side-sleeping and height (5’4”) conspired to annoy me a bit. Also the R value is very low (it’s not insulting) just like every other air pad but in the summer that’s fine with me. All the other aspects of sleeping on it were similar to other pads I’ve used (it’s kind of narrow, your bag will slide around a bit, etc). Doesn’t pack down too small & isn’t ultralight, but you could remove the chair aspect to help with that. In sleeping mode it’s 20” wide, 70” long, 2.5” thick, 2 lb 13 oz (according to packaging). So while this is my very first camp chair and air mattress, I’m really happy with it after 7 nights sleeping on it and many hours in the chair. It’s not gimmicky at all!

    PS: Can you tell I’m way more picky about gear than campsites? :)

  • Craig F.
    Jul. 23, 2018

    North Beach Campground

    Amazing Location!

    We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at North Beach Campground.

    We spent 4 days in a full hookup site. The site was spacious, tree covered, and hard packed grass/dirt. Overall the site was very level with good water pressure. The water/electric sites in the middle of the campground were a bit snug. The campground is a city operated campground and we were impressed with the upkeep, maintenance and friendly service during our stay. The camp office is small, but has information on area attractions, Ice, and fire wood. The bathhouse/restrooms were well kept during our stay even with the volume of campers at the site.

    Location, Location, Location is the main reason to stay at North Beach. The campground is literally along the Island Line bike/walking trail and had direct access to the beach on Lake Champlain (life guards, snack bar, and patio bar). The city center of Burlington is only 1.5 miles along the bike path from the campground. Most days we either walked or biked into town (which has ample bike racks to park your bike).

    While we stayed in our camper, as a former die-hard tent camper, I was impressed with the number of tent friendly sites, because most campgrounds see tenters as “second class”. The tent sites were spacious, level, and not located in some obscure location.  

    We loved North Beach and plan to camp here in the future!

  • Maribeth W.
    Aug. 30, 2016

    Lake Harris Campground

    Wet but beautiful!

    We got rained out!! Our site did have good drainage and ample tree cover so that helped. Easy access to buy firewood on the road into the campground.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 8, 2019

    AuSable Chasm Campground

    Closest campground to Ausable Chasm

    We travel in a 17-foot camper van, but no one ever believes that we are no bigger than a standard cargo van and can easily fit in a regular size parking space. Upon arrival at Ausable Chasm, we were told we had to take a site with water and electric since we had a camper van. These sites were $13 more per night and we really did not need the hookups. We were finally able to convince the staff that we could take a standard tent site, which was more than big enough. 

    The road through the campground is dirt and rutted but the speed limit is 5 mph, so it wasn’t that bad, but it would be a mess if it was raining. 

    Bathrooms and shower rooms are individual rooms, but the doors are not labeled so it’s a game of “what’s behind door number 1?”  There was no light in the shower room that I looked at so a night shower would be out of the question. The bathrooms were clean and had soap, paper towels, a garbage receptacle, and a mirror in each. 

    Lots of ant hills throughout the campground so be cautious where you set up a tent. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Large and nice-looking playground, pool, volleyball net, disc golf and mountain biking/hiking trails. It also looked like there were cross country ski trails but not sure if the campground or cabins would be open in the winter. 

    Biggest advantage is that Ausable Chasm(a separate business) is directly across the street from the campground and it is very close to the ferry that will take you to Burlington, VT, our next destination.

  • Linsey S.
    Sep. 6, 2021

    Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA Holiday

    Great Campground, Full Amenities

    Spent 3 days, 2 nights here from a Wednesday-Friday. Very large and busy campground, close to Lake Placid and other cool activities to take in. Pros- hot showers, convenient laundromat, you are guided to your site by staff on golf carts. Cons- tent sites aren’t given much privacy, on the days we stayed we were put very close to the main building when we requested a spot near the back away from the busy area, kids allowed to run and yelling and screaming WELL after quiet hours.

  • Sarah C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 2, 2017

    Grand Isle State Park Campground

    Great camping and biking!

    Beautifully set on Lake Champlain in Vermont! This is a relatively large campground but is well laid out and doesn't feel small even when it's packed to the gills. We spent a long weekend here to enjoy some mid-summer bike riding along the many bike-paths Vermont has to offer.

    The facilities are well maintained and clean. There are several camp hosts on the property and they are attentive to the needs of all the guests coming and going. There is a small welcome kiosk with a few picnic tables behind it where you can get wifi access if needed.

    You can bike directly from here all the way to Burlington,without ever getting back in your car! Take the bike ferry across a small section of Lake Champlain and keep on riding.

    While we were here there was even a little band playing some music one evening! We actually stayed in an ADA site (it was the only one left). It was REALLY nice. Gravel drive all the way in to a nicely built 3 walled platform with a roof. We were able to set up a tarp just off the edge to cover the picnic table as it rained for part of our stay. The site drained well and was plenty big enough for our tent and needs.

  • Brett N.
    Sep. 19, 2021

    Draper’s Acres

    Great Location, Solid Amenities

    Or site was large enough for two double tents, a hammock, and 2 vehicles. Each site includes a fire ring and picnic table. The office sells firewood. Both bath houses were adequate, even containing shampoo and body wash. Staff was friendly. Some if the sites are rather close to each other, and the proximity to the road was noticeable but my white noise app dealt with that while I slept. Prices were more than fair for what was provided.

  • Kyle H.
    Sep. 7, 2016

    Sharp Bridge Campground

    Gem just off the Northway

    Checked in on 9/2 for one evening. The guy working the desk was very helpful with wood. The recent delivery of wood was sub-par, but he helped me with extra wood free of charge and fire starter. The campground received 4g LTE service. One of the quietest campsites I've ever stayed at in the Adirondacks.

  • Miccal M.
    Jan. 18, 2024

    Crown Point Campground

    great place to stop for a night - very little privacy

    If you like history this is a great spot to camp, when exploring.  Just don't expect privacy. That said the views are wonderful.  The sites all have fire rings, tent sites don't have anything else.  RV sites do offer full hookups.  The access into the site is paved.  There is a trash house and bathhouse on the grounds.

Guide to Loon Lake

Tent camping near Loon Lake, New York, offers a serene escape into nature with a variety of well-reviewed campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, there's something for everyone.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

Some prices for tent camping range from $0 to $40

Specific local attractions

  • Explore the stunning landscapes and fishing opportunities at Flowed Lands, known for its picturesque views and proximity to hiking trails.
  • Visit the scenic Lake Colden, which offers a collection of campsites and lean-tos perfect for backpackers looking to tackle the High Peaks.
  • Discover the breathtaking views and hiking trails at Poke-O-Moonshine, a well-loved spot for both camping and outdoor adventures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the best tent camping spots near Loon Lake?

For excellent tent camping near Loon Lake, check out Jones Pond NYSDEC Primitive Campsites which offers five free primitive sites along the northeastern shore of the pond. These first-come, first-served sites provide plenty of room for multiple tents and vehicles, with a maximum stay of three nights without a permit. Another great option is Saranac Lake Islands Adirondack Preserve Campground, a popular destination that requires early reservations but rewards campers with beautiful island camping experiences in the Adirondack region.

What amenities are available at Loon Lake campgrounds for tent campers?

Tent campers at Loon Lake area campgrounds can find varying amenities depending on the site. At Lake Colden, you'll find basic facilities including outhouses and designated lean-tos or tent sites around the south side of the lake. For more amenities, Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake offers stunning views of the mountains and Lake Placid in a secluded setting. Most primitive sites in the region provide fire rings, while designated campgrounds typically add picnic tables, water access points, and sometimes toilets. Remember that amenities are typically minimal at more remote sites, so come prepared.

When is the best season for tent camping at Loon Lake?

The ideal season for tent camping at Loon Lake is summer through early fall (June to September). At Marcy Dam Backcountry Campsites, sites fill quickly on summer weekends by Friday afternoon, indicating peak popularity. Meanwhile, Flowed Lands offers stunning lake views that are particularly beautiful during late summer and early fall when the weather remains mild but crowds thin out. Be aware that camping during July holidays brings larger crowds. Spring can be wet with lingering snow in higher elevations, while late fall brings colder temperatures but gorgeous foliage.

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