Forum Discussion

jayw900's avatar
jayw900
Explorer
Aug 03, 2016

"At large camping"

Reference

I'd like to take the suv out for a 2 day excursion. In the link above it says I can camp anywhere as long as it's 150 feet away but I see nothing in reference to driving an SUV to the camping spot. Anyone have ideas if I can drive back to the spot I choose to camp at? I didn't see anything on the website that says I can't and I did try to call a couple Dec offices but it seems no one is at the phone right now.
  • We used to take our VW bugs off road like you want to for camping, we just made sure we were out of sight of the road.

    Of course we were seniors in high school and weren't concerned with finding out if we were breaking any rules.
  • Naio's avatar
    Naio
    Explorer II
    Body gripping traps set on land must be at least 100 feet from public trails.


    Yipes! Don't go off the trail.
  • Here is the camping, road and parking information. It states "no designated parking areas however roadside parking is available. This would mean to me that you can park anywhere along the road. Good luck!

    Camping

    primitive camping
    General information on primitive camping includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules & regulations.

    There are no designated campsites; however, at-large 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.

    Directions

    There are no designated parking areas on the unit, however roadside parking is available. Bald Mountain State Forest lies approximately 2 miles east of the Village of Angelica and is accessible via Buehrings Road, which runs north off County Route 16.

    The state forest is located at 42.314195°N, 77.969137°W Google Maps (leaves DEC website). All coordinates provided are in decimal degrees using NAD83/WGS84 datum.
  • bukhrn's avatar
    bukhrn
    Explorer III
    "must be 150 ft from the nearest road" sounds pretty clear to me, NO, you can't drive to the camp site, if you must be 150 ' from the road.
  • Reference site says "There are no designated campsites; however, at-large 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." "Roads" implies that there are roads.

    There are various map links (Bald Mtn Forest Map, Google Earth, etc) near the top of the page. Check the maps. Look at Google Earth.

    You might also Google "Bald Mountain State Forest blogs trip reports" and see if anyone else posted trip descriptions or images.

    Be prepared for an adventure. Know how to turn around in very tight spaces. Tell us your story when you return!
  • I believe the DEC refers to primitive, meaning you hike and backpack to the camping spot, leaving the vehicles in a parking spot along the road.