Camping in the Adirondacks
My boyfriend and I went on our first hammock(ish) camping adventure a few weeks ago. It was super exciting and I wanted to share a little about the trip and how you can get out and enjoy this part of the Adirondacks too.
This was not our first time going to this spot in the Adirondacks, but we always end up losing our way somehow. Honestly we both lose service once we get into the Adirondack area so we need to invest in a good GPS. (Any suggestions would be great!)
Right outside of a little town called Inlet, NY there is a semi-primitive camping area called Moose River Plains. Now I say semi-primitive because there are quite a few campsites marked out. Most of the sites have a fire pit, picnic table, and an outhouse. There is a little check-in kiosk where you sign in and tell them how long you'll be there and where you are so if there is an emergency the ranger can find you. You also have to travel on some kind of rough dirt roads to get there. I did do this the first time we went in July of 2021 in my little Chevy Cruze and it went fine, but preferably you'll want a vehicle with higher clearance and maybe some 4x4 capability. This particular trip we took my boyfriend's Jeep and it went much smoother.
We settled on this campsite. It was farther than our last site when we stayed the first time but it was drier and had a good set up for our hammocks (which I'll talk more about in another post).
Like I said before most of the sites have the three things that make you a little more comfortable but unfortunately some of them are in different levels of disrepair. This site is run by NY DEC and this is in no way a bash on them. They do what they can and keep the roads clear of debris and fill in the roads when they are washed out. They also can't account for humans being humans. In this particular site we had to dig out the fire pit because it was full of glass bottles and there was no grill grate so I improvised with some bricks that were in the pit to boil our water and cook on later in the day.
Just a quick PSA: If you go out to sites like these there are a few respectful things that most people who have spent any time outdoors will tell you.
Carry Out what you Carry In: This means don't throw your trash in the woods or in the fire pit. It's easy to bring one trash bag and throw all your trash in. Plus it doubles as a rain poncho if you forget your raincoat!
Leave No Trace: Kind of along the same lines but make sure the woods are left better than when you found them. Don't cut live trees, be smart about where you use the toilet (if you don't have an outhouse), and just use regular common sense. If you brought it make sure you take it back with you.
Honestly those are the big two for me and I'll probably make another blog post just about it because I feel like a lot of people don't respect these sites (which are free to camp at by the way).
Now aside from a few minor inconveniences we had a great time! We got our hammocks set up fairly easily and we set up the tent for sleeping in since this was our first time with the hammocks. Luckily we had no rain in the forecast but it did get a little chillier at night than we thought. The sites are pretty spread out and you will only see the occasional car or camper drive by. The sites are first come first served so get there early especially on the weekends. We only have two weekdays off together so usually it isn't busy when we go. We got up around 1 AM and Adam took some cool pictures of the stars which I'll show you.
The only other warning I have for anyone here is horseflies! Bring your bug spray, citronella, bug nets, everything! One site we liked was nice and sunny with grass but the second we drove in the car was immediately swarmed with them. So watch out! Adam was smart and wore a head net so they didn't bother him much, and somehow we both came out of the woods without any bug bites.
All in all the Moose River Plains is a beautiful spot to do some more "roughing it" type camping or if you just want to escape your daily grind for a bit and unplug. People do bring their campers but it's difficult if they aren't ready for the roads in.
I hope you enjoyed this post and if you want to see more or have any questions let me know!
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