New England Camping

Hi Folks, I searched the forum looking for an answer but came up dry. I am from southern Worcester County, MA. Looking to maybe do some camping off road. I'm not looking to do any serious off roading to get there, more like dirt roads etc, just off the beaten path.

I know there's not a lot of off road driving permitted in New England, and virtually none in Southern New England. But does anyone know of any camp sites or places off the beaten path that I could drive to to do a night of camping?

My company is based in Idaho, and I hear people talk about being able to just go off on public land and camp wherever, I know that's not something we have much of here, but has made me think a little bit.

 

I don’t like to share it, but the Moosehead Lake area is a favorite for me.

 

Thanks for the reply, I suspect if people have spots that they know of they might not be looking to share. I appreciate that, I had camped up on Moosehead lake a long time ago, forgot all about it! Great spot!

 

Many hiking trails have limited camping available

https://maps.app.goo.gl/YL4Ps2r9WcL8SR4p9

https://maps.app.goo.gl/totVpiW77nbE8Nne7

 

North Maine Woods https://www.northmainewoods.org/

 

I can send you a few pins.
In a word: iOverlander
(App)

 

This is the closest you will get to out west style driving and camping

It’s a great place

 

Bald Eagle state forest PA

 

Delaware State Forest PA

 

Also adirondacks is nice there’s some spots like right on the water. Sometimes a bit smaller of a lake. They’re all determined by the state so there’s not really any like hidden gems. Just need to buy a map. When I get home from vacation I can see which one it is you should get exactly. If you boondock off label I’m pretty sure you get hosed with a $150 fine if caught.

moose river plains has like 100+ spots

 

That would be awesome if you let me know, I'll dig around. Thanks!

 

Anybody know anything recent about Kelly Stand Road? OP - this is an unpaved road about 20 minutes north of Bennington VT (south west corner) around Arlington. Might be closer for you. When we first started drifting into VT 20-so years ago, I just ended up driving on a dead end offshoot of this about half way across and plopped down for a night. Goes E-W for a bit, and has the D Webster Memorial somewhere towards the east end.

I've camped 3 or 4 times but I haven't been there since the late 2000's. I'm not sure if it's ok to still just (or ever was lol) camp on a side shoot any more. Irene also mucked it up back then for a while. Maybe someone else that's been along there more recently can chime in?

 

I'm curious, I just looked at it on Google Maps, it looks like a fair amount of houses on that road now, I wonder if it's gotten more populated since?

 

You looking at just the ends? It's about ten straight map miles from East Arl to Stratton. I think I was in about 3 or 4 miles from the East Alr side / Kansas Road junction. Not much there for a few miles. Sorry, my crappy man cave laptop doesn't have a screen snapshot thing to show where lol. I just liked it cause it was easy to get to and far enough away from rt7.

Funny story - the spot I'd go was a dead end. About 20 yards or so into the woods I discovered a life size cutout of a moose, something like 1/2 inch ply wood painted brown. You couldn't see it unless you wandered in a bit on foot. Was used for the expected purposes. It lasted for some years... just more holes every time I saw it... the things you find.

 

Cool, maybe I didn't look far enough West. That looks like a cool road to explore!

 

Well I finally remembered to look lol,

Adirondack Paddler's Map North

Link for example:
https://adk.org/product/adirondack-paddlers-map/

 

Excellent! Thank you!

 

I just got back from a fun rafting weekend in West Forks, ME. I used to live in the woods in 2009 and there’s a ton of logging roads there, even a long one that connects to Moosehead Lake. My favorite road to camp on is Lower Enchanted Road, where you can find tons of old wood for campfires that sparks up easily, campsites abound and on river streams! There is a local spring with water as pure as Poland Spring (check out www.findaspring.com for exact location). I got a bit lost on Black Brook Rd while looking for the Carry Brook put in/take out for the Kennebec River. Black Brook Rd is also an amazing spot to drive on dirt roads. AFAIK, fire/campsite permits are free for these areas but you need to sign up at the Forest Service station in Caratunk, ME. It’s a simple form with your approximate location; you keep one in your windshield and leave the other at the station. This may have changed over the last few years!

 

Last summer I had a fun wilderness site on the George D Aiken Wilde Rd near Woodford State Park in VT. There were a ton of free campsites especially a huge one at the very end where we parked a travel van, Tacoma and Durango next to a huge fire pit. We had reservations at the cramped State Park but bailed when we saw the wilderness spot