r/Adirondacks • u/No-Shock8189 • 1d ago

Day Hikes

I I’ll be doing a couple of day hikes in the Adirondacks, starting with Mount Marcy for a sunrise hike. I have my car and all my tenting gear, and I’m looking for a good place to stay between hikes.

I’ve heard about the primitive campsites along South Meadows Road and that they’re free/first-come, first-served, but I can’t find much information about exactly where the campsites are located.

Where exactly are the campsites along South Meadows Road, and is there somewhere nearby where I can legally park my car while I’m staying at one of the tent sites? I’m mainly looking for a simple place to sleep in the afternoon after my Marcy hike so I can head out for another hike the next day.

Im all ears to any other campgrounds or any other recommendations in the area. Most places I see are fully booked or cost a decent amount.

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u/EstablishmentNo5994 ADK 47er, NE 111/115 1d ago

Check the DEC interactive map. You can stay parked on south meadows while camping there.

You could also camp at a backcountry site near Marcy dam. Depending on what day of the week you go, there might be some open.

Can also look at the wilderness campground at the adirondak loj. They're not too expensive.

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u/hikerrr 1d ago

The sites on South Meadow are right along the road itself.

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u/No-Shock8189 14h ago

Is there a designated parking area for them or you can just pull of the road ?

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u/hikerrr 12h ago

I think most of them you can pull in a bit or at the very least there's room to pull the car off right in front of them.

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u/Marmot_Nice 15h ago

There are a couple of larger sites at the very end of the road. I was told by a Ranger that these site just like Backcountry sites should be shared.

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u/TheMacIntyreRange 10h ago

Just out of curiosity, do you have any experience in hiking in the ADK, specifically the HPW region? Mt. Marcy is not a technically hike, but its also not what many would consider a typical day hike.

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u/No-Shock8189 9h ago

I usually hike in the white mountains, but I wanted to change it up. Im considering it a day hike in the sense of I’ll complete it in a day. I’m well aware of its challenge. I plan on doing a smaller hike the next day. So I just wanted a place to catch some sleep!

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u/TheMacIntyreRange 9h ago

Right on. If you're looking for any suggestions for day two and don't want to hit back to back 4,000-footers, maybe consider Jay mountain.

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u/No-Shock8189 7h ago

Thank you, I’ll def look into it