Permission to Camp in Forests
In the vast national forests of this country “Camping is free,” to quote from one of the bulletins of the U. S. Forest Service, “and generally requires no permit. You may choose your own camp ground and help yourself to dead wood.… You may fish or you may hunt with gun or camera. On most of the forests there are no restrictions other than those imposed by the game laws of the states in which the forests are situated. You can find out what these are from forest officers or state game wardens.” (In another chapter of this book the readers will find a tabulated compilation of these game laws.)
To camp in a state forest a permit is usually required, which may be secured as a rule from the local forester. The camper in a state forest is subject to a number of regulations, none of which are unreasonable or onerous. The State of New York, which has more than two million acres in its numerous forest reservations, has perhaps the most comprehensive [[87]]set of regulations which are typical, and for this reason they are given below:
“General Regulations
“The following rules and regulations are of general application to the state land administered by the Conservation Commission, and are to govern all those who make use of this land. Regulations of special or local application may be adopted from time to time:
“1. No fires except for cooking, warmth or smudge purposes are permitted. No fire shall be lighted until all inflammable material is removed to prevent its spread.
“2. Lighted matches, cigars, cigarettes or burning tobacco must not be deposited or left where they may cause fires.
“3. No official sign posted, or structure maintained under permit, shall be defaced.
“4. Peeling bark or injuring trees is prohibited.
“5. Dead or down wood may be used for fuel by temporary campers.
“6. Camps and adjacent grounds must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. Garbage and refuse must be either buried, removed or burned. Waste materials must not be thrown into the waters, or waters polluted.
“7. Each camper on Lake George islands, St. Lawrence Reservation or other much frequented place, must provide a plentiful supply of chloride of lime and dirt, for disinfecting and covering any latrine used by him. All latrines must be cleaned and the contents burned or buried at frequent intervals, in such manner as to prevent offensive odors, and above all to avoid pollution of the water supply.
“8. Canvas tents without platforms for use during short periods may be placed without a permit, but not in a trail or within 150 feet of any spring used for water supply.
“9. No tents (except those under rule 8) or wooden [[88]]structures shall be erected or maintained in the Forest Preserve, except under written permission from the Conservation Commission (located at Albany, N. Y.). Tar paper shall not be used, except for roofs of open camps erected under permit. The structures for which permits may be granted are as follows. Those erected under (a), (b) or (c) become the property of the state.
“(a) Open camps for use of travelers, not to be occupied by the same person or persons more than three nights in succession or more than ten nights in any one year.
“(b) Open camps for use of campers, hunters or fishermen, may be occupied for reasonable periods.
“(c) Permanent tent platforms for summer camping purposes. Permit granted to use while occupied in good faith. Platform to be left for future use. When not in use permits may be given others to use.
“(d) Temporary tent platforms for summer camping. The platform to be erected and removed simultaneously with the tent.
“(e) Portable canvas houses for summer camping.
“10. No one may claim any particular site from year to year or the exclusive use of the same.
“11. The use of the Forest Preserve or the improvements thereon for private revenue or commercial purposes is prohibited.
“12. Any unoccupied tent or structure may be removed by the Commission.
“13. At St. Lawrence Reservation, where fireplaces are provided, fires must not be kindled elsewhere, nor shall tents on these parks be pitched less than two hundred feet from any public fireplace or boat landing.
“14. No boat is entitled to the exclusive use of any dock built by the state. There must be free access for boats at all times.
“15. Dancing in any building erected by the state is prohibited.
“16. All campers will be held responsible for compliance [[89]]with these rules, and any person responsible for injury of state property will be held liable for damages and penalties.”
In the matter of fire the New York Conservation Commission adds these cautions:
“The great cause of forest fires to-day is carelessness in its numerous forms. Many fires are due to smokers and to abandoned camp fires. Many people use the woods who do not appreciate that the forest floor is nothing but decayed vegetation and that after a few days of continued dry weather it becomes so dry that the dropping of a match, cigarette or burning tobacco is as likely to cause a fire as if the same burning material was dropped into a basket of dry waste paper. Underneath these dry leaves is in most instances a heavy mat of rotted leaves. After periods of drought, this material, called ‘duff,’ becomes very dry and inflammable, and will hold fire for a long time. Under no circumstances should camp fires be set on this kind of soil.
“A camp fire should be set on a brook bed or shore, or on some camping ground where there is no ‘duff,’ and in all cases the inflammable material around the edge of the fire should be removed, so that it cannot spread. Every camper should be sure the fire is out before it is left.”
Special attention is paid to the New York State Parks and Reservations because New York is our most populous state and because its system of parks and reservations is one of the most extensive. The New York system of parks but illustrates the great wealth of opportunity open to the motor camper.
In addition to the Interstate Palisades Park, with its thirty thousand acres administered by an interstate commission, the State of New York has no less than thirty-two state parks and also eight great [[90]]forest reserve parks, most of which are administered by the Conservation Commission through the Superintendent of State Forests, his assistants and deputies.
The parks proper are not very extensive and are mainly for the preservation of points of historic interest, such as the Stony Point Battlefield (35 acres), Bennington Battlefield (171 acres), Lake George Battlefield (35 acres), Washington Headquarters at Newburgh, and locations of scenic beauty such as Watkins Glen (103 acres), Niagara Falls State Reservation (112 acres). Some of these parks are not administered by the Conservation Commission, but by special commissions, like the last-mentioned, which is administered by five commissioners appointed by the Governor.
The forest preserves proper of New York are mainly:
First, the Adirondack Park, which comprises 3,313,564 acres, of which forty-nine per cent is owned by the people of New York State; twenty-two per cent is owned by lumber and pulp companies; fifteen per cent is in private parks; six per cent is in small private holdings; two per cent is held by companies interested in minerals; and six per cent is improved lands. For purposes of comparison it may be said that the Adirondack Park is slightly larger than the State of Connecticut.
Second, the Catskill Park, which is readily accessible to the motorists of the Metropolitan District of New York City, and which includes 576,120 [[91]]acres, of which the state owns 116,364 acres. This park includes the central portion of the Catskill Mountain region. While of less extent than the Adirondack Park, the Catskill Park contains a wealth of wonderful scenery. Excellent macadam and dirt highways enable the motor camper to reach almost all parts of the Catskill Park. There are at least twenty-six delightful camp sites, all provided with fireplaces, that are open to the motor-camping public. A complete list of these public camp sites is given in Chapter [XIII], where will be found a tabulated list of public camp sites throughout the United States. There are also half a dozen other Forest Reserve Parks of lesser extent than the two above-mentioned.