Poke-O-Moonshine Camping

Hey, anybody know of any good cheap/free camping near poke-o-moonshine? Also, for a couple hours of Friday night bivy, is the parking area a viable option?

Also, anyone want to hook me up with a googlemaps link location of the cliff? The directions on the page are a little vague. Thanks!

Ha Ha. Get off 87 in Keesville (exit 33 I think) just after you pass Poko which is hanging over the highway. Sop up the drool from the floor mats. Turn right and loop back to park at the campground under the main cliff.
Not sure of free camping options but the NYS park camping is rather convenient and helps a hurting state budget :-)

Adam-last I knew the state had closed that campground due to budget cuts. Are you sure that it is open? There is a small pulloff on the left just south of the cliffs that could be used as a sleep in your car option and also a private campground a few miles south "magic Pines" with some tent sites.

Yeah, ditto to what Tparis said. I've heard second hand of climbers getting ticketed by DEC officers for camping at Poke-O.

Just put the following into Google Maps 44.40000°N / 73.51°W and it will show you the cliff and 87 going right by.

In Google Earth,

Latitude 44.408130°
Longitude -73.504308°

Last I was there the camp ground was indeed closed. Major bummer.

Magic Pines says they are 5 minutes from Poko; I would have guessed about double that, but they should know, and they're obviously close.

magicpines.com/home.html

Tents are $18/night.

Meanwhile, if you want to check out Poko, there is, for some mysterious reason, an amazing shot of it on Gigapan:

gigapan.org/gigapans/27098/…

You can zoom out to see the whole cliff and zoom in close enough to ust about see individual holds on climbs.

rgold wrote: Meanwhile, if you want to check out Poko, there is, for some mysterious reason, an amazing shot of it on Gigapan: gigapan.org/gigapans/27098/… You can zoom out to see the whole cliff and zoom in close enough to ust about see individual holds on climbs.

That gigapan view of Poke-O is amazing. You can see right into the Great Dihedral. Too bad about the leaves, and the fact that it's shot from way to the right.

Magic Pines is the closest private campground. It is just south of Poko about 5-10 minutes. North of the mountain, in/around Keeseville are a number of private campgrounds. AuSable River campground is just off exit 34 (Poko is 33) on I-87. Again 5-10 minutes from Poko. Keeseville has stores, gas stations, post office, etc. The closest state campground is AuSable Point, five to ten minutes further north of Keeseville. There is FREE Camping at Poke-O-Moonshine, but NOT in the campground....it IS officially closed. But...New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation law is that you can camp anywhere on state property as long as there isn't a sign saying you can't. You must camp more than 150 feet from a trail or water source, not above 4000', and don't stay more than 3 days (permits available for longer). There are fledgling efforts underway by the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine to get camping back at the campground some day, but these are in the early stages. The Friends group will soon have a website that you can check for updates. Good luck with your climb!

".... there is, for some mysterious reason, an amazing shot of it on Gigapan..."

That place looks AWESOME!!

Greg Kuchyt wrote: Yeah, ditto to what Tparis said. I've heard second hand of climbers getting ticketed by DEC officers for camping at Poke-O.

Any bêta about camping in the closed camground and getting ticket by the DEC ?

This is the first time I've seen that Gigapan shot---WOW. Amazing picture of an amazing cliff. I think I can sorta see the stopper that I left jammed in the Great Dihedral in '75!!!!!

I wish that the Friends can succeed in getting the campground re-opened, so convenient and so many great memories from there.

Fastest Gun looks wet.Too bad.

There's a fairly easy hike to the lean-to uphill for camping (free) or a couple of campsites (paid) nearby on the DEC site. Sharp bridge or one other, I forget, with a nice lake.

The old campground is currently very overgrown with tall grass and young trees. There are lots of ‘No Camping’ signs around. If you choose to set up camp it is very obvious what your doing. Because the entire old campground is directly next to Rte 9 it’s also very easy for anyone driving by to see you camping. Whatever of the old campground that isn’t overgrown has been turned into parking.

In short, car camping in the old campground isn’t a good idea. As always, discreet, inside your car camping (not #vanlife) happens. But, set up a tent, start a fire, etc. and that will bring attention to you.

it was a very noisy campground. the freeway noise bounces off the cliff.