Camping In New York Is Great, Unless You Are Doing It Illegally

The cost of living in 2023 is putting a strain on our wallets, purses and bank accounts. It can be difficult to pay the bills let alone establish any amount of savings. Take the cost of renting, according to Rent Cafe, the average rent in Albany is currently $1,600 a month vs. $1,400 a month just 3 years ago.

Recently an individual was discovered camping illegally in the woods of New York. He had been there for a month before New York State Forest Rangers evicted him.

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On Friday October 6, 2023, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Rangers responded to a complaint of an illegal campsite on Beebe Hill State Forest in Austerlitz, NY.

As officers arrived at the campsite they discovered a tent, a propane heater, clothesline with articles of clothing out to dry and a fair amount of garbage piled nearby.

Designated primitive tent sites and lean-tos are legal and provided in New York State. Campers may occupy these sites on a first-come/first-served basis for no more than 3 nights. That does not appear to be the case in this situation.

Forest Rangers Jackson and Peterson investigated the scene while the tent was unoccupied. On October 7th Rangers returned to the scene to check the site and witnessed an individual approaching the camp.

Before advising the individual to move off the site, Rangers interviewed the individual and learned that he had been living out of the tent for more than a month. The man was issued tickets for camping within 150 feet of a trail, failure to maintain a neat and sanitary campsite, and camping for four nights or more without a permit.