Small-footprint is a definite advantage. I thought of this site as a near-perfect stealth site. I couldn't stand up under the hemlock branches, so I wound up pitching the tent on my hands and knees. But it was out of sight of the trail, below 3500 feet (a requirement in New York), the duff was deep and cushiony, and I slept like a rock. (The tent wasn't that saggy when I pitched it. Wet nylon stretches. I was about to break camp when I took the picture, so I didn't bother retensioning it.) Since all I was doing at that site was sleep, I didn't need a lot of room to spread out. I waited to have breakfast until I came to a spot with a nicer view.
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7443/1...6e4266e0_z.jpg
I agree with Slo-go'en that if you want solitude, a National Park is not the best place to find it.
I was really astonished at that NPS guideline. In wilderness or Wild Forest areas in NY, the rule is AT LEAST 50 yards from anything: trail, shelter (on DEC lands, camping in the immediate vicinity of a shelter is a no-no), water, cultural site, ... and 200 feet or more is strongly recommended. 20 yards in open woods might still be very much in plain sight.
In the balsam and spruce up Slo-go'en's way, designated sites are pretty much all there is. I can recall a trip with Elf where we pitched in the hole left by a blowdown, because everything else that we'd seen all day was spruce, viburnum, cliff or beaver swamp. (This was an off-trail outing, bagging three or four Catskill summits.) But there have been many times in the North Country that I've had a designated site all to myself. It's a different game when you aren't on a big-name trail.