Boondocking options on the East Coast

[vtchris]

So how about it? Anyone care to share their favorite spots?  I will start.....Ocala National Forest in Northern Florida, Hog Pen Landing dispersed camping, right on a lake, but not for big rigs.

 

[cyndi]

The Allagash Wilderness in  the Northwest woods of Maine. Camp on the river, share your campsite with the big guys (moose) and never see another human unless they are paddling. There are some camps that charge, but there are plenty of free sites if you know where to look. I camped, frequently around Moosehead Lake. It's been about 7 years, since I've been up that way. Looking forward to revisiting it this summer!

 

[ttpadilla]

I reallllllyyyyy want to go to Maine!!!

 

[katelyn]

I'm planning on spending my spring and/or summer in Maine! I've been checking out all the info about free blm land too!  I can't wait to see a Moose! 

 

[Les H]

Tumblibg creek cg, cherokee national forest, near copperhill Tn and ducktown, Ga. nice creek, great lake, usually quiet.

 

[Pikachu711]

You'll love Maine in the spring & summer. That's the best time of year to spend in that state. Once fall starts to roll around it will start getting a bit cool.<br /><br />I was stationed at a base in Limestone, Maine (Loring AFB) which was located less than 5 minutes from the Canadian border. You'll find quite a bit of great land to boondock. That state has a quite a bit of forest area. Very beautiful in the fall too.<br /><br />I was there for 2 1/2 years. So you can say that I saw more than my share of four seasons. 

 

[Guest]

When I took my van trip back east to see friends and family several years ago, I told myself I was not going again. I spent some of my early life and early teenage years there and used to camp a lot in the Catskills and Green mountains of Vermont as well as rockclimb in the Shawangunks in NY. <br /><br />On the latest trip east I was traveling and not just hanging out so I tried to make the big "U" from Montana east and back across the south for New Mexico, in two months. I had a terrible time finding places to camp....once I left Michigan going east it got very difficult to find campgrounds along my route and RV parks were almost non-existent. I ended&nbsp; up traveling much faster due to that. <br /><br />I am used to the west where you are never far from a campground or RV park and public land is everywhere. Also truck stops and Walmarts are everywhere and you can sleep in all the truck stops and many of the Walmarts. You all may have better luck than I did and I hope you do but that was it for me. Never again....<br />&nbsp;<br />On that trip I had my first Cop banging on door at 2 in the AM experience....And I was parked in a truckstop that I had asked permission to park at.<br /><br />That has never happened to me in a lifetime of vehicle camping in the west...<br /><br />As usual and I hope, YMMV....<br />Bri<br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[RV-Kitty]

Where exactly is it? We're near there and never heard of free dispersed camping there unless you walk in with a tent.

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

I camped there 20 years ago. Don't know how to get there by myself.(Ocala National Forest in Northern Florida)<BR>A warning, rules can change fast. A place that was good to camp at a few years ago can change.&nbsp;

 

[ageinggracefully]

Hog Pen Landing is NOT in the Ocala National, but is in the Osceola National, perhaps that is why you couldn't find it. It is listed as a Hunting Camp and a Primitive camp. Although it doesn't really say, I assume this may be a walk in only.

 

[weestrom05]

IN the Ocala National Forest there is a campground off highway 17 about 5 miles north of&nbsp;<br>Altoona that is free it is on a moderately sized lake. &nbsp;There are no facilities &nbsp;except water that is non potable. &nbsp;The name is Farles prairie. I see by the USDA website that it charges A 5.00 entry fee. &nbsp;There is also Gores landing on the Oklawaha Rier about 1/2 the way between Highway 40 and Fort McCoy. it is a Marion County park.. &nbsp;There also are now hookups. There is also a 5.00 entry fee.also there is free dispersed primitive thruout the forest

 

[RV-Kitty]

IN the Ocala National Forest there is a campground off highway 17 about 5 miles north of&nbsp;<br>Altoona that is free it is on a moderately sized lake. &nbsp;There are no facilities &nbsp;except water that is non potable. &nbsp;The name is Farles prairie.

<br><br>Well that wouldn't work for 3 months.&nbsp; Places like that are good to spend a night, maybe two. They wouldn't be suitable for snow-birding or for people to live there either if they had to haul out their waste and haul in potable water. <br><br>

I see by the USDA website that it charges A 5.00 entry fee. &nbsp;There is also Gores landing on the Oklawaha Rier about 1/2 the way between Highway 40 and Fort McCoy. it is a Marion County park.. &nbsp;There also are now hookups. There is also a 5.00 entry fee.also there is free dispersed primitive thruout the forest

<br><br>As for the dispersed camping - where and how do people drag large RVs off the roads and into the woods?&nbsp; Are there special dirt or paved roads to get RVs in?&nbsp; Are they somehow kept a secret? We've been to the ONF more than once and never saw any roads going off the main roads leading into the forest where even a small camper would fit. There are regular campgrounds there w/full hookups, but they're not cheap. We're talking like $600 a month and up.

 

[rvwandering]

&nbsp;RV Kitty - We spent two winters in Florida recently and didn't really find any good boondocking spots. It's very hard to find any in the eastern states. We're very experienced boondockers and are always on the look out for good spots so we were looking everywhere we went. <br><br>Out west it's totally different. BLM is mostly scrub desert and any RV can find a place to boondock. The national forests have level sections, the trees are farther apart with little understory and there isn't as much private land along the main roads. It's pretty easy to find a dirt road that is fine for a RV to drive on and then find a boondocking spot.<br><br>&nbsp;You'll do better to just stay in national forest campgrounds for 1/2 price (if you're eligible for the senior pass) or find a private park with a cheap monthly rate.<br><br>&nbsp;

 

[ontheroadagain]

try this site's database   https://www.boondocking.org/

 

[RV-Kitty]

&nbsp;RV Kitty - We spent two winters in Florida recently and didn't really find any good boondocking spots. It's very hard to find any in the eastern states. We're very experienced boondockers and are always on the look out for good spots so we were looking everywhere we went.

<br><br>I know what you mean.&nbsp; We couldn't find any in NY state and it's a big state mostly still rural and semi-rural.&nbsp; All the land was either Posted or there was no way or no place to get off the roads and drive in.&nbsp; Almost everything was fenced in. We found it to be the same in PA, GA, FL and TN where we live. But at this point my husband wants full set-ups when we stay somewhere more than one or two nights.&nbsp; When on the road we spend nights at truck stops or WalMart lots. <br><br>

Out west it's totally different. BLM is mostly scrub desert and any RV can find a place to boondock. The national forests have level sections, the trees are farther apart with little understory and there isn't as much private land along the main roads. It's pretty easy to find a dirt road that is fine for a RV to drive on and then find a boondocking spot.

<br><br>Then the west hasn't changed much since 1977.&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">&nbsp; I took a cross-country trip with my now ex-husband that year. We were in a van conversion - on the road for 31 days. We boondocked the entire month except when we needed to do laundry and wanted good long hot showers. We would then chose a campground to stay overnight. My husband and I recently bought another RV, a Class-C and he wants to take a cross-country trip while we still can, before our health goes. We're in our late 60s so it's now or never. We hope to do it within 2 years.&nbsp; Unfortunately we were really taken with the C-C as it needs a lot more work than we anticipated. I don't think the seller told us one true thing about the RV.&nbsp; We don't want to haul this large 28' TT with us. We would rather the Class-C for obvious reasons. <br><br>&nbsp;

You'll do better to just stay in national forest campgrounds for 1/2 price (if you're eligible for the senior pass) or find a private park with a cheap monthly rate.<br><br>&nbsp;

<br><br>Oh yes, we have the Senior card. Only the COEs give 50% off where we live.&nbsp; Do the NFs also give 50% off?

 

[rvwandering]

RV-Kitty - The pass is good for COE campgrounds, national forest campgrounds, national park entrance fees and campgrounds, BLM campgrounds that charge a fee and a few other places. Here's a link - <a href="http://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior.html</a><br><br>&nbsp;Also here's a good link for boondocking spots - <a href="http://freecampsites.net/usa/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://freecampsites.net/usa/</a>

 

[RV-Kitty]

Thank you for this information. I will come in handy. I wish the senior pass worked in state parks. TN has some nice ones, but they wont honor it.