Camping on BLM land

[freejetz]

I know it has been talked about in other threads but I'm looking for more of a how to and some good places out west(nevada/cali/NM) to help out.  I plan on hitting the road in september and this has been on my mind the past few days.  I read you can only stay in one spot for 2 weeks than you have to move at least a mile or 2 after that.  Is this correct?  any advice, suggestions, lessons learned or links will be greatly appreciated.

 

[sl1966]

From what I've read it can vary from site to site. I'd read was that in some places you can stay a maximum of 14 days in one spot before having to move a minimum of 25 miles away. I called and asked if it would be ok to move back and forth every two weeks between two spots and the BLM official said yes. This was about two years ago though so it wouldn't hurt to call the local BLM office of where ever you plan to stay and get the official skinny. At least that's what I do before going someplace new to me.&nbsp;<br /><br />Quartzsite, AZ offers a couple of different options but the most economical one is the 7 month winter pass that costs $180. (sept 15 to apr 15). They have more details on what they offer online.<br /><br />Slab City, CA is free to stay in. The place is a mixed bag of good and bad and I highly recommend doing your homework before going there. The somewhat shadier end of it's reputation doesn't bother me, but no one would fault you for not wanting to go there if you find it doesn't suit you.<br /><br />I don't know all the places in New Mexico yet, and have only camped at two places. I can say that it was relatively inexpensive. This is one of the states I plan on exploring extensively when I finally start the new life.<br /><br />

 

[freejetz]

Great info so far!! Thanks<br /><br />I do plan on visiting quartzsite and slab city. &nbsp;Both places look very interesting. &nbsp;The vice documentary guys just did a piece on slab city as well &nbsp; <a href="http://www.vice.com/americana/slab-city">http://www.vice.com/americana/slab-city</a>&nbsp; Very eye opening to say the least.

 

[mobilekev]

&nbsp;A really nice place to stay in the winter is on Lake Mitry which is a little north of Yuma. There's a 10 day limit per year so we pulled in around December 20th and stayed till January 10th. There's also a canal that's really close to the lake that's really pretty you can stay at as well. In addition there's tons of land all around there that are open and I doubt if anybody ever comes through there to check so I'm sure you can stay much longer than 2 weeks. We thought about getting one of the 6 month passes but were glad we didn't as it was a lot more fun to change spots every week or two.<br />&nbsp;A great idea if you're an RVer is to join the Escapees RV club. They have a lot of subgroups with similar interests like the Boondocker's BOF (Birds Of a Feather) and usually have a lot of the best local activities and interests lined up. For instance after the New Years Jamboree (up along that canal) we all went up to Parker Az to watch the desert races. It's both dune buggys and bikes and you can park right along the course (for free of course). Then we all headed up to Lake Havasu for the International Fireworks Competition which was really excellent. There's BLM land you can stay on both north and south of the town and on the north side you're only about 3 miles from Walmart, movie theatres,etc. We would have missed out on a lot of fun if we hadn't joined the Escapees.

 

[Guest]

<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; The old Ridge Route is on that , *every* history nut should do the Ridge Route at least once , it doesn't go all the way through since the winter of '05 but it used to do so. <br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Ridge Route was the main road prior to 5 being built , at points you can look miles down to the 5 and see all the traffic. <br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; CAVEAT: this is country that's going wild again..***keep a CLEAN camp and make sure to HANG YOUR FOOD*** , if you leave a bag of potato chips on your front see and a bear fails to understand how to operate a door handle and just tears the truck door off instead , well you were warned. And there a lots of real hogs in the area. <br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; Much to see , the foundations and locations of various old roadhouses etc. , including one that was owned by George Raft.......&nbsp;and in three decades of camping and tramping around the area I've never been hassled , not even once , not even for a fire , which is usually a HUGE no-no.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><a href="http://www.ridgeroute.com/">http://www.ridgeroute.com/</a>&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp; EDIT: I originally discover the Ridge Route during a brief summer residence in Castaic , and initially it was a place to go out and go completely and totally Bonkers on the RD400 I was&nbsp;roadracing &nbsp;at the time. <br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp; That scoot eventually got turned into a pretzel at Willow Springs , my love for the little nasty , gnarly stretch of pavement remained.

 

[twokniveskatie]

Thank-you for that link! Alan was one of the first people I met at slab city:<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: '.Helvetica NeueUI'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">http://twokniveskatie.blogspot.com/2009/02/impromptu-jam-at-slabs_14.html?m=0</span><br /><br />

Great info so far!! Thanks<br /><br />I do plan on visiting quartzsite and slab city. &nbsp;Both places look very interesting. &nbsp;The vice documentary guys just did a piece on slab city as well &nbsp; <a href="http://www.vice.com/americana/slab-city">http://www.vice.com/americana/slab-city</a>&nbsp; Very eye opening to say the least.

 

[mockturtle]

&nbsp;A really nice place to stay in the winter is on Lake Mitry which is a little north of Yuma. There's a 10 day limit per year so we pulled in around December 20th and stayed till January 10th. There's also a canal that's really close to the lake that's really pretty you can stay at as well. In addition there's tons of land all around there that are open and I doubt if anybody ever comes through there to check so I'm sure you can stay much longer than 2 weeks. We thought about getting one of the 6 month passes but were glad we didn't as it was a lot more fun to change spots every week or two.<br />&nbsp;A great idea if you're an RVer is to join the Escapees RV club. They have a lot of subgroups with similar interests like the Boondocker's BOF (Birds Of a Feather) and usually have a lot of the best local activities and interests lined up. For instance after the New Years Jamboree (up along that canal) we all went up to Parker Az to watch the desert races. It's both dune buggys and bikes and you can park right along the course (for free of course). Then we all headed up to Lake Havasu for the International Fireworks Competition which was really excellent. There's BLM land you can stay on both north and south of the town and on the north side you're only about 3 miles from Walmart, movie theatres,etc. We would have missed out on a lot of fun if we hadn't joined the Escapees.

&nbsp; <br /><br />I have kayaked on Mitry Lake and it's a terrific place!&nbsp; Haven't camped there yet but intend to some time.&nbsp; <br /><br />I am an Escapee but haven't joined the Boondockers chapter but it sounds like a great idea.&nbsp; Thanks for the tip. <img src="images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />

 

[sl1966]

Thank-you for that link! Alan was one of the first people I met at slab city:<br /><br />http://twokniveskatie.blogspot.com/2009/02/impromptu-jam-at-slabs_14.html?m=0

<br /><br />A little random trivia. <br /><br />That video was shot around the same time that you met him.<br />The producer of the video (Randy Stulberg) is one half of the team responsible for making Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa.<br /><br />

 

[twokniveskatie]

I was wondering when it was made. I swear his dog had pups when I was there. I could be wrong.&nbsp;<br /><br />The dog were very cool. Mutt was in love with Sheriff Victoria.&nbsp;<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: '.Helvetica NeueUI'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">http://twokniveskatie.blogspot.com/2009/03/slab-city-photos.html?m=1</span>

 

[freejetz]

get a 20 acre "mining claim" for $100 a year, and you might as well be the OWNER, cause you have the same rights. Get one up north, or at least, in the mountains, to avoid summer heat, and one in the south, to avoid winter cold.

<br /><br />Haha, can you really do this? &nbsp;Any caveats? &nbsp;Seems like a great idea.

 

[sl1966]

I know a little about this from what I'd learned about Bill Keys. He homesteaded land in Joshua Tree way before it became a Momunent and later a National Park.&nbsp;<br /><br />tween's info is a bit outdated and there's a bit more than to it than just shelling out for the land and sitting on it during the season.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/mineral_resources/Mining_Claims.html">http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/mineral_resources/Mining_Claims.html<br /><br /></a>

 

[blars]

http://freecampsites.net/ is&nbsp; a good resouce on where to camp, done by RTR atendees Jenn and Johnny, with some help from Rain.&nbsp; I've got some of the placesI stayed on my blog below.

 

[Rollin]

Thanks blars, bookmarked!

 

[GadgetSolar]

Great info. Thanx.