East has hardly any free campsites 14 day stay...Nevada they seem numerous...

[Kattrails]

Was searching for free 14 day campsites online and Kentucky has hardly any compared to the state Nevada.  Omg. Any suggestions for eastern ky. besides alum ford, great meadows, and red river gorge please let me know. Camping but not yet full time csmping. Nice to meet everyone here. 


Buy the ticket take the ride.~ Hunter S. Thomson

How many folks have camped in red river gorge in Ky on here? Just curious.

 

[Moxadox]

Cumberland Falls SP is gorgeous. 2 week stays in the West are because of the plethora of BLM and Forest Service campsites. In KY, try searching for COE (Corps of Engineers) campgrounds. They are cheap,beautiful, and tend to have large campsites. Some of them allow stays up to 30 days. They also frequently exchange work for a campsite, if you're interested in that. Good luck!

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[lenny flank]

There's not very much BLM land in the east. IIRC, most BLM land today is stuff that was made available for homesteaders but nobody wanted it, so the Federales still own it.

 

[John61CT]

Keep in mind rural areas, friendly people. Ask around for a spot on private land. . .

 

[Deb_A]

I've found that if you go to a small town, drop into a local diner or mechanic's shop and ask, there is always someone willing to give you a place to park for a night or two. I remember Carolyn of Carolyn's RV Life camping out in Kentucky for awhile. I think she was in a state park or national forest. You might want to check out her videos and see if you can find it.

 

[highdesertranger]

comparing back east to Nevada is not really fair. seeing how over 90% of Nevada is a free campsite. highdesertranger

 

[waldenbound]

hdr,
I was driving through Nevada while the forum was down back in April. I went down 95, and saw no place to turn off, camp, no rvers, nothing. Just traffic flying down the rosd at 80 mph.
I had to motel it all the way through Nevada.

What did I do wrong?

 

[highdesertranger]

walden I am truly dumfounded. you saw no dirt roads the length of Nevada? just pick one and drive down it a little. I have overnighted right off the highway(less than a mile) between Mina and Tonopah, also between Mina and Hawthorne(used this spot several times), and North of Winnemucca. mind you these were just one night stop overs for me but they all could have been used for extended stays. a little further off the highway are some wonderful campsites. also at Walker Lake just north of Hawthorne there is free camping right on the lake. I even spent 2 nights at the closed truck stop in Mina with the owners permission due to a break down.

from my experience in Nevada if your not supposed to be somewhere it is clearly signed. the sign might be shot up but you can't miss it LOL. just pick a dirt road, if in doubt ask some locals. highdesertranger

 

[johnny b]

It comes down to 'open' land versus 'crowded' land.
This census population map helps explain east vs west:

 

[Stuck]

johnny b;

That map goes right to the heart of the problem - population density. There is no open public land this side of the Mississippi. What little public lands we have out east must be protected or they would quickly degrade from overuse.

I live near an army corps lake. There were free campgrounds here 20 years ago. The corps had to close them due to budget cuts. Campgrounds cost money to build and maintain. The only campgrounds left now are maintained by stiff entry fees.

 

[waldenbound]

hdr,
I may have seen dirt roads, but didn’t know where they lead. I heard people getting into trouble by fillowing dirt roads when they aren’t familiar with the area.
There were a few turn offs to let traffic pass but
I guess the snowbirds were already north because i kept looking for travellers but didnt see them.

Anyway, Nevada isnt for me, I’m safely in Arizona now.

 

[Stuck]

Try this URL for public lands.

http://publiclands.org/

You are right about going down a dirt road without a map, especially with a trailer. My dad once had to back more than ten miles out of an abandoned railroad grade because there was no place to turn around.