free camping website help

[gnarledwolf]

hello,
     I was looking through the listings on the freecamping website, and noticed many of them are just parking lots where you can park overnight in the car.   I'm planning a lot of camping by tent... are there free places to set up a tent anywhere or will I simply have to go stealth?  Can you for instance camp beside some of these lots in a tent? I'm bringing all my other resources, but setting up the tent, or if necessary camping on the ground in a sleeping bag, but any advice would be helpful.    We'll  be heading from NY to the grandcanyon then north to Washington state and I'll need places to sleep at night.  Also, can you camp in a tent at walmart?  most what I've seen says avoid walmart as cops look there first for illegal sleeping in cars.  Two weeks to go.  Thanks,
Matt

 

[Van-Tramp]

I recommend http://www.campendium.com as they have a database filled with ALL options. Just use the filters to widdle it down to what you want.

As for the question of camping in a tent at a Walmart; I would say "No, not allowed" but you could always as the Manager on duty.
It sounds like you will have better options staying outside the city limits as much as possible. You could just as easily setup tent in some bushes off the side of the road. You may want to Google how the guys who cross-country bicycle do it.

Another option, if you don't mind dropping a few dollars in advance, is becoming a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose (or Elks, though they are little harder to become a member). Many of them may allow a tent on their grounds, and they are usually in the city limits, and will be safer then a Walmart. Good trustworthy people in those Moose Lodges across the country and there are thousands of them. Drop in one and ask how to become a member.

http://www.mooseintl.org/

 

[akrvbob]

There is tons and tons of free dispersed camping out west, but less back east.

Here are some posts I did on finding free dispersed camping on Public Land like National Forests and BLM land. They will give you a good start.

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/finding-boondocking-sites-part-1/
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/finding-campsite-part-2-understanding-and-using-the-mvum/

If you have a smartphone, here is an app that is a very good tool for finding free dispersed campsites on Public land (scroll to the bottom of the post):

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/technomadia-visits-rtr-review-smartphone-app-us-public-lands/

If any of it's not clear, I'll be glad to explain it better after you read them.
Bob

 

[rvwandering]

If the site is listed as a parking lot at a business then the answer would almost always be "No" but if it's a trail head parking lot or something similar then it should be okay. Just set your tent up out of view from the road. 

 Free camping in the east is hard to find. National forests are good but there aren't many of them. Some states allow dispersed camping in their state forests. Small rural communities often have little campgrounds which are sometimes free. Also check the rates on the pay campgrounds on  freecampsites. Some are very cheap. If they're along your route it might be cheaper to pay for camping rather than the gas used to get to a free one. 

 Sleeping in your car in Walmart is not a bad option. We have a RV and do it all of the time. We rarely see any police, occasionally there's a paid security person who cruises around the lot all day. Ask them if it's okay to stay. We've seen a lot of car and SUV dwellers at Walmarts. I think that the illegal thing may be just in the southwest.

 Once you get west of the Missouri River free camping possibilities increase dramatically. Bob's links should help at lot. After you camp at a dispersed site a few times, you'll get a better sense of where you might find good spots.

 

[WriterMs]

When I am headed to a specific destination, I will use Walmart lots or truck stop plazas or even Cracker Barrel lots (ask first, especially at CB). Because all I want is a safe place to pull off, sleep and hit the road again.

I suspect even rest stops where over-nighting is legal would have a problem with a tent being put up. You can imagine that they would not want a few people to have the same idea and then they suddenly look like a campground.

In the east and midwest, another option is to look for small-town parks and county parks where they provide free camping for a night or two (hoping to get some tourist dollars). For instance, going into NM from the east, there is a little town with an I-40 exit called San Jon. Their little park has level spots, water and a trash bin. Free. I found this, I'm sure, on www.freecampsites.net

Another recent discovery that I will be using often is that the state of MO has free camping at virtually every one of their "conservation areas." (read hunting and fishing spots) Now many of these have a primitive parking lot with a vault toilet -- but that sort of thing is where no one would likely blink at a tent being set up. Here is a map that is hard to find:

http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/camping

I have not yet investigated if other mid-western states have such areas, but I will before my trip to RTR.

 

[SoulRaven]

Another fairly up to date site is

http://freecampsites.net/

I've found them helpful.

 

[gnarledwolf]

There is tons and tons of free dispersed camping out west, but less back east.

Here are some posts I did on finding free dispersed camping on Public Land like National Forests and BLM land. They will give you a good start.

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/finding-boondocking-sites-part-1/
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/finding-campsite-part-2-understanding-and-using-the-mvum/

If you have a smartphone, here is an app that is a very good tool for finding free dispersed campsites on Public land  (scroll to the bottom of the post):

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/technomadia-visits-rtr-review-smartphone-app-us-public-lands/

If any of it's not clear, I'll be glad to explain it better after you read them.
Bob

Bob, amazing links!  thanks, I'll study them.

 

[East]

If you have a smartphone I can not recommend AllStay's Camp & RV enough. They have done a fine job of cataloging nearly every free campground across the United States by including a ton of federal and local data. It is a paid app, but it's some of the best money I've spent.

 

[highdesertranger]

well once you get out west you will notice that it is totally different than back east. while those free campsite web sites may help you back east, out west they fall way short. for instance all of Nevada is a free campsite, except for the major cities you can camp anywhere. same for Arizona, eastern Kalifornia, eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. highdesertranger

 

[gnarledwolf]

Bob, amazing links!  thanks, I'll study them.

cool app, Bob. works great on my samsung tablet. This is going to be very useful!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

well once you get out west you will notice that it is totally different than back east.  while those free campsite web sites may help you back east,  out west they fall way short.  for instance all of Nevada is a free campsite,  except for the major cities you can camp anywhere.  same for Arizona,  eastern Kalifornia,  eastern Oregon,  Idaho,  Montana,  Wyoming,  Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.  highdesertranger

Yeah, we've always pretty much "winged it" and found some good places.
Often locals tell us about some great spots.
Along the Or coast we stop into surf shops to see where we can park on or by a beach. 
Sporting or fishing shops quite often know about lakes and rivers with camping.
If there's a kayak shop there's gotta be a spot somewhere in the area. We've camped in some cool places you won't find on a site just by chatting with the local peeps.

 

[mockturtle]

This is my favorite website and I also have the data on my GPS and my phone.  While not all the campgrounds are free, it is very comprehensive and you will find plenty of free sites here.
http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/uc/index.php

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

For the technomadia app, do you have to be online to use or does it preload the maps/data offline onto the device? (like mapfactor gps)

 

[akrvbob]

I'm sorry, I've never used it offline so I don't know.
Bob

 

[USExplorer]

Most free camping sites focus on established campgrounds. As others have pointed out, free established campgrounds are rare outside of national forests in the East. On the other hand, stealth campsites, totally hidden from public view, are remarkably easy to find in the rural eastern US due to the abundance of trees. Just look for any ungated track leading into the woods WITHOUT a mailbox corresponding to it on a back road. Or a track leading behind a copse of trees in a local park. Or a track leading down or up an embankment. Of course, none of these spots will be on camping websites. I've camped out dozens of times in beautiful quiet secluded and totally free campsites from Florida to New Hampshire. Some basic rules:

Visibility from any structure is a big no-no. Visibility of your car's reflectors from any road after dark is a big no-no. Campfires are a big no-no.

I never found the camping websites any use when the sun dipped below the horizon and I began finding and sorting potential campsites.