How do I find BLM land? Where is your favorite and why?

[akrvbob]

You very rarely need a permit. In all my travels I've only needed a permit twice, once in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the other camping around Quartzsite AZ.

Don't fixate on those extremely rare occasions when you need a permit. It's a non-issue for BLM land. There are no requirements for those rare, rare times when you need one. You say give me one and they give you one. Period.

If you don't get one, probably nothing will happen, and the worst is a Ranger will come by and tell you to get one.
Bob

 

[SinnTek]

So out of curiosity... Is this something that would be viable in Riverside California? I want to go back there pretty bad, just couldn't find an actual yes or no if it was ok to camp near there.

 

[highdesertranger]

eastern riverside county is almost all blm. this is from indio east to the Colorado river. from indio to white water pass it's checker board and from white water to the orange county line it's almost all private, very little blm. highdesertranger

 

[SinnTek]

eastern riverside county is almost all blm.  this is from indio east to the Colorado river.  from indio to white water pass it's checker board and from white water to the orange county line it's almost all private,  very little blm.  highdesertranger

Interesting. I was actually hoping for Orange County as well.

 

[blars]

As others said, the BLM areas where you need to stay in a campground or get a permit are rare. Some areas are posted "no camping", near the above areas in most cases. "Wilerness" means no vehicles, as does "Closed". "Open" means drive anywhere. (Some, such as Imperial Dunes, require a pay permit.) "Limited" means vehicles on designated roads only (look for the little verticle numbered signs). Camping is usually allowed within 300 feet of such roads. BLM offices with much limited area have MVUM maps available free, they vary in quality. Many of the designated roads need high-clearance 4wd vehicles to drive on.

 

[highdesertranger]

no blm land in orange county. there is national forest, but no dispersed camping. if you come to OC give me a pm. highdesertranger

 

[SinnTek]

I'm planning on going to California eventually. Right now I think I am going to stay in Littleton CO however. There seems to be a lot of BLM / Public Land and even still if I can't stay there... the industrial area is ridiculous in Littleton so I can blend in pretty well.

 

[rvwandering]

 I've been using http://publiclands.org/ to make sure we're camping on public land but I've found that it loads really slowly. While checking freesites.net for good boondocking spots in Box Wash near Wickenburg, AZ I found a link in the comment section to a GIS map http://gis.azland.gov/webapps/parcel/    Is there a an easy to use site that has maps of all of the states with this data? I've searched but haven't found anything comprehensive.

 

[steveh2112]

about 5 miles east of Escalante in the Escalante Grand Staircase Nat Monument, just turn onto Hole in the Rock road and about 1/4 mile on the right, lots of boon docking sites, great views, awesome.

get a free permit from the Escalante rangers station first.

drive down hole in the rock road 12 miles (need off road vehicle) to devils garden, stunning rock formations, no one there

 

[ryegal]

My favorite BLM land is Ehrenberg, AZ for these reasons:

1) No Ranger enforcement.
2) Easy access to free water and trash disposal.
3) Blythe, CA is 7 miles away and has good shopping.
4) Only 3 miles from a Flying J with a Wendy's and a dump station.
4) Only 17 miles away from Quartzsite, AZ which is a very cool place!
Bob

Hi Bob, I have been going to Quartzsite for years.I only stayed one season. after that I  only go there to meet up with several  groups I am in touch with. I  was totally surprised about the BLM in Ehrenberg that you speak of and was going to perhaps go there for a while. But after reading further I have all the no no,s I have an R.V. I also have a honda generator. I do not use it all the time only when I need to. I do not park near people. I was thinking 2 yrs ago about getting solar.  but I probably won't  be able to travel much longer. Anyway I am looking forward to meeting you all in Q. Thanks

 

[akrvbob]

Ryegal, you should do whatever is best for you, but you will be totally welcome at Ehenberg! It's a very large area and you can park as close to others or as far away as you want, plus, there will be many other RVs and some of thsoe wi be running generators as well.

Some of my best friends live in RVs!

The Honda is so quiet that it will not be a problem! My best friend runs a Honda and he's always welcome in my camp.

So are you!
Bob

 

[Silver]

BLM[img=0x1]http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/libs/CFC/content/statics.0.gif[/img]>[img=0x1]http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/libs/CFC/content/statics.0.gif[/img]California

example
" newly constructed campsites which are equipped with

level RV pads, fire rings, shade structures, picnic benches, vault toilets, and
a kiosk providing an interpretive panel, a map, and information about the area.


 Although no reservations or fees are required, there is a 14 day camping limit within any 28-day period.  

( Does any 1 call ahead ?
What if you reach the sites & all space is taken ?
Just park by the side of the road & wait til morning ?

14 days sounds good to me !
After 14 days U have to leave the park or U can go to a different site
within the same park ? )

There is no electricity, running water, or trash collection at the campsites. 
Please utilize good camping ethics, and remember to pack out your garbage when you leave.

Dispersed camping is also available at ---,
although there is no camping within 200 yards of any wildlife watering improvement.

 You must park within 15 feet (roughly one vehicle length) of any roadway
when camping or leaving a vehicle unattended to minimize habitat and vegetation impacts. 

 Please remember to bring a shovel with you for both personal sanitation and fire prevention purposes.

[img=1x15]http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/libs/CFC/content/statics.0.gif[/img]
Hiking Trails: None developed.
Hunting Opportunities: Good for deer, wild pig, upland game birds, other small game and varmints. "

Hunting License & you're good to go !
Age requirement ? 

To be able to hunt , clean & cook the food on your
14 day camp site . Sounds like paradise

 

[highdesertranger]

so Silver are you asking the questions marked with a question mark? highdesertranger

 

[TrainChaser]

More info on camping on BLM land, National Forests, Army Corps of Engineers, etc can be had in a book that is available through Amazon: Guide to Free Campgrounds: Includes Campgrounds $12 and Under in the United States by Don Wright.  For each state, there is a map that shows the general area, and the camp areas are listed by nearest towns, alphabetically.  It has quite a bit of info for each place:  fee (if any), facilities (if any), things to see and do, etc.  It's only $15 through Amazon, and is about 2" thick.  Some eastern states don't have many entries, because what camping they have is more expensive than the $12 limit in the book.

Horse camps are included.

Get a Senior Pass (62 years & up) for $20, it it halves the fee in many places (esp in this book).  For more info, see the website America The Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass  at  http://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior.html for more info.

 

[SnailsPace]

My favorite BLM land is Ehrenberg, AZ for these reasons:

1) No Ranger enforcement.
2) Easy access to free water and trash disposal.
3) Blythe, CA is 7 miles away and has good shopping.
4) Only 3 miles from a Flying J with a Wendy's and a dump station.
4) Only 17 miles away from Quartzsite, AZ which is a very cool place!
Bob

Hey Bob, We're going to be arriving in Ehrenberg this week and I'm wondering what the road is like in and out of there. We've been to some desert boondocking lately that's nothing but ruts and sand and my husband's not happy with me! (He doesn't want to get stuck) Any info would be appreciated!

 

[Almost There]

There's two areas around Ehrenberg - Bob likes one of them and I like the other.

When you get off the exit at Ehrenberg (there's only one) if you go around the traffic circle and head west (3/4 of the way around for those directionally challenged folks... ) you can keep going as far as you want to on the road. It's all hard packed desert out there. There are all kinds of turn offs but go at least 10 or 15 minutes out in the desert. That's Bobs' area!

Me, I like it down by the river! To get there you go past the Flying J and turn left between the truck wash/repair and an old empty building. You can either continue straight on down that road and it will lead to all kinds of campsites on the AZ side of the Colorado River or you can turn right immediately as you pass the gas compression station. The road looks like it's private land because their is farm fields on both sides of the road and when I was there last, farmer had bales of hay stacked ON the road. It is not a private road. It leads down to the banks of the river. Turn left and find a campsite.

None of them are sandy where hubbie is going to get himself stuck. Well, unless he makes a habit of it...some people can get stuck in a 1/2" of snow, others can drive through a foot of it....know where I'm going with this....

 

[SnailsPace]

Thank you! Just what I wanted to hear! Very accessible. Down by the river sounds nice. My husband should like that. We'll try it. Appreciate your input!

 

[TrainChaser]

Well, I'm already in trouble! I can't even find the traffic circle! Is it really a circle or some other roundy-type shape?

Road names?

Going north there is Juneau Ave., then the Ehrenberg-Parker Hwy, which appears to split, going left as Mohave Rd., and right as Tom Wells Rd. I'm betting at least a nickel that 'Bob Wells' Area' is on the Tom Wells Rd. Just for laughs......

On the south side, going past the Flying J is Ox Bow Rd., which appears to go along the river for miles, headed for the Cibola Wildlife Refuge. I'm assuming that is AlmostThere's territory.

 

[blars]

The traffic circle is on the south (flying j) side. Are you are going by old maps/images? It's only a few years old. Before that it was a left turn at the T rather than right to flying j.

 

[ZoNiE]

We used to fly rockets here. We no longer use it for that because there are too many rocket swallowing ravines.
There is a nice fire ring already there.
33deg 42min 6.60sec N
113deg 40min 51.9sec W
Decimal: 33.701833, -113.681083
Beautiful, serene little valley with good access and only 6 miles from a town and 8 miles from a Dollar General. About 30 miles east on I-10 from Q.