Nomads East of the Mississippi

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JesseTrue

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Dec 3, 2016
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Location
Union, KY
Almost every blog or video I have watched pertains to Western US and Canadian nomads. Is there just a lack of opportunity to boondock east of the Mississippi or am I not looking in the right place.

I have family and friends over here and the Great Smokies, Outer Banks, and North East are all beautiful wild lands.

Just getting started and just wondering...

Jessie True
Just trying to make it through
 
This forum was started by a western state boondocker so there are more active members from that part of the country. There are plenty of us east of the Mississippi though that are on the forum as well. Right now I'm in Florida and will probably start working my way west for the RTR in January.
 
There are plenty of boondocking opportunities in the east as well, check out freecampsites.net.
 
It's harder to find free or even inexpensive camping in the North East. Plus, there's winter... I usually head for the southwest in the winter and New England in the summer. Both drives across are pretty liesurely with more stops than go.

This winter I.m staying in New England to help Mom

There are some hardy souls that winter in the northeast and there's plenty of vandwellers down south. Are you on fb? Plenty of vandweller/fulltimer groups there, too.
 
Thanks. That will probably be my modus operandi (SW in winter - elsewhere in other seasons).

My concern stemmed from not just these forums, but YouTube and the greater internet.

I'll check FB and search more widely. Only been getting into it for 6 months.

Jessie True
Just trying to make it through
 
Search for vandwellers and/or fulltimers
 
Spent some months out east last year. It's not as good for boondocking as the west, but it's not impossible at all. And heck, in nearly any national forest, you can do dispersed camping. Ocala National Forest in Florida is great in winter. The forests in the mountains are good in summer.
 
I'm from the northeast. It isn't full of big empty BLM land like the southwest, but that's a difference between places you're allowed to stay for free and places you're able to stay for free. I've never paid to park my van. I do head southwest in the winter for livable temperature and for our RTR .
 
I've been flossing around the East for decades.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 
Hi, I belong to the eastern tribe of van dwellers.  Home base is Ky.    Currently in St Petersburg Bay area. Very warm so far. Kentucky is in the teens at night. Way of van dwelling is different here. Not much need for solar panels or to carry lots of water. Lots of people and entertainment around. Truck stops and Wal Marts around. If you like fast food it's not a problem to eat. I have an AGM house battery for power and a small inverter with cigarette plug for charging small items. Cuzzin **** has a small tribe he has get togethers with. Check him out. Hobo Joe........
 
We're in the process of buying our first RV to go full-time in and are located in Pennsylvania where we will be remaining for at least the next year. We want to travel around after that, but will continue to be focused on the east coast. The thing is that I've already road tripped around most of the US, and find the Georgia to Maine corridor to be by far the most beautiful part of the country. This is personal taste, obviously, but I don't see myself ever leaving the east for long.

There are definitely lots of places where you can boondock for free or at least with a very low-cost permit in PA too. We have tons of state parks and state forests. I did notice the state parks don't allow camping this time of year, though (I think they only issue permits April-October).

Also, this is just a thought I had, but you should be able to boondock for free in a van or even small RV at any of the parking areas for the Appalachian Trail. The trail is "open" 24/7/365 and thus so are the parking areas. There are detailed maps of the trail online which also show most of the parking areas. You'd obviously want to exercise judgement and not choose a parking area that's literally in someone's backyard (due to the right-aways of the trail this is a genuine possibility--one of the parking areas I use is like this) or so small you're in the way, but vehicles are regularly left parked for multiple days at the larger parking areas so I doubt anyone would mind.

ETA: I'm referring above to the parts of the trail that are NOT in state parks or forests or other "public land" areas. In those parts you're expected to obey the park/forest rules and they can be really annoying.
 
Of course! The Appalachian Trail! Thank you so much for a great idea! I thought you could boondock only on federal lands? I guess calling ahead to state parks would be advisable nationwide.

Jessie True
Just trying to make it through
 
In Virginia, with an inexpensive permit or fishing license, you can camp on wildlife management areas. If it's hunting season, stick to the parking areas.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 
That's great about the VA WMAs. I found a wealth of information. I could spend a whole season in that beautiful state.

Jessie True
Just trying to make it through
 

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