Boondocking
Resources
A Guide To Free Camping
Boondocking is camping without any
hookups to power or water as you would
normally find in an RV park. Sometimes
called dispersed or dry camping, boondocking
is essentially free camping.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
is an agency within the United States
Department of the Interior that administers
more than 247.3 million acres of public
lands in the United States.
All BLM, National Forest and National
Grasslands are open to dispersed camping,
unless otherwise marked. Every so
often you might see signs that say
“No Camping” or “Camp Only In Designated
Campsites”, but usually only near
cities or National Park boundaries
with a potential for overuse.
On most National Forest lands, you
can stay at the same site for a maximum
of 14 days. The BLM usually imposes
a 21-day limit and Arizona and California
have Long Term Visitor Areas where
you can park a tent, car, van or RV
for months at a time.
Most BLM public lands are located
in these 12 western states: Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,
Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Camping on BLM land is free except
for a few areas where a small fee
may be required.
Boondocking on BLM land means that
you have a vast area all to yourself.
No cramped RV lots, no noise and best
of all, it's free. It also means that
you have no electricity, no water
and no sewer as you would have in
an RV park.
The options for boondocking for long
periods of time are:
1. A generator to provide your rig
with electric in the evening or to
power the A/C.
2. Solar panels installed on your
RV so that you can charge a bank of
batteries.
3. Fill-up and use your potable water
tank on your RV for water while boondocking
4. Use your RV gray and black tanks
sparingly for toilet and washing use.
Here is a link to the
Champion
2000w Inverter Generator review
which is an excellent generator for
boondocking as it is light, quiet
and can be stacked for more power
if required. It is also well priced
compared to other generators.
Here is a link to a great resource
for finding campgrounds all over the
USA, including BLM campgrounds.
Ultimate
Campgrounds Map - Shows public
and private campsites
Campsite
Photos - see campsites before
you visit.
When searching for free places to
camp on BLM land, it always best to
find the campgrounds by either searching
on google for BLM lands or using the
Ultimate campgrounds map above, and
then using google satellite view in
google maps to see what the area looks
like.
Getting to remote BLM campgrounds
should be researched before driving
as the roads are not the best and
with a fifth wheel you can get yourself
into some tight spots.
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