Boondocking Dispersed Camping Resources.
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:
A generator to provide your rig with electric in the evening or to power the A/C.
Solar panels installed on your RV so that you can charge a bank of batteries.
Fill-up and use your potable water tank on your RV for water while boondocking
Use your RV gray and black tanks sparingly for toilet and washing use.
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
Here is a link that shows pictures of all the public campgrounds including RV site pictures:
Campsite Photos - see campsites before you visit.
Here is a link that helps with finding free campsites in the USA:
Free Campsites - Updated regularly
Here is a link that shows free boondocking around the USA with hosts that make their property available for boondockers.
Boondockers Welcome.
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.