Primitive camping

[LoganTX86]

How and where can I find places to get off the grid and overland camp? I want to be able to find a place off trail and camp. Is this possible or is it restricted?

Very new to this. Thanks

 

[K12]

How and where can I find places to get off the grid and overland camp? I want to be able to find a place off trail and camp. Is this possible or is it restricted?

Very new to this. Thanks

This can be region dependant. Most BLM land is free, no more than 14 days in a few month period. a lot of places have some rock firepits made up for known camp spots, others you can just pull into a non-vegitation spot off the trail. Do pay attention to signs that say no camping, or have day limits. There are also a lot of Wildlife Management areas that have camping, For these I would call ahead to make sure camping is allowed. Last Year I drove all the way to Buenos Aires WMA cause it said there was camping on their site, and I got there and thete was a no camping sign at the entrance.

I did notice the further east you go the less government land there is that has free areas to camp.

 

[pluton]

Unfortunately, there is a relative scarcity of public land east of the Rockies. Out west, the BLM, National Forests, some National Park Service units and many of the National Wildlife Refuges generally offer what they call 'Dispersed Camping'...basically anywhere you want within reason and following the rules about not trashing the area. Keep in mind that except for state Vehicular Recreation Areas (Texas calls them OHV Venues), operating a vehicle off the road is not allowed. For vehicles, road = trail. Most of the dispersed camping consists of camping next to the vehicle in previously used sites just off the road/trail.

 

[LoganTX86]

How and where can I find places to get off the grid and overland camp? I want to be able to find a place off trail and camp. Is this possible or is it restricted?

Very new to this. Thanks

This can be region dependant. Most BLM land is free, no more than 14 days in a few month period. a lot of places have some rock firepits made up for known camp spots, others you can just pull into a non-vegitation spot off the trail. Do pay attention to signs that say no camping, or have day limits. There are also a lot of Wildlife Management areas that have camping, For these I would call ahead to make sure camping is allowed. Last Year I drove all the way to Buenos Aires WMA cause it said there was camping on their site, and I got there and thete was a no camping sign at the entrance.

I did notice the further east you go the less government land there is that has free areas to camp.

Great answer. Thanks for the response

 

[Alanymarce]

In Canada wild camping is always allowed in Canada if it is not explicitly prohibited. There's a nationwide ban on wild camping in cities, national parks, and provincial parks; you can camp on Crown Land freely (all of the above obviously assuming that you are sensible, responsible, look after the area, prevent forest fires, etc...). In Labrador there are hardly any formal campgrounds and the advice entering Labrador at the Visitors' Centre is "camp wherever you like".

PS: "wild camping" doesn't have to be primitive.

 

[Jonathon]

It depends greatly on location. To expand on what K12 said. If you are out west BLM or National forest even to an extent as a lot of open camping. For Forest Service call the local ranger station for info. It'll be a lot more direct but you can often times learn of closures ahead of time and save yourself some headache. Also the overland bound app has some locations that others have been to saved for reference and they have reviews on them.
The further east you go the harder this is. It also can verify greatly from state to state. For example I am in Oklahoma currently and there is mainly just camp grounds here. However Arizona on the other hand I have down a lot of remote camping with no sites or campgrounds.

 

[BanthaOverland]

As others have said, it's often hard to find information both while planning and while traveling in an area. I try to research as much as possible, but when I can't find additional information I follow these general guidelines for dispersed camping in the Western US. I hope that helps and am curious if other folks have additional guidelines you use?

 

[genocache]

I use maps, like the Road Atlas of the State I am going to be in and I look on GooooooooooooogleEarth when planning a trip and mark it on my atlas and pin it in my gps.

 

[MidOH]

If nobody knows that I'm there, none of this really matters.

IME, if you stealth camp so well, that nobody ever knew you were there, any ranger worth their salt, would allow you to continue. And might even enjoy your company.

 

[Mr_Mnml_Engnr]

I think we could be more helpful to OP if we knew what region of the world we are talking about since it’s so region dependent. You can also ask this question in the region-specific forums.

 

[Sea Diamond]

If nobody knows that I'm there, none of this really matters.

IME, if you stealth camp so well, that nobody ever knew you were there, any ranger worth their salt, would allow you to continue. And might even enjoy your company.

That's a great answer. The longer you do this the better you get at knowing where to look. Satellite maps sure help us out...but be prepared to throw in the towel occasionally.

 

[Dave in AZ]

If nobody knows that I'm there, none of this really matters.

IME, if you stealth camp so well, that nobody ever knew you were there, any ranger worth their salt, would allow you to continue. And might even enjoy your company.

Uhhmm... any ranger worth their salt driving along, finding you dispersed camping on roads not so marked, national forests I mean, is gonna tell you so, not continue. If a ranger sees you to "allow you to continue", by definition he knows you were there and you've failed your stealth check.

@LoganTX86 there are tons of resources on where you can camp. Every state has a website detailing their state lands and parks, and how you can camp there. Every park has a site and phone # to get info. BLM has a website with camping restrictions. U.s national forests has a big website with camping info, then each forest has a Motor vehicle Use Map showing where you can drive, camp, and dispersed camp up to 300ft away from roads. You can stop into USFS offices for each forest and chat with rangers about where is good too, they have always had a paper copy of the MVUM showing roads and allowed camping to physically grab too. I have probably one from every Nat Forest in AZ and NM in my truck now.

You can use other camping sites that show dispersed and primitive spots, I like ioverlander.com as a good 1st look.

You can watch various YouTube channels on overlandlanding, many go through their methodology for finding places. Donald at SoftroadingTheWest has a video about 8 months ago showing exactly your question, how to find spots.

It is a knowledge journey that relies on you sitting down and doing research, 1st is look at websites of where you want to go.

 

[grubworm]

how a REAL overlander stealth camps....



"leave no trace" also means leave no witnesses...

 

[MidOH]

Get to da choppa!

Could add some NVG's for stealth camping. But in the thicker Ohio and PA forests, it might be wiser to be ignorant of what's really out there at night.