How to Camp For Free
We started living off the grid in March of 2022, and our first time finding a dispersed camping site (boondocking) was interesting. We had no idea what to expect, we just knew that we wanted to do it for free. After all, we were sick of paying a mortgage, interest, home owner’s insurance, and property taxes every month for the past ten years and being stuck in the same state. We used an app on our phone (which we still heavily rely on), and were delighted when we found that not only did the land allow campers, but it was actually set up with fire rings, and relatively level sites. What we did not expect were the extremely rough roads that we first encountered that required a 4x4, and sometimes a high clearance vehicle. Our first camping spot was so rough, our microwave fell out. Since then, we have learned quite a few things about finding camping sites that not only have cell reception (without an antenna or booster), but are also easy to access without destroying our entire camper.
How Do You Find Free Campsites?
Download some Apps: We use both Campendium and FreeRoam to find dispersed camping sites. I now use both apps at the same time, as they each have different sites on them. New sites are constantly popping up and some old sites may no longer be free (this is happening frequently in Colorado). They both have user reviews, are user friendly and use an interactive map, and report cell phone reception from the majors companies. You can search for sites near you or near a specific town/city. We always read user reviews to gauge how road conditions and if the campground will have big enough sites for our trailer. Campendium has a big rig feature on the app and FreeRoam has a feature that reports how full the campground typically is. These are both updated by users, so newer campgrounds do not always have this information.
Always check the usage limits: Most of the places that we have stayed in Utah, Arizona, and Colorado have a maximum stay of 14 days out of 28, but at one particular popular site the limit was only 7 days. This does not have to be consecutive. Often times there is a board stating the limit once you enter the campground (we noticed this the most often in Colorado). If you cannot find the limit posted, you can go online and look up the dispersed camping rules for that national forest or BLM land. Many states have their own rules that are easy to find online, but these rules can and do change. For example, one national forest posted a 14 days limit, but it changed recently to 7 days, and this was posted on a board once we entered the campground.
If you are wondering how they keep track of this - sheriffs come out and check plates. We have noticed this the most in national forests and extremely popular camping areas. We are always ready to move on anyway after two weeks, but have seen people being kicked out by sheriffs if they were over their limit.
Check for restrictions: You can often find these posted once you enter the campground, but otherwise you may need to check with the local BLM office, or the national forest websites for up to date information. Often times there are fire bans in effect and these are may not always be obvious. There was a fire ban in effect in all three states we were camping in this past spring. Fines are hefty for having a fire when a ban is in effect, and we have heard campers get fines for not checking beforehand.
Ensure the area is open for the season before you go: Sometimes this will be listed by someone on one of the apps, but we always double check the national forest websites before we go. For instance, many of the dispersed campgrounds in Colorado do not open until mid or late June, due to snow. It’s typically the same date every year, as long as the snow has melted and the road is clear.