how do you find free places to camp?

[plagueship]

i've never rubber tramped for an extended period before but am considering doing so soon. i don't really want to live in walmart parking lots and it would be nice to save money on camping fees. any general strategies/thoughts for finding good places to park for a night without getting some kind of ticket? also if you get parking tickets in other states and don't pay, do they send it to your registration address, or can you pretty much just ignore em?

 

[thapoet]

u can ignore outta state tickets... as long as u dont get stopped again in that state, lol.... as far as parking... scenic routes, wherenthey have the little parking spots, rest stops,hhotel parking lots (NOT hotels that have a night lot watchman)... all nitght breakfast places like ihop, waffle house, dennys) were always good for me. i always take my keys out of the ignition as well... specially if i been drinkin or something. apartment complexes are good to. park in a non numbered lot and sleep completely outta site so passersby cant see ur body or head. hope this helps and i am sure others here have even better advice...

 

[plagueship]

hm thanks... i was thinking more about trying to find places to actually camp, like with gear. sorry, i should have made that clearer

 

[ped]

national forests anywhere (unless posted) up to 14 days. BLM, ACofE, etc if you're out west.

 

[Pappy]

two nights ago i hammocked between two massive pines in the middle of a cemetery. On occasion i've slept in someone's front yard in the hopes they don't wake up until sunrise since i almost always wake up at dawn. hopefully passerbys will think its the resident camping in there own yard. sorta risky, last resort

 

[LeftCoast]

With a pack fully loaded, hammock, bedroll, stuff of typical camping nature, I use google maps. Find some shrub and pass out. You can do this in virtually any city, suburb, or more rural area. Always worked like a charm for me

 

[wildboy860]

use your jedi skills!!! think out of sight / out of mind. if people cant see or hear you than 9 times out of 10 your probably good. woods on the side of a highway, wooded and abandoned building lots for sale ect these usually work fine. finding free places to camp isnt that hard once you get the hang of it. if your going to have a fire and or be drunk and rowdy you may want to walk a lil more into said wooded area. use common sense and pay attention to the area around you before you set up camp for the night. happy free camping!!

 

[3rdEyeVision]

two nights ago i hammocked between two massive pines in the middle of a cemetery.

You are brave sir. I would be too spooked to get woken up in the middle of the night by something that isnt there you know what I mean?

 

[Pappy]

it was really foggy too and eerie but I was tired as fuck and knew it was going to rain. As long as you don't piss off the spirits. they might influence your dreams though because mine was pretty weird. In the dream i had a house i came home to 2 guys stealing all my furniture. So i pulled a samurai sword and cut both their throats. Then in penance i had to participate in a ceremony which was like a chinese parade and i didnt know how to follow their traditions so i was cast out.

 

[3rdEyeVision]

it was really foggy too and eerie but I was tired as fuck and knew it was going to rain. As long as you don't piss off the spirits. they might influence your dreams though because mine was pretty weird. In the dream i had a house i came home to 2 guys stealing all my furniture. So i pulled a samurai sword and cut both their throats. Then in penance i had to participate in a ceremony which was like a chinese parade and i didnt know how to follow their traditions so i was cast out.

Lol that's fucking awesome. I definitely could see how they could influence your dreams by joining in on them like that. Very interesting. Maybe I'll try that one of these days when I need a little change and excitement. Might do me good.

 

[notlateforsuppa]

it was really foggy too and eerie but I was tired as fuck and knew it was going to rain. As long as you don't piss off the spirits. they might influence your dreams though because mine was pretty weird. In the dream i had a house i came home to 2 guys stealing all my furniture. So i pulled a samurai sword and cut both their throats. Then in penance i had to participate in a ceremony which was like a chinese parade and i didnt know how to follow their traditions so i was cast out.

Thats crazy I had a wicked similar dream last summer camping in this field. except it was this guy that looks like frankenstien and I was in this kinda trippy old collective house and yeah he was coming after me and I was scared so I cut his head off with this sword. only then I had to sit in this house and chill with him forever which sucked bad! I think it was a sign not to let his girl seduce me but I am dumb and let her anyway so Idk hes prob gonna kill me. one of those were in an open relationship things. alright the sword is all that was the same but wtfe Dont kill people with swords in dreams its bad!!

 

[Wild Ty Laserbeam]

Here's a dump of the links I use:
http://www.freecampsites.net/ - this is my main one. very useful. always try to find a real address or use the bit of directions that might be in the description. If you try to use the coordinates in google maps, you will get bullshit.

http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/uc/index.php (this one is pretty good)
http://www.eugenecarsey.com/camp/default.htm
http://campgrounds.outsideonline.com/
http://campgrounds.findthebest.com/
I never have much luck with these ones, but they exist.

http://www.allstays.com/c/wal-mart-locations.htm this is list of walmarts that uses reviews to tell you which ones allow overnighting and which ones don't. I always call ahead or ask inside, just for good measure.

http://www.casitaclub.com/forums/topic/14661-states-allowing-overnight-in-rest-ares/ this is a page of a casita camper trailer forum that discusses which states allow overnighting at rest areas and what rules may apply.

http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/ohv_maps.shtml these are links to road maps of national forest service lands that may help you pick a "dispersed site" in a advance

National Forests and BLM lands typically allow dispersed camping (no water/electric/sites/nothing) for up to 14 days before you have to move. Also keep an eye out for COE (army corp of engineers) campsites which are sometimes free. If you are on the road and need a crash Walmart and Flying J truck stops are my go-to. They both usually allow it. I've been rubber tramping for 3 months now and have not spent an "illegal" night yet. I always have permission.

Good luck! Hope this helps.

 

[L.C.]

I hope you can blame it on downs syndrome that you can't find a place to sleep. Ghosts, are you that seriously retarded? Some ones front yard? Kill yourself and you'll find a safe place to spend many nights.

 

[Matt Derrick]

I hope you can blame it on downs syndrome that you can't find a place to sleep. Ghosts, are you that seriously retarded? Some ones front yard? Kill yourself and you'll find a safe place to spend many nights.

Third strike, you're out. Banned for repetitively breaking the rules regarding flaming / trolling.

 

[creature]

WildTy, nice links!

Another thing to consider are out of the way boat docks.. Not the paved kind that you'd find at marinas, but the small, under the bridge types that pop up here & there.

It's worth having at least a small, cheap inflatable 2 person dingy.. They're often marked "for boating use only". Some are marked boating and fishing, or hell.. no fishing, but if you have a cheap rod, you can always point at it, if questioned.. never had any problems, though, overnighting.

If you've got a gps, you can track a lot of them down at

http://www.poi-factory.com/search/node/boat+ramps

a lot of other types of spots, too..

history markers and roadside tables can be usefull, too..

The best places to hang, if you're just being stationary, can be national forests & blm reserves, but those have their own ins & outs..

A lot of times I'll use a powerline right of way.. there'll be plenty of space to pull in tuck away out of site..

make sure you have good tires, & don't drive where it's wet.

a lot depends too on how much you want to travel.. you can try couch surfing, but ask for a place to park, instead of crashing..

metered parking in medium sized cities can be ok, too, depending on what you're driving.

meters typically stop at 6pm or so, and if it's not permit reserved, you should be ok if there's nothing like a "no parking from 2am to 8am except for residents" posted.

This is where finding locals can help.. just ask them if you can say yer visiting, & you're pretty well much covered.

Make sure you have curtains, preferably black, behind your driver's seat, and over all windows. Interior lights attract cops. Once you bed, unless you are in direct proximity of whatever house or apartment allowing you to guest park, don't give yourself away.

in any case, if you move around a bit, you won't really be hassled.

if you want someplace to just leave your rig & camp for a week or 2, check craigslist & see if there's any outdoor storage lots.. depending on where you are, you can ditch the rig for a week or 2 and scramble around. typically ~$50 a month, if it's just an open area. You won't be able to camp out of yer vehicle, but you can relax knowing where it is..

& yes, all this shit i have done.

anyways.. hope yer well.. putting up a new post for a new trip..

g'luck..

creatch..