How to locate dispersed/primitive camping locations

[Summit339]

Hey everyone. New to the forums and new to overlanding. Picked up a 2015 SR5 4Runner w/ 4x4. Purchasing a rack and RRT. I want to get out on the trails and finds secluded sights for myself and the family. How do you know what areas are good spots on the map or are you just driving the trail and pulling off if you see something?

 

[Overland Omnivore]

What part of the country are you in?…

 

[Summit339]

What part of the country are you in?…

I’m in South Florida. Not much down here in general. I know Ocala National Forest and other place in north Florida have options. Planning on doing a trip over to Colorado and Utah in the fall.

 

[Overland Omnivore]

Try the Georgia Traverse first…Moab can be daunting for a first trip in an unfamiliar rig…

 

[Summit339]

Sounds like a good option. How does it work as far as camping out. Do you just ride the trail until you come up on a spot you think it good, not sure if there are specific areas that you can or can’t set up.

 

[K12]

Sounds like a good option. How does it work as far as camping out. Do you just ride the trail until you come up on a spot you think it good, not sure if there are specific areas that you can or can’t set up.

west of the Mississippi river is vastly different than east. Many of the places out east you have to pay for. Out west anything that is Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and some National Forrest (NF) lands are free, so long as you camp in designated areas (defined by a firepit) and stay on already carved vehicle paths. You can generally stay on BLM and NF lands up to 2 weeks unless otherwise posted. Also pay attention to fire bans out west as they are often in effect.

 

[smritte]

Being a person who travels the western half, fire permits are a must and normally free. "Some" of the mapping software will mark primitive spots but remember, everyone else see's them. I find mine exploring. Most of the areas I travel are open to primitive camp. When driving down a marked route, look to smaller side routes. I commonly find my hidden spots there. Another thing to consider is, if you don't have starlink or something similar, mark areas you get cell reception. You would be surprised how many remote spots have a small area with a couple of bars.

 

[Summit339]

Sounds like a good option. How does it work as far as camping out. Do you just ride the trail until you come up on a spot you think it good, not sure if there are specific areas that you can or can’t set up.

west of the Mississippi river is vastly different than east. Many of the places out east you have to pay for. Out west anything that is Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and some National Forrest (NF) lands are free, so long as you camp in designated areas (defined by a firepit) and stay on already carved vehicle paths. You can generally stay on BLM and NF lands up to 2 weeks unless otherwise posted. Also pay attention to fire bans out west as they are often in effect.

This was informative thank you!

 

[Summit339]

Being a person who travels the western half, fire permits are a must and normally free. "Some" of the mapping software will mark primitive spots but remember, everyone else see's them. I find mine exploring. Most of the areas I travel are open to primitive camp. When driving down a marked route, look to smaller side routes. I commonly find my hidden spots there. Another thing to consider is, if you don't have starlink or something similar, mark areas you get cell reception. You would be surprised how many remote spots have a small area with a couple of bars.

This is super helpful man. I appreciate it

 

[warrpath4x4]

I use OnX and google maps and just search the areas you are looking at going, find a few options that might look good and then check them out when your there. If the first spot doesn't look as good as you thought it might, move on to your next option. There is also a free camping website Free Camping Near You | Go Camping for Free! but just like mentioned before, you're not the only one using the same information to find a spot.

 

[Summit339]

I use OnX and google maps and just search the areas you are looking at going, find a few options that might look good and then check them out when your there. If the first spot doesn't look as good as you thought it might, move on to your next option. There is also a free camping website Free Camping Near You | Go Camping for Free! but just like mentioned before, you're not the only one using the same information to find a spot.

I downloaded OnX as well. I’ve been playing around with that and OB. Seem like the move is to pick a trail and pick a few options to check out.

 

[Summit339]

How to locate dispersed/primitive camping locations


I'm in south Louisiana, so we travel a good ways to do any camping. as already mentioned on an earlier post, there is not that much primitive camping east of the Rockies as compared to west of them. we go to Georgia good bit and usually stay at state parks like Vogel and Amicalola, but have found a few primitive spots around. (usually really remote and hard to get to and honestly...not worth the hassle)

we go out west a lot and just did a long trip out in New Mexico and Arizona in April where we primitive camped most of the time. I have maps and several online apps I use, like the Dyrt, and they do a decent job of showing primitive spots to camp. a year or so ago, we did a month out in Utah and Colorado and the wife was on her phone google searching primitive camp spots and actually did better finding places using Google on her phone than I did with some paid maps I ordered that were supposed to show everything in that area. I know there are a lot of apps for finding camping, so maybe check out one or two and use that as a reference and then try the Google search and see what you find once you are more in that area. my wife does most of the navigating and even her routes are usually faster and better that what I come up with using maps and apps. go figure...

the best way to find locations is to actually go to that area and see for yourself. I know that you don't want to set off not knowing anything, so like I said earlier...use an app like the Dyrt and find one you are sure of and then once you are in the area, you will find places where others are boondocking and you can just make notes of where they are for next time. a lot of the places we boondock we find by accident once we are in the area. most of the boondocking out west is BLM land and we have just popped in several ranger stations and asked them where we can camp. we did that at Carlsbad caverns and the ranger there gave us a sheet of paper with a map showing the places that were BLM land.

if we are going to a new area we don't know much about, we will find a campground online and make sure we have a place to sleep and then do recon once we are there and then switch over to primitive camping once we get a feel for the area. but yeah...Google has actually worked best for us when looking for primitive camping

Sounds to me like I have to check out Georgia then. OnX says “dispersed camping” coming soon. Under ocala NF. So maybe that’ll open up some stuff on Florida. We definitely plan to head out up CO and UT to link up with family. I appreciate you sending all this !

 

[warrpath4x4]

Sounds to me like I have to check out Georgia then. OnX says “dispersed camping” coming soon. Under ocala NF. So maybe that’ll open up some stuff on Florida. We definitely plan to head out up CO and UT to link up with family. I appreciate you sending all this !

OnX is showing the dispersed camping for my region already but its not really as helpful as I would expect. It just highlights certain forest service roads, at least where I was looking

 

[highboy4x4]

Recently completed the GA Traverse, NC trails and SCAR. I'm in SWFLA. Give me a shout.

 

[highboy4x4]

Here is the gpx file from the GAT web site. It's a good place to start but you will have to clean it up.

 

[highboy4x4]

Look up the FAT. Florida Adventure Trail. Its mainly up north but it does traverse the entire state. Have not attempted it as my rig is pretty heavy (10K) and I hate sand.

 

[Summit339]

Look up the FAT. Florida Adventure Trail. Its mainly up north but it does traverse the entire state. Have not attempted it as my rig is pretty heavy (10K) and I hate sand.

I’m in a few Facebook groups. The FAT looks like a good time. I’d have to get some additional recovery gear or ride with others though. Looks like some of the trails can get pretty deep with the sand/mud/etc.

 

[CR-Venturer]

At least where I live, satelite imagery is extremely helpful. It can save you a ton of time going down dead ends that lead to nothing. Be aware that sat imagery is a double edged sword, as it can be exceptionally useful in identifying tracks and potential camp sites, but depending on the age of the imagery and the type of biome you're in, it can have significantly changed since the sat photo was taken. I find it very useful to scout with the satelite photos and then check out the area myself, comparing what I actually find on the ground to what the satelite showed. The more you do this, the better you get at "reading" the sat images and knowing when there's a track or other feature.

It will vary depending on where you're looking, but most places have some kind of map or interactive map available that shows public land (called crown land, in Canada). This is very important for many reasons, partly for ensuring you don't go out of bounds into someone's private property without knowing it, and partly to defend yourself in case any Karens show up and try to tell you can't be somewhere - you can be confident/prove that you're on public land.

Also, educate yourself regarding the laws/regulations where you're going. For example, in BC where I grew up, it's actually legal to travel on/do activities on/camp on private land IF it's not fenced or posted with no-trespassing signs. Basically in BC the law says you're allowed to use the unoccupied land even if it's private unless the owner takes reasonable steps (fences and signs) to keep you out. The same is not true in Alberta, one province over.

 

[Summit339]

At least where I live, satelite imagery is extremely helpful. It can save you a ton of time going down dead ends that lead to nothing. Be aware that sat imagery is a double edged sword, as it can be exceptionally useful in identifying tracks and potential camp sites, but depending on the age of the imagery and the type of biome you're in, it can have significantly changed since the sat photo was taken. I find it very useful to scout with the satelite photos and then check out the area myself, comparing what I actually find on the ground to what the satelite showed. The more you do this, the better you get at "reading" the sat images and knowing when there's a track or other feature.

It will vary depending on where you're looking, but most places have some kind of map or interactive map available that shows public land (called crown land, in Canada). This is very important for many reasons, partly for ensuring you don't go out of bounds into someone's private property without knowing it, and partly to defend yourself in case any Karens show up and try to tell you can't be somewhere - you can be confident/prove that you're on public land.

Also, educate yourself regarding the laws/regulations where you're going. For example, in BC where I grew up, it's actually legal to travel on/do activities on/camp on private land IF it's not fenced or posted with no-trespassing signs. Basically in BC the law says you're allowed to use the unoccupied land even if it's private unless the owner takes reasonable steps (fences and signs) to keep you out. The same is not true in Alberta, one province over.

Awesome! I appreciate the insight! I will definitely start exploring with the sat imagery