Dispersed Camping Tips

Emily's favorite brochure is the USDA Forest Service's "A Guide to Your National Forests and Grasslands." "Your" seems important - these are public lands that are ours to explore, camp in, and generally enjoy. While living on the east coast, we weren't aware of how much public land is west of the Rockies. When we first tried to disperse camp, we had to drive to Virginia as there was no opportunities any closer to Baltimore, MD.It takes more effort to find dispersed camping areas - there are no signs, no directions - and you are lucky to find a premade stone firering - no picnic tables or metal firerings. You also have to bring a shovel. But when you do find that perfect spot next to a stream or in a great grove of trees you are rewarded with staying in gorgeous spaces, having no neighbors and feeling like you are really camping.We recommend visiting the Ranger Station or BLM Office in the area first - besides buying maps of the areas that show you roads in greater detail, the staff usually can point you in a good direction or at least tell you about road conditions. As we have learned, Forest Roads are not always what they appear to be on the map and AAA won't cover your winch out or tow when you get stuck.We have found a few great websites that we check when entering an area that we are interested in camping in. Forest Camping. US National Forest Campground Guide. Fred and Suzi Dow have done an amazing job visiting and reviewing all the National Forest Campgrounds with 10 or more designated sites. While they don't review dispersed campsites, they do have detailed information about each site, including those that do not charge a fee. It's also a good way to find out if there is a shower near you.

• • Free Campgrounds in the USA. I'd like to meet Eugene Carsey some day. I love his website and finding where he has found to camp. His website is not terribly intuitive - there is no master map with points to click and no real way to search. You have to have some knowledge of the area that you want to explore and then his GPS coordinates and descriptions will get you on your way. In some ways I appreciate that you have to do some work to find these spots - they are special and I don't particularly want it to be too easy for people to find them. That's what State Park Campgrounds are for.

  • Public Lands Information Center. A great resource by the nonprofit Public Lands Interpretive Association. You can search maps of Western states for campgrounds, National Parks and Monuments and other points of interest. Its also handy for figuring out exactly which National Forest you are in, something that's sometimes hard to do when two forests are adjacent and your atlas is not quite detailed enough.