Looking for places in the sticks to camp.

[kd5edj63]

I love the state parks but I want to find some places out in the sticks to stay. Wilderness camping I guess you could call it. No pavement, no electricity, no water, and no designated camp sites. Is there such a place without tresspassing on private property.

[bpalmer]

SE Oklahoma north of Broken Bow in the national forest, there are several primitive camp areas as well as thousands of acres of forest.

[Nobody]

Many (most?) National Forests allow primitive camping outside of organized campsites. Also, many National Wildlife Refuges & state owned Wildlife Management Areas (may be called by different names in different states) allow primitive camping in designated areas. I'd be sure to know if there's a local hunting season going on & avoid them at those times unless you don't mind being disturbed by early morning risers, or by graphic display of 'harvested' game.

There may be other locations such as BLM lands(Bureau of Land Management), especially in the western US; & not sure it's still that way but in the state of Washington they used to have state owned campgrounds operated by Dept of Natural Resources that were mostly primitive (outhouse & maybe a hand pump for water) & cost little or nothing to camp.

There are probably others but those are the ones we frequent and are familiar with...

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Yup check into State and National Forests. Both usually have primitive camping sites. Some of my favorite camping is boondocking in Northern PA!

[MtnDon]

Keep in mind that the National Forest Service has been redoing their rules under the program name of Travel management. There have been major changes to the rules. We used to be able to camp anywhere unless it was posted as a no camping area. In the vernacular of the FS that is unorganized camping. Under the new rules camping is only permitted along designated corridors. In the Santa Fe National Forest where we have property these new rules have eliminated most of the traditional areas we used to camp in. Sad turn of events.

Each NF district has free Motor Vehicle Use Maps available. These indicate what roads are open and where unorganized camping is permitted. The maps are available online from each different forest website. The maps are also available in print form from the local FS offices.

[kd5edj63]

With the age of my truck I'm pretty much restricted to texas

[bpalmer]

We have texans all the time so come on

[Glenn Butcher]

The National Forests call it "Dispersed Camping", and I've found a link to it at each site I've visited, Home=>Recreation=>Camping=>Dispersed Camping. For the Rio Grande National Forest, they have some guidelines (try to use already established areas, don't dump sewage on the ground, etc.) and a specific list of areas within which to NOT camp. I just went to the Ozark NF page, and they have a list of specific dispersed camping areas.

You might also google "boondocking", I've run across such-titled blogs and webpages of folks who do just what you're looking to do, in RVs...

[MtnDon]

Right! Dispersed it is!!! I guess I'm the un organized one!

[Glenn Butcher]

:hammerhead: Right! Dispersed it is!!! I guess I'm the un organized one!

It was coincidental; I'd been researching camping opportunities in the Rio Grande NF just a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise, this is me:

[kd5edj63]

Thanks for the tips I'll look into boondocking and dispersed camping etc.

[2bits]

We have texans all the time so come on

I always hear about primitive camping but then they say you can't drive in. Is this a place where you can pull a 550lb teardrop in? I want to bookdock with the teardrop and I love the broken bow area!!

[Glenn Butcher]

Interesting, I've just visited a few other national forest website, and it seems "Dispersed Camping" as an identified activity is much less frequent in the East. I also did some reading of third party stuff, the most consistent advice is to 'contact the local office'. Sounds like restrictions vary, depending on the sensitivity of the area to human impact and volume of use.

Here are the Rio Grande NF guidelines: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/riogrande/recreation/camping-cabins/?cid=stelprdb5366585

I particularly like the one that says "All hay must be certified weed free." Feels like an off-hand comment about my cooking...

[bpalmer]

We have texans all the time so come on

I always hear about primitive camping but then they say you can't drive in. Is this a place where you can pull a 550lb teardrop in? I want to bookdock with the teardrop and I love the broken bow area!!

Sure you can drive on designated roads! check out Ouachita national forest page deer season starts this Saturday so wouldn't recommend till after season there a winding stair primitive camp ground on Talihina drive you might want to try also billy creek is nice

[bpalmer]

I know the national forest just north if beavers bend has different rules than the area farther north around Talihina drive hwy 1