The Best Ways to Find Free Campsites

Hello everyone! It’s finally spring! The snow is beginning to melt, birds are starting to sing, and animals are starting to stir! Summer is just around the corner and I’m here to help you make it the best one yet! During the summer, I try to get out and camp as much as I can. But, I hardly ever pay for a campsite. In this post, I will lay out all the ways I find free campsites! Before we dive in, I would like to state that I use onX Offroad to find trails and make sure I know what type of public land I am on. It is easy to use and very convenient! If you have any questions about camping on public lands, feel free to reach out to me via the “contact” page. I would love to help you!

1. United States Forest Service

Forest Service land is what I use the most. This is simply due to location and ease of access from where I live. While the Forest Service does manage certain campgrounds that do charge fees, there are many dispersed camping areas that are free. The Forest Service has an interactive map that shows you every campground managed by them. Note that only the campgrounds labeled as “dispersed camping” are free.

Know Before You Go

Dispersed camping areas do not have hookups, restrooms or potable water, so be sure to plan ahead!
You must pack it in and pack it out and follow Leave No Trace Guidelines!
Dispersed camping areas have limits to the length you can stay as well. Most areas have a 16 day limit in a 30 day period, but be sure to contact your local forest service office to double check. Once your 16 day limit is up, you must move at least 5 road miles to a new dispersed area.

You can find the Forest Service interactive map here!

Read more about camping on Forest Service Land here!

2. Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management, much like the Forest Service, has a few campsites that you have to pay for, but for the most part you can camp anywhere on Bureau of Land Management land. Unless an area is marked “no camping” or specifically meant for other authorized uses, you can essentially dispersed camp anywhere.

Know Before You Go:

Dispersed camping areas do not have hookups, restrooms or potable water, so be sure to plan ahead!
You must pack it in and pack it out and follow Leave No Trace Guidelines!
If possible, try to. camp in existing sites in order to avoid creating new disturbances.
Dispersed camping on BLM Land generally allows you to stay in one location for 14 days within a 28 day period, but be sure to contact your local BLM office to double check.

Read more about camping on BLM land here!

3. Dyrt App

Dyrt is an app that I use periodically to find free sites. This app allows you to filter campsites by type. I select “dispersed camping” and it pulls up all of the dispersed camping areas in the location I am searching. I only have the free version of this app so I’m not sure the capabilities of the pro version. To be 100% transparent, I usually use this app to find reviews of certain campsites. It is very nice to see what other people think about an area before I head out there. This is not my go to for finding sites off the bat.

4. onX

onX is by far my favorite app on the market when it comes to public land usage. All versions of this app are amazing, but I personally pay for the pro version of onX Offroad. It allows me to find trails on USFS land and BLM land. The pro version allows you to see exactly where USFS land and BLM land are. It also shows you where you are. It definitely helps me decide where I want to camp.