How I Find the Best Car Camping Spots for FREE

Because Sometimes, Not Paying for Campsites is Worth Every Penny!

This campsite cost $0. Let me show you how to do the same!

Car camping comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be as glamorous as a massive RV or as cramped as sleeping in the seat of your car. For us, camping out of our short-bed Toyota Tacoma has seen many form factors, but one thing has never changed: if we can avoid paying for a campsite, we certainly will. Living out West, we are blessed with lots of accessible public lands that are often (but not always!!) free to camp on.

I recognize that this blog is going to be biased toward this half of the country. We haven't tried to camp east of Colorado too much, and the one time we did on our drive back to Ohio, we stayed at a paid campsite at a state park.

Our vehicle isn’t exactly stealthy. Since it’s a short-bed truck – the bed is 5’ in length, which doesn’t sleep 2 people comfortably at all (we know, we’ve tried) – we’ve experimented with a variety of platforms and toppers to accommodate both of us plus whatever we need for the trip we’re going on. Our first setup was simply sleeping with the tailgate open, sleeping pads and sleeping bags down, gear shoved in the cab or put under the truck overnight; our previous setup was a platform that we built ourselves that could be pulled out over an open tailgate to extend sleeping room while storing gear underneath; and our current setup is a topper that pops up into a tent that fits both of us and still allows for plenty of room for storage and hanging out in the bed. Since crawling into the back of an enclosed vehicle isn’t really an option for us, Walmart parking lots and trucker rest stops are out of the question.

Three camping setups, one truck :) (The campsite on the right was not free but only cost $12!)

My husband and I are both last-minute planners. We often go into road trips with a vague idea of where we’re going, but no real concept of where we’re staying, whether it’s on the way to the destination or at the destination itself. Our general philosophy is… we’ll figure it out. We’re both pretty low-maintenance; given that we don’t need hookups, we’re well-versed and well-practiced in properly bathrooming outside, and we don’t have gray water to dump, we don’t need amenities – just a place to park the truck.

Here are some of my favorite spots we've camped at for free:

All of these were free sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.

So… if we don’t plan in advance, and we can’t just pull over to any parking lot, how do we find free camping?

Step 1: Pick a destination.

Where are you hoping to end up? Are there several routes to get there?

Step 2: Decide how long you want to drive in one day and locate a town along each route that matches that distance.

If you’re leaving after work, you probably aren’t trying to get all the way to your road trip destination. Decide on a maximum amount of time you’re willing to drive, and locate some towns along your route that match that quantity. At the very least, if there is no public land nearby, you can locate some sort of lodging for the night if need be.

Step 3: Use apps to locate public lands with free far camping near those towns and your final destination.

My favorite app that I use is Campendium. (I am in no way sponsored to say this, but after trying a bunch of apps, this has been my go-to for years!) It has a premium subscription option that does look like it offers some solid perks, like being able to download maps and search without having cellular signal, but by using the right filters, I’ve managed to get away with using the free version of the app to locate free public camping. You can type in the towns you already located in Step 2 in the search bar if you don’t want to swipe along the map to find them.

From there, you can look around at the available spots and see which one works best for you. Be sure to zoom in a little extra; just because it looks close to the highway doesn’t mean the access road is anywhere near there.

Step 4: Be sure to read reviews!!!

Public lands and land ownerships are constantly changing. Gravel pull-offs that may have been open 5 years ago may now have “No Camping” signs plastered on them. I try to avoid sites that don’t have reviews within the last two years. Some reviews will explicitly call out sites that used to be accessible that are now closed for overnight parking.

That said, other bad reviews don’t usually mean too much to me. A lot of the negative reviews are from people with large vehicles that struggled down dirt roads. Even if you don't have a 4WD high clearance vehicle, roads are often accessible to a majority of cars, but it is good to see what other users are saying. Some bad reviews are just people noting that there was highway noise at sites that are adjacent to the highway, which just feels like user error. So don’t count sites with low ratings out!

Step 5: Sleep tight!

Before you depart for your trip, remember to pack enough blankets, layers, food, and water to have a comfortable and safe night away from home. Check the weather in advance and be prepared for whatever conditions may come.

And don't forget to text someone where you're sleeping and when they can expect to hear from you in the morning after you've gotten back on the road!

Step 6: Leave your campsite as good as, or even better than, you found it.

By disposing of trash, obeying fire ordinances, and properly storing your food to avoid critter encounters, you can ensure that these campsites are available and usable for many happy campers to come. And, if you remember on your way out to leave a review for the next camper, that always helps!

Let me know of any other apps you've used! I've tried iOverlander and The Dyrt, but the new iOverlander doesn't make sense to me, and The Dyrt requires a few extra steps to ensure the sites are free (I do use it if we're ok with paying a small fee for camping.)