Let’s be real, life on the road is where it’s at. This lifestyle is exciting and challenging and crazy and so fulfilling. And in all my years of traveling, I can probably count on one hand all the times I have actually paid for a place to sleep.

If you’re road tripping on a budget, or not even on a budget but want to not spend unnecessary dollars, then boondocking is the way to go! When I discovered resources like https://freecampsites.net/ and http://ioverlander.com/ , my life was changed forever! I have stayed in some of the most amazing places in my life from just finding random free campsites along the way!

This is my ever-growing resource for all your boondocking needs of all the best (and worst) places I’ve found to stay for free all across the US! I absolutely love living life on the road, but I will be the first to say it is not a walk in the park. It can be stressful, and smelly, and overwhelming. And finding a safe place to sleep for the night is definitely one of the biggest stressors, so that is why I have created this resource to hopefully help take the stress off for you!

Most of the places I have stayed at, I would stay at again, and others I wouldn’t. I am including the different amenities included with each site as well as GPS coordinates. Make sure to comment below what your favorite free campsites around the US are, I would love to check them out!

California

Lumsden Campground

• 37.838614,-120.052052
• Really pretty, right next to the river
• About 10 different sites
• Road was super sketchy 5 miles to get down
• Would not recommend for RV’s or large rigs
• Amenities: bathrooms, fire rings, tent space

Buy a Bear Butt hammock here

Davenport Highway 1 Pull-Off

• 37.013540, -122.201799
• There are lots of pull-off sites near Davenport, just make sure there’s no “No Parking” signs
• Breathtaking sunset view with great hammock spots
• I felt a little sketched out being right off a busy highway, but I wasn’t bothered by other people or cops during the night
• Amenities: none

Hole in the Wall Road- Death Valley

• 36.405381, -116.774036
• Amazing site off gravel road in Death Valley National Park
• Road can get a bit sketchy, we did it in a Sprinter Van, but I probably wouldn’t drive it in anything bigger
• Beautiful sunsets
• Great location near most of the best spots of the park
• Amenities: tent space

Highway 1 Pull-Off

• 36.112084, -121.628558
• There’s a few small, dirt pull-offs along hwy 1 in this area
• Can be a little scary being so close to the highway, pretty noisy at night
• Beautiful sunsets
• Amenities: none

Connecticut

Caleb Peak Trailhead

• 41.762514, -73.465838
• Really small gravel patch on the side of Skiff Mountain Road
• Could fit about 3 cars
• Felt fairly safe
• One of the owners of the land across the street said we technically weren’t allowed to stay there overnight, but let me stay
• Amenities: none

Business Parking Lot

• 41.310874, -72.919634
• Parking lot with no signs that say “No Overnight Parking”
• Lots of spots behind the dental office and spa
• Not allowed to park during business hours, so make sure to be out by 8AM
• Be stealthy
• Great location in New Haven, right in the middle of the city
• Ameneties: none

Georgia

Rood Creek

• 32.025406, -85.036415
• Really beautiful, right on the water
• Huge sunflower field at entrance
• Short drive to Providence canyon
• Lots of bugs though
• Amenities: bathrooms, boat ramp, picnic area, fire rings, tent space

Pull off Sites Near Pocket Rec. Area

• 34.565150, -85.101816
• Campsites on road pull offs periodically along the creek
• Nice, but I was a little scared by myself right on the road
• Next to the creek, which was nice
• Amenities: tent pad, fire rings

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Iowa

Upper Iowa River

• 43.367294, -91.618563
• Nice spot right on the river
• I didn’t sleep here, but I spent an afternoon here and there were many RVs set up for the night
• Amenities: none

Grant Park

• 41.427752, -93.335485
• Nice spot with 10 dispersed camping sites
• Amenities: fire rings, picnic tables, tent space, bathrooms

Big Marsh Wildlife Area

• 42.658693, -92.819702
• Parking area for a boat launch and hunting area
• Pretty sunset right on the water, kind of buggy though
• Amenities: none

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Kansas

Ottaway State Fishing Lake

• 39.110294,-97.572541
• Really pretty, camping all along the lake, really popular
• Great hammock trees
• Family-friendly spot, so I felt very safe
• Amenities: vault toilets, picnic tables, fire rings

Buy a Bear Butt hammock here

Maine

Byron Road

• 44.728386, -70.489022
• I didn’t actually stay here, but driving through, there were lots of trailheads and pull-off that had no overnight restriction signs
• Very near Coo’s Canyon, which is beautiful
• Amenities: none, except for bathrooms at Coo’s Canyon

Carrabassett River Scenic Overlook

• 44.990783, -70.170689
• Nice spot right next to the river with no overnight restriction signs
• A fair bit of road noise from the highway, but not terrible
• Pretty peaceful and pretty on the river
• Amenities: natural water source

Highland Research Forest Trailhead

• 44.110590, -70.749470
• Nice, quiet trailhead
• However, very difficult to find a level spot
• Amenities: none

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Maryland

Deal Island

• 38.1756390, -75.9104940
• Buggiest place I’ve EVER been
• It was absolutely horrific
• Super beautiful place, but hard to enjoy
• Small little dirt/gravel patch, could fit about 4-5 cars
• Easy road to get there
• Amenities: none

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Michigan

Indiantown Road

• 46.390317, -86.544235
• There’s apparently an area of dispersed camping a little farther down the road, but the road was basically non existent due to down trees and debris, so I found this little pulloff that had no signs of no overnight parking
• There was very little road noise, which was nice
• The gravel road was a bit rough to get down due to some large potholes, but my Escape was able to make it fine
• Amenities: none

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Minnesota

Zumbro Bottoms State Forest

• 44.322372, -92.130026
• I missed the campground area, and ended up parking at the trailhead about 0.2 miles down the road
• There are a few spots with fire rings and picnic tables
• The road is not super well maintained, so can be a little rough to get down in a bigger rig
• Amenities: fire rings, tent space, bathrooms

Snake Creek

• 44.250239, -91.997221
• About 6 dispersed campsites
• They were all pretty close to each other, so not much privacy
• Also, this is a big area for ATV riding, so be prepared for other campers waking up at 4:30 in the morning, revving their engines, and shining their lights into every campsite…
• Amenities: fire rings, picnic tables, tent space, hammock trees, porta potty

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Missouri

Daniel Boone Conservation Area

• 38.772307,-91.399577
• Really cool, very primitive and far from civilization
• Didn’t sleep super well because I was scared being all alone in the middle of the woods
• Amenities: fire rings, hammock trees, fishing area

Buy a Bear Butt hammock here

Nevada

Mckinney Tanks Summit

• 38.127054,-116.917169
• Abandoned mine site, literally so cool!
• Massive open valley, beautiful stars!
• Insanely far from civilization
• Amenities: none

New Hampshire

South Mill Pond Parking

• 43.073672, -70.757629
• Lots of street parking all along the pond and large parking lot
• 72 hour limit
• Felt pretty safe
• Lots of street lights, so it’s good to have blackout shades
• Amenities: none, but not far from fast food and gas stations

Moore Reservoir Scenic Picnic Area

• 44.332916, -71.874170
• Right on the water
• Nice and quiet, no overnight restrictions
• Near the rest area, so bathrooms available there
• Amenities: picnic table, barbecue pit

Dispersed Camping

There are SO many options for dispersed camping in the White Mountains. Unfortunately, I was there around Labor Day, so nothing was available, however, they were all great locations with about 10 sites per area

• Haystack Road- 44.249786, -71.574520
• Old Cherry Mountain Road- 44.297525, -71.454505
• Jefferson- 44.337533, -71.386588
• Forest Road- 44.522823, -71.286078

New York

Floodwood Road Dispersed Camping

• 44.338425, -74.400591
• There were a handful of spots all along Floodwood road
• This was the spot that I stayed at and there were maybe 5 before that (coming from the east)
• I’m not sure if there were more past this one because I just turned around when I left
• This was a great spot with lots of room and great location in the Adirondacks
• There were almost no cars at night and no light pollution, so great spot for viewing stars (through the trees)
• Amenities: fire ring, pit toilet, tent space, hammock trees

Lake Durant

• 43.847155, -74.422113
• Great spots right on Lake Durant
• I got the spot across the street from the trailhead, not on the water
• Apparently, the locals set up tents and chairs at the waterfront sites to keep travelers out, but don’t actually use the sites….pretty uncool in my opinion
• But the site that I did stay at is very spacious and can fit multiple cars
• Amenities: pit toilet, fire ring, tent space, hammock trees

Stockton State Forest

• 42.272934, -79.360714
• Nice, spread out spots all along the road
• Very little traffic, so no road noise
• Amenities: fire rings, tent space, hammock trees

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Rhode Island

Rose Nulman Park

• 41.362215, -71.482144
• Right on the water, beautiful sunsets and sunrises
• Next to Point Judith Lighthouse
• Really beautiful
• No signs for no overnight parking, no one bothered me, but lots of traffic throughout the night
• 8am trumpet wake up call from the lighthouse
• Amenities: none

King’s Beach

• 41.454023, -71.342409
• Beautiful spot right on the water with beautiful sunsets and sunrises
• No signs for no overnight parking, wasn’t bothered
• Can be pretty crowded and loud at night
• Amenities: none

Tennessee

Prentice Cooper State Forest

• 35.067671,-85.40369
• Nice, easy to get to, next to the river, really pretty
• Lots of space for tents
• Amenities: fire rings, hammock trees, tent space

Hunter’s Check Station

• 35.165617, -85.418467
• Not far from Chattanooga
• Full cell service
• Nice spots with lots of space, really great
• About 6 Sites
• Amenities: bathrooms, fire rings, tent space, hammock trees

Rhea Springs

• 1609-1503 Rhea Springs Rd, Spring City, TN 37381
• Really cool!
• Probably one of my favorite campsites
• In between two beautiful lakes
• Swimming area, rope swing
• Breathtaking sunsets
• About 20? Sites
• Super duper crowded
• Lots of people with generators, which totally ruins the mood
• Amenities: bathrooms, hot showers (what?!? so rare!), fire rings, picnic tables, fishing dock, tent space

Utah

San Rafael Swell

• 38.965006,-110.660225
• Absolutely incredible!
• Hundreds of options, crazy cool terrain, we were the only ones there, super beautiful, peaceful, very far from civilization
• Amenities: tent space, fire rings

Beaver Dam Mountain Road

• 37.130713,-113.860881
• Really cool, lots of climbing around, lots of options for campsites, some light pollution from the city though
• Roads in certain spots a little sketchy to get up
• Amenities: fire rings, tent space

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Vermont

Burlington Waterfront

• 44.477533, -73.220547
• Paid parking lot during the day, but free from 8pm-7am
• Right next to the waterfront and great central location of the city
• Really bright street lights turn on around 10pm, so make sure to have window shades

Mt. Tabor Dispersed Camping

• 43.355846, -72.974288
• There were a few sites along this road, but this was the one I stayed at
• Right off Mt. Tabor road, so some road noise, but not many cars at night
• Amenities: fire ring, hammock trees, tent space, water from the river 2 minutes down the road

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“Home is where you park it”