Traveling in the USA:
Advice for Camping

Camping Smok in Krakow, Poland Camping wild in Nevada  Tent camp site the Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground in Utah

My husband and I regularly meet people from other countries traveling in the USA who want to camp most of the time, either in a tent or a caravan / RV / travel trailer. We find ourselves giving them the same advice over and over on where to find campgrounds in the USA - to the point that my husband said to me, "Why don't you put this information on your web site?"

So, here it is.

This isn't advice on where to find RVs / caravans to rent. This is advice on where to find campgrounds in the USA, whether you are tent camping, car camping or have a caravan, and how to know the difference in these campgrounds in terms of price and amenities.

And when I say travel season here, I mean Memorial Day weekend (ends with last Monday in May) through Labor Day weekend (ends with first Monday in September).

I divide campgrounds into the following categories:

Here's how I define the difference in these camp grounds, from most expensive to least:

Privately-owned campgrounds
Cost: $20 - $70 (or more) a night
Features usually include: Private camp grounds may have cabins or yurts available for rent. These may have just beds and some basic electricity - heat, but no bathrooms or running water - or may be fully equipped with a bathroom, shower, kitchen and cooking pans, TV, etc. If you have your dog or dogs with you, check to see if the cabins or yurts are "pet friendly" - many aren't.

Many private campgrounds do NOT allow tents, or they may allow tents, but not welcome such, packing tent campers together on a tiny plot of land.

Many private campgrounds will NOT permit you to camp in a car - they will take people only in travel trailers or truck campers or who will pitch a tent next to their car. This is because they don't want people who are houseless staying at their sites.

State park campgrounds
Cost: $15 - $30  a night for tent camping
Features usually include:

Some state parks have camp sites just for travel trailers and RVs that have electricity at the camp site.

Some state parks have wi-fi.

Some state park camp grounds have cabins or yurts available for rent. These are usually reserved weeks, even months, in advance. Most will not be available on a weekend unless you reserve. These may have just beds and some basic electricity - heat, but no bathrooms or running water. If you have your dog or dogs with you, check to see if the cabins or yurts are "pet friendly" - many aren't.

State parks will have paved roads and paved camp site driveways within the park. However, some might have dirt or gravel roads to get to the park - this is especially true of state parks in the Western USA in remote areas. And remember: not every state park has a camp ground! Don't assume one does unless you see a sign for such at the park entrance!

After a few days in national park, national forest and BLM camp grounds, I like camping in a state park campground, for the hot showers.

Many state parks are fully booked every night in-season. If you can, reserve your site as far in advance as possible - you can do this via the web. If they do have openings for a campsite on the night you arrive without a reservation, you often will be allowed to camp only one night - you will have to go find Internet access to book online to reserve to stay more than one night. If the campground is at least half empty, you may get away with just paying each night and not reserving, but if you chance it, someone could show up the next day and say, "Hey, you have to move - this is my campsite, I reserved it online."  

County campgrounds 
Cost: $10 (rare) - $35  a night for tent camping
Some may have cabins and yurts available as well. Most places are geared towards RV campers and large groups and families.

County campground are a rarity in the USA. In fact, I've seen them only in Oregon. I don't mean county FAIR campgrounds - I mean actual county campgrounds in a forest or near an ocean.

Features usually include:

Hot showers may be available as well.

County campgrounds vary hugely in terms of quality. Some have all the campers packed tightly together and nothing scenic to see. Some are incredibly beautiful and have great hiking all around. And while I said that they usually have flush toilets, many do not. You just never know until you get there!

National Park & National Monument campgrounds 
Cost: $15 (rare) - $30  a night for tent camping

Features usually include:

Hot showers may be available at the main offices, but these can be a mile from your camp site. There is often a charge for hot showers.

All roads and driveways within the park will be paved.

For extremely popular National Parks, like Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, Arches, Mammoth Cave, Crater Lake, etc., you will need to make reservations in advance, even for a tent site, at least for the weekends and usually any week night within travel season (late May to early September). Reservations for these sites are NOT handled by the parks themselves but, rather, a private company. For all REALLY popular national parks, there are private campgrounds outside the park, quite near the entrance - and often, they are LESS expensive than staying in the park.
 
National Forest and National Refuge campgrounds (and state forest campgrounds as well)
Cost: $5 - $15  a night
Features usually include: Many, but not all, National Forest campgrounds will have paved roads and paved camp site driveways within the park, and small caravans / travel trailers are welcomed - but larger vehicles may be prohibited (length restrictions will be posted at the entrance). National Refuge campgrounds may have NO pavement at all in camp grounds. The information board at the refuge main office will tell you.

You can find these via the recreation.gov web site, or type in the name of the state you want to visit and the phrase BLM campgrounds into google.com or bing.com. More advice about finding these camp sites is at the end of this article. And I have to say: these are my very favorite campgrounds.

BLM developed campgrounds
Cost: $varies
Features:
BLM campgrounds can be found in all Western states. Here are some of my favorite sites to look for such online:

You can find more via the recreation.gov web site, or type in the name of the state you want to visit and the phrase BLM campgrounds into google.com or bing.com. More advice about finding these camp sites is at the end of this article.

BLM public lands - undeveloped/primitive sites
Cost: $0
The public lands of the USA are open to camping.  There is no fee for dispersed, primitive camping, but there is a limit to the number of days one may camp in the same location.  Dispersed, primitive camping is camping where there are no developed amenities such as water or toilets. Primitive campers are asked to follow the "Leave No Trace" land use ethics.  Dispersed camping in a motorhome is allowed, but dumping black or gray water on the public lands isn't allowed.

These aren't official camp grounds. There's no official camp sites, no vault/pit toilets, picnic tables, etc. It's just an open field. But often, you can find a fire pit that someone else has dug out. If you find a fire pit with firewood and kindling in it, ready to burn, and you decide to use it, then camping etiquette is that you leave it the next day with firewood and kindling in it, ready to burn for the next camper. 

These are NOT good places for travel trailers or caravans, except for small ones. The roads are dirt or gravel, there can be massive ruts in the road, and there is NO ONE around to help you if you get stuck.

Roberts Creek Mountain Habitat Management AreaHow to find BLM land? It's best to have a state map that shows where there is BLM land. You can find such online as well. Become familiar with the BLM logo - it's usually on a brown wooden sign, with white lettering, on a small sign along the road - the logo may be very very small. At left you can see the kind of sign that indicates public lands.

You won't find these along US freeways - you will find them via remote, two-lane US highways and state roads.

Here's a great list of BLM camp grounds in Nevada that includes some undeveloped sites, but there's no way to list all the undeveloped sites in all states - there are so many! For instance, the camp site we had, at left, isn't on this list.

You can find some official sites via the recreation.gov web site, or type in the name of the state you want to visit and the phrase BLM campgrounds into google.com or bing.com. More advice about finding these camp sites is at the end of this article.

Guard stations, ranger cabins, fire lookouts
Cost: Varies
The national park service rents these out! They can sleep from 4 to 12 people. There will be running water and beds, but that's it; there may not even be electricity, and bathrooms will be pit toilets. These will often be at the end of dirt roads and, often, large RVs won't be allowed because of the road conditions leading to the structure (switchbacks, severe climbs, dirt and gravel, etc.). You can find these, and reserve such, via the recreation.gov web site. Reservations are a must, and you will have to stop by the nearest ranger station to pick up (and drop off) keys and such.

Do I really have to pay?

At many national forest and BLM camp grounds, there's no office and no camp host. You pay by going to the information board near the entrance and follow directions to pay. That usually involves filling out a form on an envelope that is provided at the info board, with your name, your license plate number, etc. You put your payment, by check (which, as a foreigner, you probably don't have), by cash, or by a credit card number. The form you fill out usually separates from the envelope - you put the envelope in a strong box or large, metal tube with a small slit in it and a lock on it that staff will open later, and you put the part of the form that ripped off onto the sign at your campsite with the campsite number on it. We like to pick our camp site first and then walk back to the information board to pay.

Yes, you really do have to pay!! You might get away with not paying - maybe a ranger, park staff or sheriff won't come into the camp ground while you are there. But, geesh, camping in such areas is SO CHEAP. That money is hugely important to pay for that camp ground. In fact, even all of the camping fees are NOT enough to maintain the grounds - government (all tax payers) have to supplement the costs. Please pay. If people don't pay, these campgrounds are going to go away.

Volunteer camp hosts?

What are these onsite volunteer camp hosts I mention above? These are people that agree to live in a camp ground for at least a season, sometimes even longer. They are responsible for making sure the campsite and campers are safe and happy. They usually don't do things like clean the bathrooms or take camping fees - bathrooms are cleaned by paid employees in the mornings and fees are taken in a strong box near the park's entrance by park employees. Camp hosts often sell firewood. Sometimes, completely unofficially, they might sell you beer. The camp host can tell you where the nearest store is for gas, food, beer, etc. He or she can also tell you where the nearest hospital is. The camp host is who you go to if other campers are being loud, if you find food in your fire pit left by previous campers and need it removed, if you see a bear or cougar, etc. But if you see a crime being committed, have been the victim of a crime, or are feeling unsafe or threatened while camping, call 911 and talk directly to local law enforcement (after the call, tell the camp host as well).

Which do we prefer?

My favorite campgrounds are National Forest and state forest campgrounds. They are usually somewhere really beautiful and isolated, and if there is a camp host, that person is the nicest, most helpful person EVER. Also, each individual camp site is generous - you get a lot of space for the small amount of money. While pit toilets aren't my favorite, the ones here in the USA are always clean, and there are plenty. And the people that stay in these camp grounds are usually focused on sleep at night, not staying up and partying.

My least favorite campgrounds are KOA (Kampgrounds of America) and similar private, for-profit camp grounds. I find that they are not welcoming of tents, pack everyone extremely close together, and don't have enough showers. They aren't horrible - we'll camp there if that is absolutely all that is available - but we'll drive another hour if it means finding something else.

National park campgrounds in really popular national parks, like Yellowstone, are my second least favorite. There is just so much stress to get a spot, and you may be a mile from the shower in relation to your camp site. That said, I still love them more than hotels: I love the evening ranger programs, and I love meeting other people at the camp site, because they are usually very interesting.

Where do you find these campgrounds?

Many of these campgrounds are NOT on paper maps of states. Even if a state park is on your map, it may not have a camp ground, or if it does, it may not be noted on the map. Happily, the international symbol for campgrounds is being used more and more in the USA on highway exit signs. If you see a sign that is brown, with white lettering, that means a national, state or even county site.

Apps are great - but note that, for the best places, you aren't going to have phone nor Internet access to find these great campgrounds.

We love stopping at ranger stations to ask about area camp grounds. Even if the station is closed, they often have camping information posted on an information board outside the office.

You usually won't find signs for campgrounds along US freeways (large, four-lane roads) - instead, you will find them via remote, two-lane US highways and state roads. Just like in Europe, most camping signs are a white logo on a brown background, but sometimes, the background is blue instead.

BLM public land isn't the easiest to find on your own. It's best to get a map that shows where BLM land is, and when you are in the town nearest that land, ask someone if they can recommend public land to camp on. We find it's best to ask at small grocery stores, government offices (we are forever indebted to the planning office in Austin, Nevada for telling us about an absolutely magical place to camp on BLM land), or hardware stores, rather than gas stations. Ranger stations are the best place to ask. We have also dared to just go out and try to find such on our own. Be sure you attempt this with lots of daylight still left. 

BLM land is often surrounded by fences. If you think land is public land, and you want to camp there, and you see a fence and gate, drive up to the fence and look for a sign; if it says private property, don't camp there. But the sign may say, "Please close any gates" or "Please leave gates as you found them." What that means is that these public lands are rented by local ranchers to graze cattle. DO NOT CAMP NEAR CATTLE. If there are cows, sheep or other animals nearby, don't camp there.

Also see:

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