Dispersed Camping is the Way to Go!

There are a lot of different interpretations to the word “camping”. To some folks, living in an RV, parked in a glorified parking lot on a cement pad with a tree or narrow strip of grass just big enough to set up a lawn chair suffices. I think this may be the official definition of camping these days, judging from the typical commercial “campgrounds” I see as I travel across the land. If you’re looking for a “home away from home” that reminds you of the one you left, with lots of neighbors, I guess it works. But not for me.

In a lot of our national and state parks, campsites are clustered as tight as sardines in a can. You have the convenience of comfort stations, picnic tables and maybe a fire ring, but no privacy and no quiet. One advantage is proximity to a beautiful view, but you seldom get that view right from your campsite. If you do, it will probably be obstructed by your neighbor’s fifth-wheel, anyhow. That’s modern camping, and sometimes it’s the best you can expect.

National Forest campgrounds are usually a little better. The sites aren’t quite so close together, and at least there are trees.

The trouble though, with all of these campgrounds is that they lack the things that some of us actually go camping to experience  – the opportunity to interact with nature instead of other people, where you can take in a beautiful landscape, listen to the birds sing and the coyotes howl instead of the hum of your neighbor’s generator, and see the stars at night instead of the light from the comfort station. Call me antisocial, but that’s the way I like to camp. I prefer dispersed camping.

We’re lucky in the Interior West, as there are lots of places where you can find dispersed camping. The best place to look is on BLM  (Bureau of Land Management) land. Basically any BLM land that isn’t posted otherwise is open to dispersed camping. National Forests also have a lot. Check either online or in person at the local BLM or NFS office for suggestions. Some districts even have maps cluing you in to the best spots.

National and State Parks often don’t allow dispersed camping, but there are exceptions. Death Valley National Park and Anza-Borrego State Park, for instance, have some really exceptional campsites. Ask at the ranger station if you’re in a national or state park. Even if they don’t allow it, the rangers might have some great suggestions on where you can go.

Having four wheel drive will greatly increase your opportunities, but there are still some great spots accessible to regular cars. Be sure to check road conditions before you venture out on those backroad dirt roads, though, so you don’t find yourself stranded.

There are a few rules or guidelines to follow when you are camping in an unofficial camping area. Leave No Trace is key. Use a previously used campsite, don’t create a new one. Since you are camping without an outhouse nearby, bury your waste far from any campsite, road or trail, and especially any water source. Carry out your TP.

Pack out whatever you pack in. Some areas require a self-contained toilet option.  The only way you are allowed to camp outside an official camp area in these places is to carry a wag bag or a groover.  Make sure you know the rules and follow them so you don’t mess it up and get that area closed to others.

Sometimes others don’t follow the rules, though. It doesn’t hurt to leave a place better than you found it and clean up after those less considerate folks. Pick up those beer cans and fast food wrappers they left behind.  Keep it nice for those who follow.

Check it out for yourself. Find that spot where you feel like you could spend all day just soaking in the landscape and listening to the quiet.  I’m sure you’ll agree – dispersed camping is the very best way to car camp!