Dispersed camping protocol

azdryheat wrote:
Must admit I never heard the term 'dispersed camping' until this thread. Are we not using 'boondocking' any more? To remain on topic, you take your chances when camping away from designated and assigned spaces in regulated RV parks. Campers don't and can't control the spaces around them when boondocking. Sure, decorum would dictate a certain amount of space between campers but it appears there are some campers who don't look at it that way. I guess the offended camper could always move.

Google says this about DISPERSED and BOONDOCKING camping...

"Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Dispersed camping means there are no toilets, no picnic tables, no trash cans, no treated water, and no fire grates."

"Boondocking is not really a good term, but has somehow come into common use. Dry Camping (parking anywhere without or with limited amenities) is more accurate. Independent Parking is the preferred term. It means that you are prepared to dry camp but, make use of amenities when they're available."

We usually just say OFF-ROAD camping and leave it at that... We are self sustained with battery power and usually camp on the idea we can do all the things we want to do using our battery bank down to its 50% charge state and then recharge back up to its 90% charge state the next morning so we can do it all over again the next day/night off-road camping. This for us usually involves running our 2KW Generator for three hours where approved to use which is siting in the tail gate corner of my truck bed to get from the 50% charge state back up to the 90% charge state. In the dispersed camping areas the use of the generator is usually ok from 8AM to 8PM each day. No generators after 8PM. There are some Natl Forest areas where they are not allowed to use at all...

When living in the Phoenix Area back in the 60s and 70s we did alot of off-road tent camping in the high country area between Phoenix and Flagstaff and East to the NM state line border... Most of this is camping anywhere we wanted to and there was no facilities whatsoever in the Natl Forest areas there...

We would usually go with two or three other JEEP guys and some of us were pulling a utility trailer loaded down with all of camping supplies. Have many good memories from these days past...

I say call it what ever you want to call it - The idea is to get out there and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Natl Forest areas while we still have them...

Also don't get caught like I did above and add parking in WALMART areas along with the term camping in the same sentence. Parking in a Walmart parking lot is not BOONDOCKING or DISPERSED camping. It is simply just Parking overnite... Having said that however I have on a couple of occasions where folks were parked along the grassy areas and was sitting in their lawn chairs and had a bon-fire going... In my book that would qualify camping of some sort haha... The parking spaces designated for OverNite parking at some of the Bass Pro Shops sure look inviting with the way they have the shrubbery separating the parking spots. Beats many places we have paid for camping haha... Even found a couple of places that had a 20AMP Service Pedestal...

Roy Ken