The best camping spots are free.

my440 wrote:
Not like it was at one time. Forest access roads are gated or large boulders or logs blocking the way. Once upon a time the wild life was the biggest danger. A bear or cougar may approach, a skunk may appear. Now chances of a cracked out lunatic approaching is the big concern. The vehicle pulling beside you at night now may not just be travelers looking to go pee or read a map...

Access being blocked is mostly because of morons misusing, (or abusing) the areas, like what's going on now on a lot of BLM land, we as people are our own worst enemies, perhaps not individually, but as a whole, unfortunately the whole must pay for the actions of a few. :(

how does one find these places? I have a tendency to get bored in overpriced parking lots and would love to see more.

Terryallan wrote:
Much harder to come by on the East Coast. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic ocean. Places you can just stop and camp are few, and far between. Not much land that is not in use around here.

for sure

we are lucky in nc, sc and virginia to have a good amount of beautiful state parks charging 25 to 50 bucks a night for water and electric. majority have nice large sites not jammed up on top of each other. scenery is always great. mountains to the coast.

Not like it was at one time. Forest access roads are gated or large boulders or logs blocking the way. Once upon a time the wild life was the biggest danger. A bear or cougar may approach, a skunk may appear. Now chances of a cracked out lunatic approaching is the big concern. The vehicle pulling beside you at night now may not just be travelers looking to go pee or read a map...

ppine wrote:
Thanks steelhunter.
I left the East Coast almost 50 years because it was hard to find a place to camp.
Now I have a million acre backyard of public land and can camp on all of it.

We live in Pa and have had no problem finding great camping spots. We love state and federal parks. I guess if you go in the peak summer season it might be hard, but we usually go spring and fall.Go in on a Sunday and leave on Thursday before all the weekenders show up.There are many Forest Service or Corps of Engineer Campgrounds in Virginia and West Virginia that are great.And with the Senior Pass, they are very reasonable.

Living in the North East I find the NFS CG's a good compromise. Most are secluded with dry camping only, some are still first come first severed, so if you get there before the w/e you have a spot. Most are $20 or less and $10-$12 with the senior pass. SP's are OK during the week but full on the w/e. I do miss the camping out west and up in Alaska.

It's not just a lack of sites but also population. There are a few official dispersed sites in Eastern National Forests and State Forests, but not very many. During the summer months (when one would normally want to use them) they're often occupied. The only place where I've had consistent luck getting one that wasn't already taken is in WV.

If it is not beautiful, I don't care how convenient it is, how many amenities there are, or what it costs.

"I would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere, than in the fanciest hotel on Earth." Steve McQueen

ppine wrote:
I just tried something new. A bunch of old friends put together a trip over in the Foothill Wine Country on Route 49 in California. We took our latest TT and paid the $75 a night fee to be with friends. The trip was fun.

The RV park was a disaster. It was like camping in a parking lot. I could not wait to leave. Too many people. No privacy. Most of our friends like it there. They go 2-3 x a year. It must be all the wineries.

I am starting to think that RVers can be divided now into 2 broad groups. Those that still like camping but want more comfort. And those that like hotels, restaurants and a lot of amenities and an Rv is just a place to sleep.

X2

I just tried something new. A bunch of old friends put together a trip over in the Foothill Wine Country on Route 49 in California. We took our latest TT and paid the $75 a night fee to be with friends. The trip was fun.

The RV park was a disaster. It was like camping in a parking lot. I could not wait to leave. Too many people. No privacy. Most of our friends like it there. They go 2-3 x a year. It must be all the wineries.

I am starting to think that RVers can be divided now into 2 broad groups. Those that still like camping but want more comfort. And those that like hotels, restaurants and a lot of amenities and an Rv is just a place to sleep.