Best Boondocks--no fee camping

[Zeppelinium]

Hello, Boondockers!

I don't know where this will go, but I thought I'd start posting my favorite boondock locations and see what others can add.

<mod edit>

see this post in full in "The West" sub-forum re: Vail Pass Summit also post #46 this thread for further explaination

[Zeppelinium]

The San Rafael Swell and the Sinbad heart of this remote spot should be a national park. From here you have access to the Wedge Overlook, petroglyphs and pictographs in the San Rafael River channel, and the red rocks in storm photo below. This camp is immediately adjacent to the highway, but you can get back 1/3 of a mile in the mesquite and junipers. The cone-shaped hill in the background is the Wickiup. The camp is 30 miles west of Green River.

If you have a short trailer you can climb the burm you see over the top of my truck. Otherwise, just go to the right of the burm and it's flat and moderately treed back about 1/3 mile. I get reasonable AT&T (Cingular) coverage and NPR here, believe it or not.

[Zeppelinium]

For pure remote camping, try this dessert location 18 miles east of Tonopah, Nevada. If approaching from the west, you will see the tree over on the right. The camp is about 150 yards south of the highway. Coming from the east, you will crest the last pass and head down into the wide valley with Tonopah on the other side. Almost as soon as you come over the crest you need to pay attention to the south side of the road or you will see the tree just in time to scream by.

The camp has a very shallow spring and the remnants of a long-gone settler's house. Wild horses and antelope come to the spring, so I'd limit my stay to a few days, although the antelope will visit in the very early morning if you stay inside. The area is dessert, with lava outcroppings and many dirt roads suitable for mountain bikes.

The Tonopah airport (5 miles east of Tonopah) hosts a week of glider activities in June and the airport people are friendly--they let me polish my trailer in one of the old WWII hangars that are still standing. Funny stuff happens not too far south, out in the Air Force range.

[Zeppelinium]

Not pretty, unless you like photographing dunes, I suppose, and a little risky. The closer you get to the dune, the more sandy the ground. I have discovered that you CAN pull a diesel truck and trailer out of the sand when you're up to your axles, if you deflate the tires from 80 psi to about 12. Beware, the gas stations at Armargosa Springs don't have air--you have to go to Beatty. Not that I want to disuade you--you can go far off the highway, just don't try to camp closer than 1/2 mile, maybe a little more. The whole area is wide open so you can stop at any spot. (Can you believe I ALWAYS carry a small air compressor these days?)

But I love it. When the ATVs aren't there it's serene and beautiful and a great spot on the way to Death Valley.

Directions: Go 8.3 miles north on 95 from Amargosa Springs/Lathrop Well and turn left (south) on a paved road. Go about one mile south and select any gravel road to the right, heading toward the dune. Don't take the first one, wait until the dune is about 2 o'clock or so. I wouldn't go more than 1/3 of a mile before disconnecting the trailer.

[Stefrobrts]

Fantastic pictures to go with the locations! Thanks!

[tin sista]

Excellent thread!! Thanks so much for sharing this info with the pix and maps! Very kind of you. Ignorant question, has anyone boondocked around ghost towns out west? Like Wonder, Nevada? I'm not sure if some of the ghost towns are on public land or not so I'm not sure if its ok to boondock there. Thanks for your patience!

[ArtStream]

Clearcreek, Colorado, BLM land with NO FEE


A great place with shade, plenty of swimming, and trout fishing.
Port-a-potties (if you dare)
From I-70 East: EX 171/ Route 24 South.
A very scenic classic mountain road, drivable by any size rig
Past Leadville (A great old mining town with GAS/DIESEL and GROCERY)
To just past the town of Granite.
Keep your eye out for "CLEAR CREEK CANYON ROAD/ 390" which is on your RIGHT.

This road can be a washboard at times, but is wide and you can crawl along if you like.
PASS lake on LEFT. Continue on Clear Ceek Canyon Road for appox 1 mile from route 24, large camping area on LEFT clearly visible from the road. 14 day stay maximum.



Enjoy,
Michael

[driftwood]

Here’s two good links to free camping .... Complements of ‘Desert Dutch’
Free camping along hwy 35:
http://www.geocities.com/desert_dutch/

Look along the left side of this site. Could be of interest:
http://www.desertdutch.org/

And here is the Boondocking (free camping) web site:
http://www.boondocking.org/

And here you can source the BLM areas:
http://www.recreation.gov/

“Happy Trails”

[2airishuman]

hi 3isnotenough

great idea for a thread....

but pace yourself sharing;

i can only enjoy so many great locations at one time.

could you include any size/lenght issues in the boondock guide?

i wanna get the 6 wheeler in some of these places!

great photos....i'm going there!

cheers
2air'

[Boondocker]

Is there any reason not to put these in the campground section for easier reference? Great thread! I am dieing to get out boondocking

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

Is there any reason not to put these in the campground section for easier reference? Great thread! I am dieing to get out boondocking

you nailed it gen.......

"brilliant!"

it would give 3is' a little more work but he could post pix here to juice us....

and put the details in campgrounds...

or put everything in campgrounds...

and remind us here with a bump..

cheers
2air'

[Paul Mayeux]

I agree! Great thread and now I'm thirsty.

[Zeppelinium]

Excusssseeeeee me! I guarantee I looked. So where is this "campgrounds" thingy, thread, whatever? This is the "On the Road" forum and under it are only two subforums, neither of which are "campgrounds."

ooooh, my gosh! There are TABS at the top of the main page! Can you imagine that? Whoa, read the manual? You got to be kidding.... (campgrounds, urk, sounds like civilization to me, urk). Yeah, Gen, I know--we met in one of those. OK, I yield.

Thanks, Gen, I'll pass all new threads through you before I am sooooo bold in the future.

But I've got a few more sites, photos already cropped, etc. Hah, I'll put them up here, then become a team player.....

OK, I just went and looked at the campgrounds tab. Maybe I'm having a male day, but I see lots of campgrounds with hookups and spaces, but in the 15 posts for the "West," I saw only one possibility as a boondock and it was a park service campground(s)(?), I think. So maybe we ought to have a boondocks tab so this info doesn't get submerged as new threads come on line. What say ye?

[cooperhawk]

Okay, I admit there is a fee for this place, but we have camped there and it is worth it. We had our canoe and towed a vehicle and had a very nice time. It is DEEP in the wilderness! US169 ends there! For those that are unfamilier, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), is a primitive area in the Chippawa National forest. The only thing between Fall Lake and Canada, is miles and miles of Wilderness.
http://www.airforums.com/revie...wcat.php/cat/7

[guy99]

Here's another resource:
http://www.freecampgrounds.com/

[Zeppelinium]

2air, here's your next bump....

The anasazi area of SE Utah is an area where you could spend a decade. Every wash and canyon has a ruin about 1/2 mile apart. There's even a little-known piece of Bridges Nat Mon across the road from Grand Gulch. Not to mention that Bluff is a nice town and Cow Canyon is a good restaurant, book store, and fine art gallery. But, back to topic...

Utah 261 runs from approximately Mexican Hat up to Utah 95, near Bridges Nat Mon. A note on the map says, "steep grades, switch backs" but don't let that stop you. I had no problem taking a 27' Overlander up the cliff, and I think no problem for a 31'. Just smile at the sign on the roadway. 261 is paved, except for the road up the cliff. I like the Mulley Point overlook, looking over the Goosenecks of the San Juan. It's 3.8 miles down a gravel road, the first west turn (left) after you climb the cliff heading north--the road splits right away, stay left. Another mile or so north along 261 there is a dirt road heading west that has a number of meadows (if you think of sagebrush as making a meadow) along it.

If you want to park for Grand Gulch (and the Ranger Station is full), go all the way to the north end of 261. In the SE corner of the intersection with 95, there is a several football fields big area about 1/3 mile down a gravel road (OK for 27' and maybe longer, but it does have some blue whale sized hummocks), great for several days of unhooking and camping. At the same intersection, a dirt road continues north, but I recommend against it. I couldn't negotiate it all the way with my 18' Caravel, but it is more private for tent camping.

BTW, you see Utah 316 down near Mexican Hat. That road leads to the Goosenecks State Park--never been there but it would be worth a look. NE of there you see Valley of the Gods, the road is dirt, but it's a nice scenic loop if you're not towing. Another spot I haven't looked at is the Sand Island Campground across the river from Bluff.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by 3isnotenough

............OK, I just went and looked at the campgrounds tab. Maybe I'm having a male day, but I see lots of campgrounds with hookups and spaces, but in the 15 posts for the "West," I saw only one possibility as a boondock and it was a park service campground(s)(?), I think. So maybe we ought to have a boondocks tab so this info doesn't get submerged as new threads come on line. What say ye?

I like the idea of a boondock tab! BTW, I wasnt correcting you, being selfish and wanting to be able to find these sites again without looking a 7,437 threads with the word boondock in them, I was trying to figure out if the campground link wasnt a tad better (for me ).

[Bob Thompson]

I pulled our 25' Excella up those cliffs last September. You're right, it is do-able, hardest thing was getting started again if you had to stop. Loose gravel didn't provide much traction. Once on top, we drove back about 3 miles and found a wonderful large pull-out on the east side of the road. We pulled in and spent the night. Great place. The next morning, it was off to Bridges Nat. Monument.

[J&C]

Here is an old mining trail, its located off US 24. The turn-off is between Buena Vista & Leadville, about 25 miles south of Leadville, or about 9 miles north of Buena Vista, turn east on County Road 387. Go about 0.3 miles to County Road 371, and turn south on 371. Continue about 4 miles, State park on right. No hookup, no bathhouse but it does have a toilet. Fee is about $15. Arkansas River is a one minute walk from the park. You have great views, ultra quiet. Abandoned railroad trestle, gold panning, fishing and mountain biking.

These County Roads are 1 lane, good but unpaved, so take your time.

I saw a few campers who found a nice spot along the Arkansas and boon-docked for free; next time I may do this!

John

[CanoeStream]

Forums member Brian Leipper has brought "Terry's tips on bargain camping" to our attention. Back up and peruse the whole website -- lotta fun!