For many RVers, luxury resorts with lots of amenities make their camping getaway enjoyable. But for others, boondocking on public lands away from the crowds and enjoying beautiful scenery is better.
Boondocking is dry camping away from developed campgrounds. It’s like going out to the “boonies”. You won’t find any hookups or amenities, so you have to provide your own power and water.
Most of the time, boondocking is free. Sometimes, you’ll find that camping on state trust lands requires a permit at a cost. But in general, you won’t have to pay any fees.
Lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are popular boondocking locations.
The BLM has a maximum stay limit of 14 days in a 28-day period. The bureau also states that “campers must not leave any personal property unattended for more than 10 days”.
Ghost sites have started taking over boondocking locations, leading to an uproar among the RV community. These RVers leave their campers unattended for days, weeks, or months.