Bureau of Land Management, BLM lands

[ClydesdaleKevin]

If you are retired or about to, and want to full time it on the cheap, I have to tell you about BLM lands out west.

If you are vacationing out west and want to just boondock camp on the cheap, I have to tell you about the BLM lands. 

Just about all the western states have them.  Some have water, some are only boondocking.  Some charge between 3-5 bucks a day, some are free, some you can buy a year pass for for 30 bucks or less.

If you are 60 or over, you can get the Golden pass, which makes all the BLM fees half price, and most national parks and federal management lands 2 bucks a day, or free, depending on the park.

You are allowed to camp in any BLM land, free or otherwise, for 2 weeks at a time, with 2 weeks off in between.  A lot of the lands are near each other, so you could feasably camp for 2 weeks at one, then go to another for 2 weeks, and another, etc. 

Set up your RV for boondocking...make sure you can go 2 weeks at a time between moves, both with water, fuel, and food.

Then you could live for almost free.  Go into town and dump your tanks, fill your water, load up on food, and go to the next BLM land.

If you just want a vacation on the cheap, then the same applies.  2 weeks at a time...for almost nothing...in some of the most beautiful wilderness areas you have ever seen.

BLM offices are all over the west, where you can get year passes and Golden passes and free maps, etc.  You call also go to www.blm.gov and check out where the lands are, how to get there, what amenities they have, accessability, what fees if any they charge, etc.

If you live out west or plan on vacationing out west, check out the BLM lands and free or almost free camping opportunities.

The website tells you if the roads are usable for RVs as well.  Most are, some aren't, unless you have a jacked up 4x4 RV like a couple of our members...lol!



Kev

[tmsnyder]

Hi Kev,


Thank you for this info.  If it's a park that you've never been to, looking at a map of the park how do you know where it's ok to pull off the road and set up camp?   Are there pull off indicators to look for on the map?  Trying to plan a trip out west and would like to consider this, but having never been to any of these places would need to have some idea of where camping would be allowed.  Any suggestions?


Todd

[JerryP]

Thanks for the post, I want to do this exact thing for a while

[beaverman]

Hi Kev,


Thank you for this info.  If it's a park that you've never been to, looking at a map of the park how do you know where it's ok to pull off the road and set up camp?   Are there pull off indicators to look for on the map?  Trying to plan a trip out west and would like to consider this, but having never been to any of these places would need to have some idea of where camping would be allowed.  Any suggestions?


Todd

Todd and others, most BLM camping in the west is wherever you park your rig is your camp, some have designated camping areas that are usually well marked, as far as national parks go, camping for rigs 30 feet and over is very limited, this info is on Nat parks web sites, another good resource to see the camping and amenities close by is you tube, plenty of full timers have videos posted of western BLM lands and camping, especially in AZ, UT, NV, hope this helps.

[CapnDirk]

This interests me as I'm in the Portland Or area. Any of the rest of you out this way?

[legomybago]

I'm in Medford.

[beaverman]

2 other resources for free camping are national forest sites and Army corps of engineers sites

[Aaarrghh]

Here's an excellent website about free camping:
https://freecampsites.net/

It would include BLM lands near where you plan to go.