This month we celebrate our one-year nomad anniversary! During the last 365 days we’ve camped at 105 locations, spanning 25 states. As we look back on the journey, we thought it would be fun to countdown the “Top 10 RV Parks, Resorts & Campgrounds”.

Unlike last week’s Top 10 Free Campsites, all these parks cost varying amounts of cold hard cash.

*Please note – we’ve listed the most recent prices as of the publish date (Sept ’16). Make sure you visit the RV Parks website to verify an up-to-date rate.

Watch the Video!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Name & Location: Long Ridge Campground in Hiawassee, Georgia

GPS: 34.92645, -83.77849

Price: $30-35, Passport America rates available

Highlights: Long Ridge Campground is loaded with rustic charm. It has a fishing pond, good access to hiking trails, and better wifi than most campgrounds. We stayed there using the Passport America rate and thought it was well worth the $15/night price tag.

Watch our YouTube video about the experience!

Name & Location: Desert Pools RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs California

GPS: 33.9248, -116.4331

Price: $50, Passport America rates available

Highlights: The main attraction at Desert Hot Pools are the hot-spring-fed tubs. We loved the area, too! It was the perfect place to escape the winter blues. We had endless sunny skies, pounds of fresh dates, and access to a big city (Palm Springs) with all the shopping we needed.

Name & Location: Big Bend BLM Campground in Moab, Utah

GPS: 38.6486, -109.4799

Price: $15

Highlights: Location is everything when it comes to Big Bend Campground. It’s located on the Colorado River just a few miles outside of Moab and Arches National Park. There’s a large dumpster and pit toilet on site, but no other amenities. This BLM campground is a much better option than the sardine-packed RV parks closer to town.

Name & Location: Watchman Campground at Zion National Park

GPS: 37.1981, -112.9867

Price: $30

Highlights: Watchman Campground is another example of location being the best feature. The park is located inside Zion National Park, close to trails and the park bus system. We had water & electric hookups, not all sites have those amenities.

Name & Location: Sandy Creek Park in Leander, Texas

GPS: 30.468, -97.907

Price: $15

Highlights: Sandy Creek was a sleepy, county park with waterfront access. We received blazing fast T-Mobile and AT&T cellular data. The park was also pretty close to Austin; we took a few trips into the city during our stay.

Watch our YouTube video about the Sandy Creek experience.

Name & Location: La Siesta Campground in Arivaca, Arizona

GPS: 31.5833, -111.3069

Price: $15-$25

Highlights: If rest & relaxation is your goal, La Siesta is the perfect place to spend a long weekend. They offer RV Sites with water & electric hook ups, and they also have fully-restored vintage campers available to rent. The owner is attentive, hospitable, and kind.

Watch our YouTube video about the La Siesta experience.

Name & Location: Lake Piru Campground in Piru, California

GPS: 34.4754, -118.7642

Price: $22-$44

Highlights: We loved Lake Piru for its easy access to the Greater Los Angeles area, yet it has a rustic and quiet setting. During our stay here were explored Valencia, Santa Monica, Hollywood, and more! We recommend visiting this park during the off-season (anytime other than summer) to avoid large crowds.

Name & Location: Betsie River Campsite in Frankfort, Michigan

GPS: 44.6131, -86.2026

Price: $31-$35

Highlights: Betsie River Campsite is clean & quaint. Best of all, its proximity to Frankfort and beautiful walking paths is amazing. We walked from the campsite to large beaches, lighthouses, and a charming downtown with many dining options. The trails are dog friendly and provide free doggy-waste bags throughout.

Name & Location: Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego, Louisiana

GPS: 29.9025, -90.1538

Price: $20+

Highlights: If you want to visit New Orleans – but still camp in a scenic park – Bayou Segnette is the way to go. Downtown New Orleans is a short 15 minute drive and offers SO much entertainment. Our site had water & electric hookups, a picnic table and a large wooden patio. Even though we visited on a crowded weekend, our site was large enough to let us feel as ease.

Watch our YouTube video about Bayou Segnette!

Name & Location: Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Brumley, Missouri

GPS: 38.077, -92.573

Price: $12-$40

Highlights: Lake of the Ozarks is a beautiful waterfront state park in Missouri. This was our second campground as fulltimers, and we were thrilled to have scored such a perfect site. Not every site in the park has water views, but our spot backed right up to the shore. The leaves were beginning to change and fall was in the air. Maybe, due to our newbie excitement, we enhanced our memories of this campground – but, it definitely set the bar high for all campgrounds to come!

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

Continuing our journey around the Olympic Peninsula, we drove to the Makah Reservation located on the Northwest most tip of the USA . We set up camp at Hobuck Beach Resort and it proved to be an amazing location for exploring and relaxing.

Here’s the Breakdown:

Location: Makah Reservation, Washington

GPS: 48.3323, -124.6593

Date / Temp: We camped at Hobuck Beach Resort for four nights during mid-September. The weather varied from sunny & clear to 24 hours of rain. The highs were in the mid 70s and the lows were in the 50s.

Amenities: Not only did we have a pull-through site with an ocean-front view, we also had full hookups! The sites were level and easy to set up. There’s a central shower house with clean & private facilities. And, if you’re town an electric car, Hobuck Beach offers multiple charging stations.

Wifi / Cell: Our T-Mobile and AT&T received no service (not even with the booster). Fortunately our WiFiRanger was able to connect us to an open wifi network. Using the resort’s wifi we were able to stream Netflix with a low quality resolution; most importantly, we could easy operate our online business with the connection.

Noise: The only noise we heard at Hobuck Beach was the soothing sound of waves rolling into the shore. There are only 10 full hook-up RV sites – and while they’re close together – all of our neighbors were there to relax and enjoy the peaceful location.

Grocery / Errands: We’d recommend stocking up on groceries before making the trip to Hobuck Beach. There is a general store in town, but prices are steeper in remote locations like this. The town also has a post office, gas station, coffee shop, and a few restaurants.

Dog Friendly: The Hobuck Beach Resort is dog friendly. River really enjoyed walking on the beach and hiking the local trails. We saw a few other dogs during our stay – all were leashed and respectful.

Entertainment: Hiking was our favorite activity in the area. We saw a pod of orkas at the end of the Cape Flattery Trail – it was an awesome hike with dramatic Pacific Ocean viewpoints. The Shi Shi Trail is also located close to the campground.

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

In just a few days we’ll celebrate our one-year nomad anniversary! We decided it was time to look back on the travel log and compile a list of our favorite free campsites and boondocking spots.

We managed to camp at 105 sites over the course of a year, but narrowed this list down to our top ten. The campsite-rank is based on location, scenery, privacy, and our personal experience.

All sites listed below are FREE!

Watch the Video:

Let’s start the countdown!

Name: Hieb City Park

Location: Marion, South Dakota

GPS: 43.426449, -97.265274

Highlights: Hieb City Park is one of the few free campsites that offers complimentary water & electric hookups. The large grassy field and plentiful shade is another plus. To top it off, we received blazing fast cellular speeds to do ample Netflixing.

Read our detailed park review or check out the park video!

 

Name: Clark Canyon Reservoir

Location: Dillon, Montana

GPS:44.9949, -112.8693

Highlights: Clark Canyon has amazing scenery and well maintained facilities. Every site has a pavilion, grill, and picnic table. The only bummer is that internet service is very limited here.

Read more reviews on Campendium & FreeCampsites!

Name: Snyder Hill BLM

Location: Tucson Estates, Arizona

GPS:32.1576, -111.1171

Highlights: Location is the best quality of Snyder Hill. It’s located right outside of Tucson and has easy access to all the big city perks. The cellular internet speeds are fast on all carriers here; and Snyder Hill is a popular spot among fulltimers, so the social aspect of the campsite is fun, too!

Watch our video about Snyder Hill!

Name: Blackwell Horse Camp

Location: Heltonville, Indiana

GPS: 39.0175, -86.3899

Highlights: Blackwell Horse Camp is spacious, grassy, and clean. Our pup loved it here because she had so much space to play. The campsite is located pretty close to Bloomington – we explored downtown and found some great restaurants.

Read our detailed article about Blackwell or watch the video!

Name: Jamieson City Park

Location: Poynette, Wisconsin

GPS: 43.3845, -89.4302

Highlights:Jamieson Park is another spacious & grassy campsite. We had enough space to spread out, set up our tent, and feel a sense of privacy. The local town was small, but offered a really cool discount grocery store. Unfortunately, the park will be closed to overnight camping beginning January, 1st 2017.

Read our detailed review or watch or park video!

Name: Snake River at John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway

Location: Moran, Wyoming

GPS: 44.1034, -110.6861

Highlights: This campsite is ideally located just a few miles from the Yellowstone south entrance. Our site was 50 yards from the river and pretty private. We were amazed by the vault toilets at Snake River – they’re the cleanest we’ve seen to date!

Read our detailed review here or watch our video about it!

Name: Lower Teton View or Upper Teton View

Location: Moose, Wyoming

GPS: 43.7645, -110.5558

Highlights: This is one of the most beautiful sites we’ve found. The Grand Tetons shape the horizon and create a unique sunset every night. We were able to get a strong cell connection, but the network was bogged down with traffic. The site is accessible for big rigs, as well.

Read our detailed article about the site or watch our video!

Name: Harshaw Road in Patagonia

Location: Patagonia, Arizona

GPS: 31.5149, -110.7037

Highlights: The camping on Harshaw Road is private and peaceful. A trailhead for the Arizona trail is only a mile down the road, and it was one of the best hikes in Arizona. The town of Patagonia is small and charming (and only 4 miles away). We visited the local coffee shop, Gathering Grounds, almost every day.

Check out our YouTube video about the campsite!

Name: Blankenship Bridge

Location: Columbia Falls, Montana

GPS: 48.4641, -114.0726

Highlights: This is beautiful, riverfront camping located a few miles away from Glacier National Park. We absolutely loved this site. Our T-Mobile hotspot received 4G LTE and our AT&T was a weak 3G. It would be near impossible for a Class A to make it to this site, but a van or small TT can make it (but scope it out before you drive down)!

Read our detailed article or watch our YouTube video!

Name: Buffalo Gap – Nomad View

Location: Wall, South Dakota

GPS: 43.8898, -102.227

Highlights: The scenery and wildlife are breathtaking. We saw big horn sheep every morning and evening and our site overlooked endless Badland formations. We also received 4G LTE at the campsite. We’d recommend a special trip to the area just to experience the nature and beauty here.

Check out our detailed article or watch this YouTube video.

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

This week our Monday Q&A question about RV Life comes from a YouTube viewer preparing for life on the road. He writes,

“My girlfriend has been very stressed-out thinking about our trip… Is there anything that either of you were very nervous about (before leaving) that was really no big deal or something that you did not think about that are now big concerns?”

We’ll break it down into two sections; concerns that are no big deal & concerns that we deal with regularly.

Watch the Video:

Concerns That Are Actually No Big Deal

1. Forgetting Something

Just like leaving on vacation, a shadow of fear loomed over us suggesting that we’d forget something important. Thankfully we did a test-run to iron out the wrinkles. And, yes, we forgot a few things during the test run; most importantly, pillows!

However, the larger lesson we learned is that even if we did forget something (like a $15 water filter), we could simply buy it on Amazon.

2. Towing the Camper

Towing the camper was a valid concern during the first few months on the road. We had to learn how to brake, cross passes, and back into sites. By our eighth month on the road, towing the camper became “no big deal” – and now a year into it, we actually enjoy towing the old girl.

Everyone will have a person learning curve when it comes to towing – but there will come a day when it feels natural.

3. Safety

Our family seemed to be more concerned about our safety than we were; many believed that the boogey man lived right outside the county lines.

Safety is something we take seriously, but don’t stress over. As fulltime travelers, we keep our senses active and steer clear of complacency. This allows us to feel confident with the places we decide to set up camp.

We also believe that humans are kind; and we put a lot of faith in “good vibes”.

4. The Happiness & Health of our Dog

River became part of our family six months prior to hitting the road. We thought she’d provide companionship and security – and she’s exceeded our expectations in both categories. We had concerns about training her, finding vets, and keeping her happy. Fortunately, we’ve been able to do all these things quite easily.

From time to time – when she eats poisonous caterpillars or bees – we’ll have a quick scare. But, as long as we have internet access, we can either call a local vet or research symptoms online.

5. Mechanical Issues

It’s never fun to see the “check engine” light turn on or a tire low on air, but we’ve learned that these are the type of things you just have to roll with. We’ve been able to solve some issues ourselves and we’ve also taken the truck to the shop multiple times.

It’s not easy to lump this into the “no big deal” section, but we’ve learned that it doesn’t do any good to stress about it.

6. Vault Toilets

Being that I (Kyle) never went camping before hitting the road, the idea of using a vault toilet grossed me out. I thought somehow the floor would cave in and I’d fall into the pit of hell. However, this hasn’t happened yet, and I’ve grown accustomed to them.

Concerns That Remain a Big Deal

1. Income / Expenses

Our Etsy shop is a great source of portable revenue that doesn’t require much time. The downside is that revenue isn’t consistent. It can fluctuate by up to $1000+/- monthly.

We’ve began creating revenue through Amazon & YouTube, but currently its only 18% of our overall income. We’d like to have at 33% equal split between the three revenue streams in six months.

But, for now, we have to remain vigilant with controlling our expenses and creating new income.

2. Internet

Our internet arsenal includes two AT&T cellular plans and one T-Mobile hotspot with a total of 32 gigs. We also have a WeBoost cellular booster and a WiFiRanger for added power. This set up keeps us connected almost always if we steer clear of rural, mountainous boondocking.

But, finding fast connectivity is like hunting a wild beast; research, equipment, and energy are always needed.

3. Leaks

Water is great at finding its way inside our camper.

We don’t have any outlandish leaks, but once a month a new leak will spring up. We’ve sealed and resealed, however the constant earthquake conditions seem to foster cracks and separations.

4. Battery Life

We’ve talked about this issue more than we’d like. Simply put, our roof is maxed out of space for solar and our battery storage area is full to the brim. Did we mention, our mini fridge is all electric 110v.

We’ve found ways to work around our lack of amp hours; but, it remains a constant concern.

5. Gas Prices

While low gas prices seem to be the new norm (knock on wood), there is always a better deal to be had. We reference the GasBuddy app to find the lowest prices before making a purchase. Complacency can cost a traveler over $1000/year.

6. Wildlife / Plants

Maybe I have an unrealistic fear of bears, but large wild beasts frighten me – especially while on a wilderness hike. We’ve encountered scorpions, snakes, and overly aggressive, long horned sheep. Its amazing to witness these creatures in their natural habit, but its not something to take lightly.

We’ve also had some sticky situations with cacti!

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

We left Seattle and set out to explore the Olympic Peninsula. Our first stop was Sequim, Washington – a town full of lavender farms and bay view parks. John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort was the perfect location to set up camp and begin exploring!

Here’s the Breakdown:

Location: Sequim, Washington

GPS: 48.0619, -123.0428

Date/Temp: We camped at John Wayne’s Resort for four night in mid September. The weather was beautiful with highs in the mid seventies and lows in the low 50s. It was sunny during all four days!

Amenities: Our site was level and had a waterfront view with full hookups. The campground office has a charming store with local goodies. There’s also a modern bathhouse and laundry facility on property. Our favorite amenity was the easy access to the John Wayne Maria across the street.

Wifi/Cell: The park offers free, password protected wifi. We were able to effectively use it during 75% of our stay. During peak hours when the network became bogged down, we’d switch over to our T-Mobile hotspot with blazing 4G LTE. Our AT&T service was equally fast.

Noise:  While the sites are pretty close together, which seems normal at parks with such beautiful views, noise was never a concern. All the guests we met were kind & respectful. The nearby road doesn’t get much traffic.

Grocery/Errands: Downtown Sequim is only a few miles away. There are many shops with local flavor and a number of big box stores. We did a lot of shopping in the area because all the options. We purchased new tires (much needed) at Discount Tire, we got River some treats at Petco, scored some deals at Grocery Outlet, hit up a few thrift stores, and made an obligatory Walmart trip.

Dog Friendly: John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort is dog friendly and offers free doggy-waste bags. The marina across the street is also dog friendly. River loved rolling around in the grass and taking a dip in Sequim Bay.

Entertainment: There’s lots of exploring to do in the area. We took day trips into Port Townsend & the Olympic National Park. Right outside the RV Resort is a wonderful state hiking trail, as well. Touring the local lavender farms is another must-see!

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

This Monday we’ll answer a question we get in many forms, but all regarding the same topic. For anyone on the road (or making plans to be), we encourage traveling with a furry friend. Here’s this week’s question:

How do you travel with a dog?

We love traveling and experiencing life with our dog River. She adds a kind and loving energy to our journey. However, traveling fulltime with a pet offers a unique set of challenges. We’ll talk about these challenges and discuss our solutions.

Running Errands / Grocery Shopping

During hot summer days, running errands with our pup can be quite difficult. Since she loves riding in the truck (and hates being left alone in the camper), we’ll all load into the truck and run our errands together.

This simply means one of us will stay in the truck with River while the other goes inside a store, postoffice, etc. It’s an easy solution for us, but poses more challenges for a solo traveler.

If the weather is cool or overcast, we’ll leave River in truck with a Kong Ball and some food – she’s usually “people watching” in the front seat when we get back!

Visiting National Parks

National Parks are hard to explore with a pet. If you really want to hike the dramatic trails or watch the videos in the visitor center, we recommend leaving your dog behind. For us “behind” means boarding her for the day at a local vet or “doggy daycare”.

It’s not often we leave River behind, but in Moab & Carlsbad it was a great option for us to really experience the parks. Some of the national parks offer pet crating on site; the conditions of these crates seem sketchy, but it’s an easy option.

Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas was one of the few parks that allow leashed dogs on all the trails.

Social Gatherings

There have been many times we’ve left River alone in the camper. If we’re attending a pot-luck, hanging out with friends at an RV park, or really doing anything in close proximity to the camper, we’ll leave her alone for a few hours. We’ve found this usually works best in the evening when she’s ready to wind down.

Whether its for her peace of mind or our own, its nice to be able to stop by and check on her while we’re out socializing.

Exploring Towns & Cities

All three of us love exploring new places; walking around a community is something we can easily do together. Many of the towns we visit offer free doggy-waste bags, too!

If we decide to go out to eat we’ll consult the BringFido app or just look for a restaurant with a patio. We always bring a backpack when we’re out walking with River – it has her water bowl (she’s picky about what she drinks out of) and an extra chain leash. After a few learning experiences, we realized River like to chew through her cloth leash while we eat our lunch. The chain leash works as an easy solution.

Dog Health

Keeping River healthy is a big priority. We make sure to buy her good quality food – anything with corn as the main ingredient is a “no-go”. If we have extra money (and a good shipping location) we’ll order her the high quality stuff from Amazon Prime.

Buying River her HeartGaurd medicine has been easier than expected. Over the past year, we visited a vet in Texas and Washington to stock up. We’d call the local vet in advance and let them know that we travel fulltime – from there we give them River’s primary vet information. The whole process took less than thirty minutes both times.

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

 

We installed our WiFiRanger just over a month ago – but until now, haven’t had a great opportunity to test it. This week we landed at a beautiful lavender farm in Sequin, Washington and realized the farm’s shop offers free wifi.

From our campsite we can’t reach the free wifi network, but with the flip of a switch, our WiFiRanger can receive and re-broadcast the signal inside our camper!

Here’s the Breakdown

Product: WifiRanger Sky2 Wifi Booster

Price: $360

Function: The WifiRanger amplifies wifi signals and re-broadcasts the amplified signal inside your RV or vehicle. This is particularly helpful when camping close to free wifi provided by businesses or residences.

Installation: The WifiRanger Sky 2 box can be easy secured to your RVs roof. We used velcro & duct tape (not so classy), but you can also screw it into your roof. 

From the rooftop antenna, an ethernet cord must be run into the interior of your RV. We used the same entry point as our solar panel wires and cell booster cord. Once inside, the cord is then connected to the interior WifiRanger box.

Performance: We have the smallest WiFiRanger antenna – it can reach a half-mile radius. The larger antennas can reach as far as two miles. We aren’t camped around free wifi as often as some of our fellows RVers, but we’ve successfully used the WiFiRanger at walmart, while driveway surfing, and currently at a lavender farm.

Recommended For: This booster would be ideal for those who often camp at RV Parks or big box stores. Free wifi is amazing, and the $360 cost could really save money if you do this type of camping.

Our Personal Experience: Over a one month period, the WiFiRanger provided an awesome function for two days. We think as our travels brings us closer to urban environments, the booster will be more helpful. But, the two days of service it’s provided us has been priceless – giving us strong & free internet when we would’ve had none before.

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

The month of August treated us well. Despite buying a new iPhone ($150 from Walmart), we managed to keep the rest of our expenses under control. We’ll break the report into 5 sections and let you know exactly how much we spent.

Our accounting is done completely with pen & paper. We use our favorite Moleskine Journals to track daily expenses and write the results for each day on a calendar that hangs from the fridge – its a visual reminder that keeps us accountable and aware.

Here’s the breakdown:

Camping

We camped at 12 sites during the month of August – starting at Grand Teton National Park and ending in Moses Lake, Washington. We dry camped for 18 nights, had partial hookups for 3 nights, and lived in luxury with full hookups for 10 nights.

We paid a total of $0 for camping. When we weren’t boondocking, we traded our services (marketing & design) to camp for free in RV parks.

• Monthly Expenses: $0
• Daily Average: $0

Food / Household Goods

In the previous expense reports we forgot to clarify that this sections includes more than food. We lump all of our grocery expenses into this category. So, it also includes medicine, household goods, dog food & supplies, and vitamins.

We can’t seem to get this category less expenses. Our camper isn’t big enough to store bulk items, and sometimes when we’re in the boonies, inexpensive groceries are hard to find!

• Monthly Expenses: $558
• Daily Average: $18.00

Gas

Driving across middle America can be a financial drain. The land is so expansive, with hundreds of miles between stopping points. We did seem to cut back our gas expenses from the previous month, but we still have some work to do!

• Monthly Expenses: $325
• Daily Average: $10.48

Maintenance

Knock on wood – all has been good on the maintenance front. The oil didn’t need changing, the truck ran well, and the camper was rolling along without issues. We know – all to well – this can change in a moment; but, as for August, we spent $0 on maintenance.

• Monthly Expenses: $0
• Daily Average: $0

“Other” Expenses

This is the catch-all category. In the month of August it included an iPhone, propane, post cards, a Washington park pass, laundry, and an air pressure gauge. We aim to keep this section under $100 a month, but with the iPhone purchase we ended well above that number.

• Monthly Expenses: $256
• Daily Average: $8.26

Fixed Expenses

These are our unchanging expenses that include insurance, a student loan, subscription services, and cell service. 

• Monthly Expenses: $400
• Daily Average: $12.90

Total Monthly Expenses

We’re satisfied with our August expenses, but we also know there’s room for improvement. As we continue through September, our focus is lowering gas expenses and keeping an eye on our food costs.

• August Expenses: $1539
• Daily Average: $49.65

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.

We’ve been a member of Boondockers Welcome for five months, but finally used it for the first time! In this article we’ll review our experience and discuss the membership and the perks it offers.

We’re not affiliated with Boondockers Welcome and paid full price for the service.

What is Boondockers Welcome?

It’s a membership service that provides travelers with driveway camping options across the country. The company was founded by fellow RVers, and aims to connect like-minded people with places to camp and create shared experiences.

How much does it cost?

There are two membership categories – hosts & travelers. A host membership cost $19.95 a year, with the potential of being free if they receive positive reviews. The “Guest-Only” membership is $24.95 a year. It allows travelers easy access to the database of hosts.

What are some of the membership features?

The website has an easy to use mapping system that makes it easy to find hosts across the country. Boondockers Welcome also has a private messaging system that shows host response rate. Our favorite feature is the host reviews that are found in each profile – it gives us a good sense if we’ll be a proper fit for the host.

Is it safe?

We feel safe at our site – but, this is where the host reviews can add extra comfort. If a host has numerous reviews, we can camp there without worry. The fact that Boondockers Welcome charges a membership fee for hosts also weeds out potential trolls.

Our Experience?

We spent five nights during our first Boondockers Welcome stay. The location was ideal for our Seattle adventures. We could also walk to local coffee shops and a beautiful water front park. For us to legitimize the $25 membership, we’d like to use it at least 12 nights out of the year.

Thanks for reading our blog. Help support our mission – to live freely and deliberately – by checking out our Etsy store or shopping Amazon through our link.