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:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBB_YCCfdpc%5D
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
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
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.
And, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter 🙂
Thanks for this great list. I hope to hit many of these spots when I hit the road next year.
We’ve stayed in a couple of the same sites! We loved the Blankenship Bridge by Glacier! That site represents everything I love about free camping! Great views, great location, and loads of other great people around. Hope you are enjoying your adventures!
I wish I could travel. I used to be able to pack up every few years and go to a new town/city. Not anymore.
Estates at #9 this summer. Hand pumps for water + old man = work!…lol
No problem! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
You said it perfectly! We loved that spot soo much!
Just wondering what you use to get Internet at these sites? I am lacking in technology. I would do more boondocking if that were possible.
AT&T phones and a TMobile hotspot and we have a Wilson WeBoost cell booster.
Thanks for this and love finding free good sights and thanks for the tips
Wonderful, thank you so much. Keep posting.
Excellent list! Thank you so much! We will check some out this winter. Also, we really enjoy your YouTube channel. Great content. Dave and Gina
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2017 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] favorite free campsites – some had hookups and others were boondocking spots. They even offer GPS Locations for these great […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2016 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2017 […]
[…] Top 10 Free Campsites of 2017 […]