Free camping?

[SteveM]

Spring is coming and despite my preference for hotels, I’m actually noodling around the idea of a little roadside camping on multi day trips. Location would be Maine, NH, VT, NY, Canada.

Any experience will help.

How to?

Legality?

Gear?

Etc.

[gixxer72]

Spring is coming and despite my preference for hotels, I’m actually noodling around the idea of a little roadside camping on multi day trips. Location would be Maine, NH, VT, NY, Canada.

Any experience will help.

How to?

Legality?

Gear?

Etc.

Interesting question. In all the camping we did in Maine it was campgrounds or land belonging to someone we knew (permission). I don’t think there is a lot of free, public land that allows camping.

Very different out here, you can basically camp anywhere for free on BLM land.

[SteveM]

I’m not averse to short $ camp grounds, but it’s unlikely I’ll be reserving in advance.

[FriskyDingo]

No tips on the actual camping portion, but a gear tip


yes, i'm paranoid, but i'm also rarely surprised...

[snwbrdr435]

Freecampsites.net or ioverlander

I usually just map stuff out on Gaia most forest service roads out here have dispersed sites

[sdog30]

If you have a van, I just park at a hotel and sleep in the parking lot in my van. Free wifi, too.

[loudbeard]

If you have a van, I just park at a hotel and sleep in the parking lot in my van. Free wifi, too.

You park in a van, down by the river

[RandyO]

Karen and Nancy and their cohorts are everywhere, imho roadside camping in NE is likely to bring visitors dressed in blue or green

maybe find a map of homeless encampments, they don't seem to be bothered by the gendarmerie

[OreoGaborio]

Freecampsites.net or ioverlander

I usually just map stuff out on Gaia most forest service roads out here have dispersed sites

Sylwia and I used the ioverlander app on our two week moto trip from Alaska to Oregon and it was great.

Not sure how well that'd work around here though.

[e30addict]

Roadside camping in Canada is much simpler, especially as you get more rural. If it's not private property it's public kind of thing.

I wouldn't expect ito get away with it in the mainstream touristy areas, but once away from those pitch a tent and call it good

[SteveM]

Thanks guys, the germ of a plan is no van, just motorcycle and finding spots to grab some sleep along the way for a night or two with minimal gear.

[obsolete]

Dispersed camping in NE is quite rare unlike out west in the US due to the fact that most land you'd camp in is either a state or national park or private property. Definitely check out the overlander app. I haven't used it but have heard some good luck.

[nick5446]

VT does free dispersed/primitive camping: https://fpr.vermont.gov/recreation/a...mitive-camping

Decent campsites are usually around like $20, which in my opinion is worth it for a shower and shitter.

[loudbeard]

Plus 1 for VT State Parks.

They are cheap, have good bath houses, pretty much every site has a fire ring with a cooking grate, pretty sure the campground offices all sell firewood. I really like Molly Stark in Wilmington, VT. Harriman Reservoir is right down the road for a great place to swim.

I’ve never camped NH or ME State Parks for some reason, maybe similar?

[typeone]

i'll post some boondock apps i've used in the past but as far as VT SP's go ... we love Woodford, Jamaica (i would move here in an instant), and Coolidge. frequent summer hits for us in the van.

also consider joints south like Green Falls in CT which has access to Pachaug SF system. great spot!

[JettaJayGLS]

Hipcamp is a good middleground. For no frills, its normally like $30 or less a night. You still need to plan out a little bit, but we typically book same day, sometimes just an hour before.



Some of them offer cool things like ponds, home baked cookies, along with normal ammenties like water/shower. Sometimes its worth the extra money and make it part of the trip.

[SRTie4k]

Plus 1 for VT State Parks.

They are cheap, have good bath houses, pretty much every site has a fire ring with a cooking grate, pretty sure the campground offices all sell firewood. I really like Molly Stark in Wilmington, VT. Harriman Reservoir is right down the road for a great place to swim.

I’ve never camped NH or ME State Parks for some reason, maybe similar?

There's a bunch of free camping just down the road off of FR71.

VT is a lot easier for primitive camping than NH. Most state parks and national forests have free primitive or dispersed camping, but there are requirements that can be hard to follow on a bike (like you must be several hundred feet from a road and from fresh water). There are a pretty large handful of free primitive sites scattered among Green Mountain National Forest, some of which you can drive up to (I know of a bunch on FR71 and a few on Mt Tabor). Usually if you head down a forest service road in GMNF you'll eventually find a primitive site.

But +1 to VT state parks, they're still surprisingly cheap and wonderfully maintained. And I believe you can still do walk-ins, unlike many other state parks nowadays.

As for gear recommendations...

Tent - Start with a 2 person tent with poles that break down on the smaller side, like 14" max length. You want 2 person because you're going to want a place to put your extra shit. And it really helps to have a rain fly with a vestibule, as it's just more space for stuff to stay dry.

Bag - Don't be afraid to spend ~$200 on a nice bag, over the $200 price range they generally pack WAY smaller and are warmer. For warmth you'll probably be fine with a ~30 degree bag if you are a warm sleeper. And make sure you get a compression sack if yours doesn't come with one, it makes packing much easier on a bike. An inflatable pillow is also pretty good to have, although if you have something like a puffy you could just use that.

Pad - I've never actually found a pad I loved, so I don't have much to recommend here, suffice to say if you want to sleep comfortably and you weigh north of 200lbs, you really need 4"+. I'd also strongly recommend going insulated; most sleeping bags have no loft on the backside so your insulation at the pad is much more important.

Clothes - Make sure to bring camp shoes of some kind. I hate walking around in my boots, so I got a pair of Sanuk Hemp shoes and they are excellent for lounging around in and pack completely flat. If the overnight temps look like they'll be south of 50F, bring thermals and maybe a beanie. Anything and everything that can be merino wool should be; it dries super fast, is extremely warm for it's thickness and doesn't stink.

Cooking - I'm pretty happy with my JetBoil, but you can get smaller with a Whisperlight camp stove or similar. When looking for cook ware, keep nesting in mind. For instance my tin of coffee grounds packs inside my coffee cup, and my JetBoil holds everything necessary to cook inside itself. Minimizing bulk on the bike is worth the cost.

Errata - Bring a few small hand towels; you never know when you need to wipe something down. A good flashlight or headlamp is a must. Smear cotton balls in vaseline and stick 4-6 in a small plastic bag, that works wonderfully as fire starter. A small hatchet or knife isn't the worst idea either. Depending on how much you care about electronics, a battery bank packs small and is good to get batteries topped up. If you want to spend the coin you can also combine this with a portable jump pack.

[OreoGaborio]

Oh, I missed the bit where you were asking about gear...

For the trip that Sylwia and I did (two weeks, two people, two motorcycles, camping in a new spot every single night) some of the big main items we had that I recommend were:

Two fantastic sleeping bags - You spend considerable time in these and it's imperative that you're comfortable the whole time you're in them... do the research & spend the money. We both have Nemo down bags. They zip together.
Two fantastic sleeping pads - Again, you spend considerable time in these and it's imperative that you're comfortable... a pad can seriously make or break your night's sleep. When you're lying in a sleeping bag the compressed insulation on the bottom does next to nothing. Get a warm pad! We both have Thermarest ProLite Apex and they're awesome. One double wide pad is also an option that we considered, just bulkier and less flexibility.
A two person MSR Hubba Hubba tent (a little on the small side for us but we made it work)
Amazon micro stove - fantastic bang for the buck.
Toaks titanium pot - 30 bucks is a good deal, I paid about 40 for mine.
Coleman mess kit
A pair of Nitecore headlamps (I've had a few of these and I really like em).
A big waterproof tarp & about 100 feet of paracord for some shelter.
Frogg Toggs Rain gear.
Clothing - lots of layers... stuff that dries quick and is still warm when wet was crucial.

I dunno... anything else you've got questions about?

[RandyO]

TP or camping bidet?

[obsolete]

I like learning more about VTs dispersed camping. I assumed all of NE was the same as most of MA and NH and a bunch of ME.

I have no experience with moto camping but I do enjoy backpacking. Wife finally won a lotto for Havasupai this year so we're doing that in August...

I'll plus one Nemo bags. Wife and I have them and the tensor pads and love em. On a bike you can certainly go heavier so I'm sure there's better options. The therma rest compressible pillows are dope and worth the weight over my air filled ones. I may get another. https://www.thermarest.com/pillows/f...low-cinch.html

Compressible stuff sacks would also be a good idea for the bike. Definitely saves room with minimal weight gain.

We have a Big Agnes copper spur 2 person tent and it works great.

We use a jet boil and freezer bags for meals. You can get pretty creative (I have a salmon pesto couscous that is super good).

Camp shoes are a must. I just use crocs, wife has down puffy things she loves.

Cotton balls and Vaseline works really well. I melt a glob in a pot and soak the cotton balls till their full. Make sure you have water proof matches and a lighter. 2 is 1 and 1 is none.

[OreoGaborio]

Wife finally won a lotto for Havasupai this year so we're doing that in August...

Duuuuuude! That's sick.

Sylwia and I have been wanting to do some canyon camping... had a general park camping pass a couple years ago but we weren't able to use it before it expired.

[JettaJayGLS]

Duuuuuude! That's sick.

Sylwia and I have been wanting to do some canyon camping... had a general park camping pass a couple years ago but we weren't able to use it before it expired.

Yup - super awesome. Jealous.

[RandyO]

advantage of being old, I have a lifetime National Parks Pass

[SRTie4k]

advantage of being old, I have a lifetime National Parks Pass

Last I checked it's the same for veterans. One of the very few things I can thank Trump for.

[xrocket21]

We have a campsite in central Maine I would let you use. flat spot for a tent and a fire pit.