tool for free camping
 

This seems to be a nice tool to find campsites for free. At least in North America there are plenty of them listed. For the rest of the world it´s terra incognita more or less.
https://freecampsites.net

Check out this one, too: http://ioverlander.com/
You have to flag "informal campsites" and "wild camping"
It has a much better global coverage than freecampsites.net.

Cheers

Panny

Most of the world is terra 'familiar' for iOverlander.com and of course for its users, although with only 2000 places (not all camping of course) in Mexico, 1600 places in the USA and 900 in Canada, it is not the most comprehensive available for every country, but it has few equals AND it is free and is available in an app as well and the files are freely available for Garmin and for adding to several mapping applications such as mapsme and osmand so it is fully functional as well.

For boondocking in the usa we use https://freecampsites.net/ as you recommended, and we have used it a lot with good results

I checked it against a few of the campsites we used last year in the US and it didn't have any of them listed. I'm not sure listing Cabellas / Walmart car parks as "campgrounds" is much help if your idea of camping involves a tent but then again our tents were usually outnumbered about 50:1 by RVs in most commercial sites.

There were even a few KOA's we'd used it didn't list and if you've missed those out ...

I'd need a lot more confidence in it before I'd use it in preference to McDonald's wi-fi and googling "campgrounds near me"

Most camping lists don't encourage listing of walmarts and similar simply because there are already several POI lists just for walmart and both those sites don't want them - but iovelander being a user-driven site does end up with an occasional walmart, but very few considering.

Why would KOA campsites be on a site called FREEcampsites.net. Not ever stayed in a KOA, but don't think anyone would consider them anywhere low cost let alone free.

from freecampsites site
and

For me such a tool does not have to list all spots. I see a value in it even if it shows me a couple I wouldn´t know otherwise.

Regarding the parking lots: it´s obviously not a motorcycle travellers only tool, but for RVs and other kinds of travellers, too.

Cheers

Panny

We be traveling in US and Canada in 2018. This is very good infirmation. Thank you !:clap:

Any of these aids to travel are a matter of horses for courses, although there is a lot of overlap. Allstays is another good one for the USA and covers walmarts, lots of commercial camprounds and rv parks plus usfs, np, army corps and blm places as well as a heap of other relevant information such as bridge heights, propane refillers and truck stops and dump points.
We travel in a variety of vehicles all over the world and use whichever one gives us the results we are looking for. In the usa all three combine to cover any eventuality. In Mexico, ioverlander has pretty much eclipsed the remnants of the Churc's books and is THE source for central and south America and is pretty much best for Turkey, Morocco and Iceland. Europe is like the usa in that it has many sources that cover whatever sort of camping you are looking for.
Despite the availability of wireless internet, any source that isn't mostly functional completely offline is barely worth having, because even in the Usa there are huge areas with no phone service

Usa canada & central america
 

We are currently travelling north to canada via the usa (how else?)
We use ioverlander,free camping.nett & allstays,then choice the most suitable for us.
They are free &easy to use :thumbup1:

I agree!

Panny

To cut it short, I was on a camping site near Uvalde, trying to stay for some days. It was nice and good over there but, there is a Wallmart near, so you can find anything you need over there, I didn't cook, I bought the food, so I had not headache's. Oh! By the way I got bited by a snake, I don't know exactly if it was venomous. I was bited in a shoe :) I had luck, just because of my Snake boots.God bless them. So be careful over there, It is a nice place but you can get bited.

Yeah, you've got to watch out - it's a jungle out there. This was from a campground in Florida a few years back:

https://i.postimg.cc/nrhs5TLQ/Yam-croc.jpg

Hire in Canada it seem that https://freecampsites.net/ is having listing mainly Wallmart as free campsite.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Vz7mgGMa...latz-suche.JPG

Park4night does outperform other solutions like iOverlander currently, and is growing fast. Strong in Europe too...

https://www.4x4tripping.com/2020/01/...ng-leicht.html

You can use it by PC or Smartphone App.

Surfy

another campsite finder...
 

I used Kampnik with great success in the US and Canada. It lists both paid and free campsites including the facilities available at each place. Is user editable.

https://www.kampnik.com/

Worth remembering that iOverlander, park4night etc all list free camp spots that are not legal places to stay, always check the local rules and regulations before relying on information in the apps

I've reported several iOverlander locations but they are still listed so be careful.

Wildcamping is mostly not really legal, if you look over the world..

Often completely forbidden in many countrys. At sample the situation in Europa:

https://www.campanda.de/magazin/wp-c...Karte_bunt.png

In the center of europe you mostly had to break the law - just with driving to a remote location:

https://www.wolkdirekt.com/images/60...-aller-art.jpg

In Switzerland you can be fined for 120 USD for passing that sign.

Arrive late, go on the next day, leave it clean and be honest - can help you a bit.. I never got a fine so far what is just luck! Did wrote a small guideline how i did wildcamping during my trips. To stay extended will raise the probability to get a fine...

To sleep on semi legal Parking lots who others use for start wandering/biking mostly dont allow a campfire and will bing some traffic during the day. At night often joungster come for getting loud and drunken.. This is ok for just sleeping during eating kilometers - but i did rarely use these...

Surfy

people regularly get away with illegal activities, but it doesn't make it right. Continued abuse of local regulations just results if the authorities tightening the rules even more and making it harder for travellers who are responsible.

Had a great conversation with some "vanlife" travellers camping illegally who said they couldn't afford to pay for a campsite, yet they could afford to travel, have parties every night with lots of alcohol and smoke illegal substances, its just a selfish attitude.

Respect the rules of where you travel, and put something back into local businesses where you can

I never go to campsites, because I dont like them. It`s not about the money (wich is 30 USD per night). The fines against breaking the rules are 120 USD just for passing the forbidden sign.

In central Europa that is a usual campsite:

https://www.camping-chur.ch/wp-conte...r-1024x683.jpg

It is not allowed to light a campfire, it is noisy, it is crowded.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5oNDIJs3P...r-wildcamp.jpg

I want to stay remote, like to light a fire, enjoying the nature. I`m prepared to pay the fines, if necessary to do that. To enjoy the nature at night by Car - means breaking the law in many parts of the world...

That is was I do at home and on extended tripping thorugh Europe, Africa and anywhere.

Sometimes i got detected by the land owner. As they see that I travel without traces, collect my garbarge, just enjoying the nature, they rarely did send me away. And if it is detectable who is the land owner, be shure that I would ask and would offer a cold beer.

It is about living in the nature, and not about saving bucks. Its a way of live. Maybe some smoke pot, others like me do dring beer. I dont judge about ohers.

Please compare both pictures, and tell me that you prefere the campsite more..

#Vanlife is a new trend. They try to live another lifestyle, mostly with working remote, online business, youtube, onlineshops. They love to life in the car, but couldnt afford the campsites. Probably they will kill my "want to stay remotely" because they not stay for 1-2 nights, they stay till the police removes them. In Italy at sample, wildcamping in the northern part is pretty hard, because the police search for wildcampers and fine them. But soon they drive vans - to drive an offroad capable car, allows mostly to leave the drivable path...

I dont use Roofbox and side awning in switzerland, to be more un-noticable when I leave the path. So please dont judge my tinkered awning ^^

Ive used campendium.com and freecampsites.net...together.
Campendium allows downloads and can be used offline.

By my objection vanlife isn`t really new. In Portugal I recognized vanlifers since years, mostly young people who are addicted to surfing.

Wild camping was and is still illegal there but it was tollerated by officials as well as by locals. Since some years I recognized a bunch of people with self builded vans who were trying to live the very cheap way. The don`t respect the nature and they don`t contribute to the local ecomomy; they don`t buy in local small shops. They leave their litter everywhere and they poop and piss into the nature around the scenic spots at the coast. This is the behavior which will kill the possibility of "every remotely stay" in future.

Covid accelerated the trend of vanlife and municipalities around the south europe`s coasts will answer with more radical meassures in the future to everyone who will camp wild equal if using a tent or a van. I heard a lot of stories where locals acted agressively and with violence against vanlifers in Portugal, South France, Spain and Morocco.

As a surfer who respects the ecosystem, who loves the ocean and who supports local hospitality businesses, I have no other choice to understand and support the locals in that kind of unfriendly and non hospitable behavior. Imho these trend driven vanlifers are a special kind of pest and they have nothing in common with travellers who follow an outdoor etiquette during their stay equal of the vehicle they use.