Practical Resources & Inspiration
For Women Who Travel (or Want to!)
Advice for Traveling Around the USA
& Camping Along the Way.
How campgrounds are priced, how to know
what a campground offers just by the type of land it's on, how
to know which are open, etc.
Do you want to travel around the USA and camp some, most or all of
the time? Great! But it's not as easy as it sounds: campgrounds vary
hugely in terms of what they offer, when they open, and where they
area. The good news is that you can often figure a lot of this out
just by looking at what type of land the campground is on.
Campgrounds in the USA aren't just public or private, not just
full-service or primitive.
First, let's look at types of campgrounds in the USA and how I think
of them in terms of pricing:
- Privately-owned campgrounds, like KOA: $$$
- State parks and national parks: $$ - $$$
- Public utility-funded/power company-funded campgrounds: $$
- Designated campgrounds in national forests, state forests and
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land: $
- County lands / parks with camping: $ - $$
- Wild / primitive camping in national forests or on BLM land: $0
- Wild / primitive camping on private land: possibly get
shot by the land owner.
There also might be a campground on tribal land - often there's no
info online, just a sign on the road.
Why these campgrounds have different levels of pricing is described
below in the bulleted list.
My favorite camp sites are in designated campgrounds in national
forests, state forests and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.
Why? The price, the scenery, the remoteness, the vibe of the other
campers (usually - if any), the stars at night, and there is a
picnic table for each site and a well-taken care of pit toilets (I
really loathe digging a hole and squatting). Some have water pumps.
The campsites usually aren't right on top of each other. Large RVs
avoid these camp grounds. I've rarely been disappointed by a
designated campground in a national forest or on BLM land, and if I
am disappointed, it's because of other campers' behavior.
FYI, there are far, far more national forest campgrounds in the
Western USA than the Eastern USA.
Sometimes, we go to a more expensive spot because we need showers,
or because we're just tired of being so, so careful about water
usage.
I don't really like camping wild / rough, because we're primarily
tent campers and, as I noted earlier, I loathe digging a hole. But
sometimes, there's just no where else to camp and you have to go
wild - but I camp rough only on public lands. In the USA, there are
just too many guns for me to feel safe risking encountering an angry
land owner. .
Here's a tip that you will LOVE: on your way to a campground, if
there is a small town nearby, and that small town has a public
library and it's open, stop by. You'll get access to a flush toilet
and free wi fi, even better, the librarians will likely know all
there is to know about the campground or public land you are going
to. Same for if there is a national forest service office nearby -
so often, the forest service staff has steered us to an even better
campground than where we were going, or given us some amazing tip
that made the trip all the better.
If we are in a remote area and there is no library or forest service
office, but there's a city hall or small store, those are also great
places to stop to get info about campgrounds nearyby. But the larger
the town, the least likely it is that, say, that gas station
attendent will be of any help with good info on area campgrounds.
Below is advice I think is essential for traveling around the
USA, by motorcycle or otherwise, when you want to camp some, most
or all of the time:
Note: this advice is coming from someone who camps primarily in
a tent.
- Most campgrounds are not open year round. Unless a campground
is closed for maintenance, it will, for sure, be open for high
season, starting the last weekend in May before the last Monday
in May (Memorial Day) and through the last weekend in September
before the last Monday in September (Labor Day). Most
campgrounds are open at least the weekend before Memorial Day
weekend and the weekend after Labor Day. Many are open starting
in April and going through mid October. The only way to be SURE
of a campground being open outside of high season is to look at
the official web site.
- In many states, during high season, it is impossible to get a
campsite anywhere on a weekend (Friday & Saturday nights)
without a reservation WEEKS in advance. This is the case for
most of Oregon. In fact, on Labor Day weekend one year, we ended
up having to camp on the side of a forest road because even the
rough camping spots in the national forest we were at were full.
On weekdays during high season, many state parks in popular
places, like Oregon, are also reserved weeks in advance. It's
why, in the Pacific Northwest, we usually don't go on our annual
two-week camping trip until the state of Labor Day weekend (and
we have a reservation for the first two nights).
- National parks, national forests, national grasslands,
national monuments and Bureau of Land Management lands are all public
lands managed by the federal government. Most have
campgrounds - not all do. Often, a paper or even an online map
will just show that there is a national forest or BLM land
somewhere, but not tell you that there are campgrounds there -
you may be able to find out that there are campgrounds only when
you start driving/riding through the area. But since wild /
rough camping is allowed in national forests and BLM land, I
don't mind taking the chance of heading to the area assuming
we'll camp somewhere.
- You are not permitted to camp rough - outside of designated
camp sites and camp grounds - in national parks. That
includes a prohibition on camping in parking lots. You are
permitted to camp rough in national forests and
BLM-managed lands, unless there is signage that says otherwise,
and it's usually quite easy to find a site that someone else has
used - just go down a dirt road in a national forest or BLM land
and you will find such. A national park is often surrounded by a
national forest of the same name. If you don't have a map of an
area that shows which land is which, just look for brown signs
with gold or white lettering - that usually means you are on
public land. Rough camping on public lands does not have an official,
metal-lined fire pit nor a picnic table - but often you will
find a stone circle where people have built fires previously.
Rough camping is free - you do not have to pay a fee to camp
rough, but you may need to have a pass to be on the land. Forest
Service regions offer localized passes and you can find
information about those on the respective forest and grassland
websites. But your
best bet is to buy an annual inter-agency pass: it makes
things way easier and more economical, and it gives you access
to all national public lands, including national parks (it
covers your entrance fee). And by buying a pass, you are
providing essential funds to help maintain the land.
- You usually won't find signs for national forest or BLM
campgrounds along US freeways (large, four-lane roads) -
instead, you will find them via remote, two-lane US highways and
state roads. Just like in Europe, most camping signs are a white
logo on a brown background, but sometimes, the background is
blue instead.
- BLM land is often surrounded by fences. If you think land is
public land, and you want to camp there, and you see a fence and
gate, drive up to the fence and look for a sign; if it says
private property, don't camp there. But the sign may say,
"Please close any gates" or "Please leave gates as you found
them." What that means is that these public lands are rented by
local ranchers to graze cattle. DO NOT CAMP NEAR CATTLE. If
there are cows, sheep or other animals nearby, don't camp there.
- State parks are managed by an individual state government
(Kentucky, Oregon, etc.). An inter-agency pass for national
parks, national forests, etc. will NOT get you into a state
park, or vice versa. Many, but NOT all, state parks offer
camping. State park camping is WAY more expensive than camping
in a national forest, but you get far more services (often, a
heated bathroom with showers and flush toilets - maybe even
wi-fi!). You are not permitted to camp rough in a
state park - outside of designated camp sites and camp grounds -
in state parks. That includes a prohibition on camping in
parking lots. Camp sites are sometimes right next to each other,
with no privacy - but that's how the camping in national parks
is as well. State parks also may have different pricing for
in-state than out-of-state. Always check the price before you
set up, because sometimes, the pricing is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS
for out-of-state tent campers (you would pay the same for a
hotel room).
- In general: camping in state parks is the most expensive of
public land camping because it offers the most amenities - flush
toilet, showers, perhaps even a tiny grocery store, possibly
swimming or an historic site, maybe a museum, and maybe even
wi-fi. Again, always check the price before you set up, because
sometimes, the pricing is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS for out-of-state
tent campers (you would pay the same for a hotel room). But
sometimes, a state park really is worth it: the museum or
special feature they offer (like an observatory or telescope) if
often worth the price of the stay.
- The pay station for most campgrounds is not staffed: it's just
a lock box and another box of pay envelopes, next to an
information board near the entrance. If a campground has a host,
it is likely they do NOT handle payment. More and more campsites
are allowing people to pay with credit cards. If you have a US
bank account, take your checkbook - that's the easiest way to
pay at campgrounds. If you don't, have plenty of cash, in small
bills. And please DO pay - don't be a dick. That money is
essential for the campground upkeep.
- Camping rough / wild on BLM or national forest land is usually
legal and the cheapest option, as it's free, but you have no
picnic table, not even a pit toilet.
- National parks usually offer bathrooms with flush toilets, as
well as faucets with drinking water, in the drive-in camping
area, but no showers (or they have them but they cost extra),
and pit toilets in back country camping areas (which you are not
allowed to go to by vehible - hike in only).
- Most national forest campgrounds have only pit toilets, not
flush toilets, and may or may not have a faucet with drinking
water or a water pump, but they are usually in a really scenic
spot an have a good amount of space between campsites (it's why
they are my favorite).
- Public utiliy-funded campgrounds, or power company
campgrounds, are found near dams that generate electricity.
Examples include Hell's
Canyon Park in Idaho (excellent campground) and Lake
Harriet in Oregon. These usually feel a lot like a state
park campground but are usually cheaper and smaller. Campers are
usually packed in rather tight.
- In Oregon, there are campgrounds for people with horses, and
usually, there will be some camp sites for the horseless as
well. These are hidden jewels, overlooked by most folks. And
often, they are reservable! Usually just a pit toilet, but in
high season, they have a water pump.
- In Washington State, there are also campgrounds managed by the
Washington state Department of Natural Resources (it's NOT the
same as a state park). DNR manages 80 campgrounds across the
state and the only way to pay to be at one is to have a one-day
or one-year Washington State Discover Pass - and you can only do
that via your phone at the campsite (there's no way to pay
otherwise). I've stayed in just one - it was lovely and there
was a pit toilet (no paper though).
- Some state parks have cabins. In Oregon, many state parks also
have yurts. These accommodations have at least beds (not
bedding), table and chairs, lights and heat. Most don' t have
their own bathrooms. These are often booked weeks, even months,
in advance, but if you are a tent camper and you are looking for
a break in putting up and taking down the tent, especially in
the rain, look into this online. Even just one night in such can
be a much needed respite from your tent.
- Some national forests and other public lands have old forest
service cabins or fire lookouts you can rent. These are
wonderfully remote but also pricey, and these are often rented
out weeks or months in advance, especially on weekends. But they
are packed with character and are super comfy.
- In high season in the USA, from the Thursday before Memorial
Day weekend (Memorial Day is the last Monday in May) through
Labor Day (that's the first Monday in September), every
reservable camp site that's on the coast or in a coastal state,
or in or near a National Park, is reserved many, many days in
advance, even weeks in advance, and the first-come, first-served
sites in these places may fill up by 10 in the morning. This is
also true of most state park campgrounds. Know your camping or
other accommodation options in advance for the places where you
will travel, and if you can make reservations, do it! That said,
we have often found a campsite on a holiday weekend, when Monday
is the holiday, if we show up at such a campground on a Sunday
night - a few people always go home early.
- If all you are going to have time to do is to drive through a
national park and have a look around from a parking lot, then
look online at what all of the lookout points and popular stops
in national parks offer. For instance, there really isn't much
to see by just driving through Yosemite National Park - if all
you want to do is drive through and stop at a few places for a
few minutes, choose another, free pass to get over the Sierras.
I don't think Mount Rainer National Park is worth just a drive
in-drive out visit - I think you need to plan for at least three
hours of hiking, in addition to getting there and back, in order
to make a visit worth it. By contrast, I think it's totally
worth it to pay the entrance fee and just drive through Crater
Lake National Park. No matter how much time you want to spend in
a national park, know what there is to see and do there well
before you arrive. Is there a not-to-be-missed ranger program
you would want to see? If you aren't going to hike or see a
program, is the view spectacular and worth the crowds and the
drive in a long line of traffic? A little online research will
tell you this. You may find that driving through a national
park, or to just a popular viewpoint, isn't worth the traffic
jam, smog, noise and wait time.
- Please don't gather wood. You will often see "fire wood for
sale" signs as you near a campground (cash only - they will
often have a self-pay box) or you can buy firewood at most gas
stations or nearby grocery stores. At campgrounds with camp
hosts and at state parks, there is almost always fire wood for
sale. If you are tent camping and arrive in the day time, stroll
around the empty campsites and look in the fire pit - there's
often leftover wood. There may even be a stack of unused,
abandoned firewood. And it is amazing how many times we, on our
motorcycles and in a tent, have been offered free wood by other
campers.
- Download national park and national forest maps before you
leave on your trip, or buy paper versions. You want maps that
show all paved roads in the park or forest, as well as all camp
sites in the park or forest. You may want maps that show hiking
too; many maps will tell you if hikes are easy, moderate or
hard, approximately how long they will take, and what there is
to see. Getting a national park map at the entrance isn't really
helpful, and you don't want to waste time in a national park
parking lot trying to figure out which hike to take.
- For a national park in a coastal state, or for a really
popular national park elsewhere (Mount Rainier, Yellowstone,
Yosemite, Arches, etc.), during high season, you need to get in
line at the entrance to enter the park by 9 a.m. on Thursday,
Friday, Saturday or Sunday - much earlier is better. If you
aren't there by 9 a.m., don't bother going at all.
- Some places in the USA - very few, however - have county parks
that offer camping. These may offer bathrooms with flush toilets
and may offer showers as well - or not. Camp sites are often
right next to each other, with no privacy - but not always:
Wilkerson county park in Clark County, Oregon, and some of
the county parks in Josephine County, are destination
campgrounds - beautiful!. Tillamook County in Oregon has
SIX county campgrounds, and Trask River Campground is one of our
very favorites of all campgrounds.
- Private campgrounds vary hugely in terms of price, amenities
and quality. Some even offer Wi-fi. Not all allow tent camping.
Some force tents to be right up almost right up against each
other. Many don't allow people to sleep in their cars or trucks.
I hate them but, sometimes, you just don't have any choice.
- If there is a sign on the road to a campground that warns that
there are hairpin turns, warns against vehicles of a certain
size using the road, warns against anything pulling a trailer
using the road, etc., BELIEVE THE SIGN. These signs are never
exaggerations. If you ignore a sign that says "vehicles pulling
trailers are NOT advised", and you decide to pull your trailer
down that road, I hope you can get a cell phone signal for when
you have to call to be rescued.
I believe strongly in travelers looking out for each other,
especially people who are camping. I have offered to share our
campsite more than once, when I see some bicyclist or motorcyclist
circling the full campground in which we're lucky enough to have a
place, and others have offered to share their campsite with us
under similar circumstances. In Yellowstone, we arrived to find
out campground under several feet of snow - we were traveling by
motorcycle and had a tent. As we stood there wondering what to do,
a nearby family decided they didn't want to camp after all - after
clearing the snow off the driveway to their campsite - and I asked
if they would give us their site so we could pitch our tent in
that driveway, and they so graciously agreed, and even said they
would take care of everything back at the office for us. My point:
be kind to each other out there. Offer help. Look around for
people who might need help, especially in remote areas.
Also see:
My favorite North American Ghost towns
/ historic mining towns / pre-1900s towns
Women's Safety While Tent
Camping
Camp however YOU want to!
_______________________________________________
Are you a woman? (however
you define that, I don't care). Have you traveled somewhere and
want to talk about it? Have a travel blog? Have an online album
of photos from your trip that you want to share? Have a tip for
travelers? You can post links to your blog at r/womenwhotravel,
an online discussion group on Reddit (a subreddit). Unlike other
women and travel subreddits and many other online communities,
this group DOES allow people to post links to their blogs,
YouTube channels, etc., so long as it's either focused on women
and travel or is by a woman who travels. Whether you are a
backpacker, a bicycle traveler, a budget traveler, a luxury
traveler, an adventure traveler, a cruiser, and whether its a
weekend getaway or some epic experience in another country, come
share your experiences at r/womenwhotravel.
And if you are an experienced traveler, join the group and help
answer questions from newbies. There's just one thing this group
doesn't allow: the question "Is such-and-such area safe."
Because that question is impossible to answer.
Quick Links
Index of resources for women travelers
(how to get started, health & safety considerations,
packing suggestions, transportation options, etc.
Advice for camping
with your dogs in the USA.
Advice for Traveling Around the
USA & Camping Along the Way.
Saving
Money with Park Passes in the USA
Advice for women motorcycle
riders and travelers
transire
benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good."
advice for those wanting to make their travel more than
sight-seeing and shopping.
Where I've
been
A list of all of the states in the USA and all of the
countries I have lived in or traveled in, the farthest North
I've been by land, the nearest I've been to the equator,
various other stats. This includes all of the places I have
traveled to and through via motorcycle. If a place has a link,
then the link goes to my travelogue about the place
Some
of
my favorite photos from my travels. Very hard to
pick favorites.
Advice
for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional &
Developing Countries: the Qualities of Great, Cheap
Accommodations
Disclaimer: Any activity incurs risk. The
author assumes no responsibility for the use of information
contained within this document.
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Please contact me for permission
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The art work and material on this site was created and
is copyrighted 1996-2026
by Jayne Cravens, all rights reserved
(unless noted otherwise, or the art comes from a link to
another web site).
The personal opinions expressed on this page are solely
those of Ms. Cravens, unless otherwise noted.
