Free Camping while on a Travel Assignment

I know, I know, it’s only 7 days until I begin my trip south for the PCT and you all are DYING to hear more about it, yet here I am writing about my Lil Red life. *Dramatic Sigh*. It’s tough to follow Chloe and I sometimes. But don’t worry, we love you all and are SO excited to be writing maniacs, putting together some content during time away from work, for you all to enjoy.

For everyone reading this who is a traveler and wanting to hear more about camper life, give these posts a look over!

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Why I Chose to Start Free Camping

I used to travel in a 28 foot travel trailer, all around the U.S. and I absolutely loved every second of it. I would find a place to park, which usually cost between 300 – 650$ per month. Bear in mind this was pre- COVID and RV life has REALLY become popular and expensive, which has made Camper Life all the more challenging.

After the camper died, I was paying 2,000$ per month for renting a house in a small Oregon town. Not even Portland, not even downtown; in fact it was a sketchy area with a break in that happened across the street, concerns about homeless folks running off with my garbage bins, AND waking me up at night with grocery carts and off tune singing. While the fenced in backyard, dishwasher and shower are all things I VERY much miss, it was time to accept a change of scenery.

I also wanted to save money in order to hike the Pacific Crest Trail with Chloe for 5 months this summer, so I dove back into the camper life. Insert my perfect truck camper, Lil Red. She is BEAUTIFUL, has everything I need, and I am thrilled for her to be my tiniest home yet. Best of all, she runs on solar and propane, meaning I have electricity and heat OFF GRID whenever there is sunshine!

As Lil Red is a truck camper, I chose to find as much free camping as possible, instead of paying to stay in one place regularly. Naturally, Oregon in the wintertime has less sunshine for my solar panels; but state parks are plentiful and offer amazing services for a reasonable price around 24 – 30$ per night.

In the end, the idea of saving 2,000$/ month extra until my hike began was just TOO tempting, and I made the jump from a normal rental home, into a Lil Red truck camper, with Chloe Rue at my side every step of the way.

Disclaimer: for tax reasons, healthcare travelers do have to “duplicate expenses” (meaning pay for your tax home, and pay for housing at your work location). I make sure to keep track of my receipts for any places I payed to park when I need solar, as proof of duplicating my expenses. I haven’t cleared this with the IRS, because 100$ a month for housing may look fishy- so this does come at a risk; but I do maintain a tax home and am duplicating my expenses.

How to Find Free Camping

With my F350 Super Beauty, and plenty of winter driving experience, I have the awesome privilege to be able to access the little known, hard to get to places. It. Is. AWESOME.

When I accept a travel contract, I look to see if there are national forests or BLM land nearby using google maps. I try to stay within 40 minutes of the work location, or if it’s home health I just jump all around and have fun with it.

I love to use:

Freecampsites.net
National Forest Service maps
National Forest Explorer App
The Local Ranger station
Word of mouth
Local Facebook Pages
Any “Free Camping” books I can find

This helps me find all the local hotspots for camping. I find 2 or 3 places, and jump between them based on what I need or where I want to be. It keeps me under the “14 days within a 30 day time period” rule, that most free camping has, and also gives room to other folks to enjoy the site.

The Best and Worst of Free Camping

When I was working in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, it was BEAUTIFUL to wake up every day to gorgeous sunrises and drive with Mt. Hood glimmering in the back drop.

I found a couple awesome spots, one along the Klickitat river where there was usually one other person fishing regularly, but the campground was huge and the river was stunning. It was a very well taken care of area, that even had a bathroom! I spent most nights at this spot, trying to catch a fish myself.

Another spot was in Hood River, where I took advantage of the local climbing gym for regular showers and good company. I stayed at a “hipcamp” which is an app where people will let you stay on their property for a small price. With electricity available, a nearby shower, and an ADORABLE town, I found it worth it to spend the 20$ to park here, usually once a week when my solar charged battery began to ask for some help due to our relentless rainy Oregon winters.

The free site was so beautiful, peaceful and serene but of course did not have cell reception. That makes it hard for me to do things for my blog or work, BUT it was really healthy for me to disconnect for a couple nights a week. Many free campsites to not have cell reception, and it’s something that definitely can make free camping daunting.

Every free camping spot had beautiful hiking trails nearby, gorgeous views and awesome animals. I’ve gotten to see Bald Eagles during their migration season, an adorable little owl nesting in the tree close to my camper, and a huge great gray owl hooting all night.

There are things that are not great. I’ve had diarrhea while in Lil red, and that was VERY tough, as I do not keep a toilet inside. Showers are hard, because when it’s too cold, or when there are people around, the outdoor shower is a bit uncomfortable.

Not knowing where I’m going to stay every night is also really hard, especially when I am trying somewhere new for the first time. I’ve had situations where I found myself driving away from a homeless camp. I had one night where I woke up to a logging truck shining its headlights in my window, as I apparently parked in a pull out for them to wait for another truck to pass (whoops). Having 3 or 4 solid spots is a helpful way to manage it- always listen to your gut and don’t hesitate to drive away if you feel unsafe.

Free Camping with Dogs

I feel like the dogs have LOVED spending time in Lil Red, especially exploring somewhere new every day. Since we’ve been training so hard for the PCT, it’s been fun to park near biking or hiking trails for morning and afternoon walks.

I am hoping to upgrade our outdoor situation after we’re off the PCT with a gazebo or awning of some sort that would allow the dogs a comfortable space outside when it’s raining. Most of the time the girls are on their long leashes outside while I take care of things indoors.

When we’re in quieter spots, we can work on off leash training, while we walk around the camping spot. It’s one of the best things about the hard to reach places- perfect (positive reinforcement) training opportunities!

When we do have a busier area, and the girls haven’t gotten their exercise, we love to rent out a sniffspot. A fenced in private dog park for the dogs to run around and play, definitely has its perks! Freyja (Seth’s, my partner’s dog) especially needs high intensity exercise every day, and we’ve found sniffspot to be an awesome addition for our freecamping adventures.

What I’ve learned from Lil Red

I’m just here to tell you all, that it is POSSIBLE, 100% entirely possible to live the life you’ve been dreaming about. If that means you stop paying rent and move into a small space in the back of your truck- it’s absolutely worth it.

I’ve learned so much on this journey, where I’ve downsized everything and upsized my life. The travel trailer was definitely bigger, and in some ways easier to have the same spot to “go home to” every night. But the choice to free camp with Lil Red has made life, the earth, and my finances all in a better place ❤️

I make sure to spend time cleaning up every free campsite I enjoy, as my contribution for staying there. While finding a place to dump a large garbage bag can be tricky (I usually just use work trash bins and hope no one cares) it’s how I “pay” for my stay within nature. I do run into a lot of trash, animal carcasses, pallets being used for fires, and shotgun shells from people enjoying public lands for target practice. If you begin to free camp on your journey, I encourage you too, to “pay” for your stay with time spent making our public lands more beautiful.

While I am a minimalist at heart, Lil Red has pushed me in ways I never dreamed I would be pushed to organize, and downsize. Having one drawer for clothes, one pantry closet, and a teeny tiny fridge; all push me to own less things and focus more on the beauty that surrounds me. I know my PCT hike will push this mentality even further. Own less, do more is definitely a concept that I am using every day now.

Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully this helps you begin your free camping journey. When was the last time you went camping? What’s the craziest free camping situation you’ve experienced? Be safe, and as always, happy trails and happy tails to you all.

Barking Embarkers