Favorite Dispersed Camping Spots

In general I always prefer dispersed camping over a campground. Campgrounds are usually too crowded and too noisy. The best dispersed campsites are near a campground where you can top off your water and unload your trash. Better yet is when they are near good trailheads, natural hot springs, or swimming holes.

Here are some spots that I’ve camped that I would definitely to back to, organized by state. If you want to find a great spot you can remotely work from, look for “good LTE” in the description.

  • Near Sedona, AZ: great views on a ridge, tons of other boondockers, tons of great hiking within a 1 hr drive, good LTE. More details here.
  • California: Dig around this site for several great places in California. Lindsey Lake, Moore Creek, and Anza Borrega are some favorites of mine.
  • Near Twin Falls, ID: many great spots along the South Fork of the Boise River. Great hiking and hot springs
  • Near Stanley, ID: many great camping spots along the Salmon River and nearby creeks (we stayed here). FANTASTIC hikes and hot springs. Lots of forest service trash bins, water toilets. Good LTE on Nip and Tuck Rd above Stanley.
  • Near Red Lodge, MT: We stayed here, which was a nice spot near a trailhead and had a visiting moose. The valley below Beartooth pass looked really nice too, and I saw many campers from the road above
  • Near Badlands National Park: Fantastic views and good LTE coverage on the ridge. Best Thunderstorms anywhere!
  • Near Darby, MT: lots of nice spots along Lost Horse Creek, lots of great hiking within a 1 hr drive
  • Crane Prairie Reservoir, near Bend OR. Tons of great spots along the lake, my favorite is here. 1 bar Verizon LTE most places.

Best Digital Nomad Spots

In general the best dispersed camping spots seem to have little to no cell phone coverage. Please let me know if you know of good dispersed spots with good LTE, and I can add them to this page. I have a WeBoost 12V cell phone signal booster, which can mean the difference between frustrating barely working internet and something usable. But even without a booster, the following places seem to have good enough coverage to work:

What are your favorite spots? Let me know!