Dare To Everywhere .

Denver, CO

Joined June 2020

#DareToEverywhere

Nice spot for a night.

Stayed: 5/20/2022

Cost: FREE

Site: N/A

Vehicle: Buick Verano

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Good service

We had an extremely windy night that almost had us take the tent down and car it. If it wasn’t for that, this place was great. It’s a wide open area with trash cans and pit toilets. Nice little spot to setup for a night!

DareToEverywhere

Beautiful sites along the creek!

Stayed: 10/16/2021

Cost: FREE 

Site: 38.332778,-105.809964

Vehicle: Buick Verano

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: No service

Beautiful site along Hayden Creek. Multiple dispersed sites are along Hayden Creek Rd before reaching Hayden Creek Campground. There’s a General Store and Liquor Store in Cotopaxi right on Highway 50. Plenty of room for a decent size setup with existing fire rings. Easy dirt road access. It got very cold in October, but has beautiful views of the mountains!

DareToEverywhere

Really nice campground, LONG dirt road to reach.

Stayed: 6/2/2022

Cost: $12 (exact change)

Site: 16

Vehicle: GMC Terrain

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Slow but usable

We made the trek out to Hole-in-the-Wall at Mojave National Preserve for one night. It was a much longer dirt road than I had imagined and you go up in elevation. It took almost a half-hour to get to the campground from Cedar Canyon Road.

This is a First Come, First Served NPS campground. We started the loop a little worried because every site was tagged, but by the time we got back over to the first loop, we had our pick of sites. We chose 16 because of the great view and it being directly next to the pit toilet. (The cleanest pit toilet I’ve ever seen)! The campground also has potable water, plenty of dumpsters and a dump station.

We wanted to stay here because we were finishing off our trip the next morning at the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center. It is directly next door, you can even see the lot from the campground.

This was a great place to stay, but maybe it would have been more worth it to stay at least a couple nights. I definitely didn’t realize the trek it was to get here, from the main part of the park. Everything is super spread out at Mojave.

DareToEverywhere

Beautiful spot, right off I40

Stayed: 6/1/2022

Cost: FREE

Site: Behind Boulders

Vehicle: GMC Terrain

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Pretty solid

Not far from the Kelbaker Road entrance of Mojave National Preserve, you will come across some boulders on the right-hand side. Extremely close off of I40, but you don’t hear a thing. This was one of our favorite sites throughout our trip. There was a couple already parked near the“entrance”, so we drove around to the back. We had a sort of private little site, surrounded by the boulders and with a perfect view of the sunset. 10/10 would stay here again!

DareToEverywhere

Long, possibly difficult road in, great views!

Stayed: 5/31/2022

Cost: FREE

Site:~2.7 miles from Highway 167, overlooking Lake Mead

Vehicle: GMC Terrain

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Slow but useable

This was a somewhat challenging dirt road. 4x4 maybe not required, but it can be rocky. Stay right when you come to the fork, left is Boxcar Cove. It’s about 2 miles from this point.


You can camp anywhere along this road, but going the 2 additional miles will give you a lake view. There was an open area to the right, where we pitched the tent. You can also continue down a little more and be on the edge of the overlook. You can also continue right to a smaller open area and even farther down(in elevation) if you dare. We went down quite a bit trying to get to the water, but the dirt got too soft at that point. There is also a decently challenging hill to climb and some maneuvering needed to get to that point. Without being able to be on the water, the overlook is the next best spot to be!

DareToEverywhere

Long dirt road to get in, nice sites!

Stayed: 5/30/2022

Cost: FREE

Site: Squirrel Springs Campsites (First past bathroom)

Vehicle: GMC Terrain

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Slow but useable

The Squirrel Springs Campsites are about 9 miles from Highway 487 along a narrow dirt road. We past 2 or 3 already taken spots and a group site before reaching these sites. There are two sites next to each other and a pit toilet. We stayed at the one nearest the bathroom.

This was a pretty nice site with a picnic table and fire ring with grill grate. This was a pretty good site to crash for free, although the dirt road was tedious. Beware this is also at a higher elevation than the Lehman Caves area. We woke up to a couple inches of snow.

DareToEverywhere

Great NPS Campground

Stayed: 5/29/2022

Cost: $10 (Half-off with America The Beautiful Pass)

Site: A6

Vehicle: GMC Terrain

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: Poor and spotty service

This was a great little campground close to the main attractions of Great Basin National Park. It takes you down a few miles of dirt road before reaching the pay station. There’s not many sites, maybe 10, but we were lucky to snag A6. The neighbors are definitely there, but not TOO close. There are a couple pit toilets, very clean ones at that, available as well.

Sites include picnic tables and fire rings with grill grates. Our site was spacious and had great views of Wheeler Peak!

DareToEverywhere

Was full, stayed across the street.

Stayed: 5/28/2022

Cost: FREE

Site: N/A

Vehicle: GMC Terrain

Equipment: Car

AT&T and T-Mobile: Good Service

CAMPGROUND WAS FULL- DID NOT STAY HERE– BACKUP ACROSS THE STREET

Was a nice campground, would be great to stay here.

We were on our way to Great Basin from Las Vegas and this was essentially the only option. We arrived around 9PM and the Pahranagat National Wildlife campground was full. Another review below mentioned an open space across the street that they used. It took us a minute to find it, but the entrance is DIRECTLY across the street from the Wildlife entrance.

We were the only ones, but you can tell others had been using this place. There were plenty of tracks and fire pits. It felt a little weird being there alone, but this did the trick when there isn’t anything else for miles and miles. See video to get an idea of the layout.

DareToEverywhere

Close to town, but feels far away. Can get busy.

Stayed: 5/14/2021

Cost: FREE

Site: SEE PIC

Vehicle: Volkswagen Atlas

Equipment: Tent

AT&T: Weaker 5G

T-Mobile: 2 bars LTE

This is a great area, just outside of the Bonneville Salt Flats, and minutes from the towns of Wendover and West Wendover, at the Nevada and Utah state line. Apple Maps had some issues with us getting to these sites, because it thought it was only walkable, and that there was no road. So, if you plug it in and there is a crazy long commute, that could be why.

Once you take the turn off of Leppy Pass Road, there is an open area that had some RVs and others camping out. If you continue east, passing the ‘Silver Island Mountains Back Country Byway’ sign, you will end up at the Volcano Peak Dispersed area. We traveled about 2 miles down this road, going around a curve with a flat area and big rock to the right. There are many more sites this way, but we turned around and chose the site marked in the map picture. Heads up, the road can be a little rough!

We had some cool views of the flats, I-80 in the distance and surrounded by the mountains. It is a little close to the road and there was quite a bit of traffic, so noise and dirt/dust could be an issue. However, it is a beautiful site!

DareToEverywhere

Beautiful and unique campground with many different sites.

Stayed: 5/13/2021

Cost: $14/night plus $10 reservation fee 

Site: 61

Vehicle: Volkswagen Atlas

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: No Service

This is a very unique campground. Sites are dispersed throughout the entire park, as opposed to being condensed into one central location. It makes for some very unique and private sites - no two alike.

We went for site 61 for two reasons. 1) It was the most private that was remaining, even though 2) it was very close to a bathroom. Most of the sites near bathrooms, were more grouped together. The bathroom itself is less than a 1 min walk from the site. We had one neighbor on the other side of us, but you could only see them if you walked by to go to the bathroom. I think that site 61 could be the most private of all, with site 63 having some of the most beautiful sunset views (pictured).

This site was also nice, because it is tucked-in next to a large rock wall, blocking the wind coming from the north. Do be aware, that Area 7 of the campground (sites 61-64), are at a much higher elevation. Driving to the site from the main part of the park, we climbed over 1,000 feet (up a winding, dirt road), ending at 7,000+ feet. So, the temperature is going to be a little different than it is when you’re checking the weather in Almo. It was about a 10º difference when we were there.

Overall, this is a very nice campground with a fire ring and picnic table. All pictures are from Site 61, with the exception of the sunset from Site 63.

DareToEverywhere

Beautiful hike, take a map!

Stayed: 5/12/2021

Cost: FREE (Permit Required)

Site: Just shy of Echo Crater (SEE PIC)

Vehicle: Volkswagen Atlas (Parked at trailhead)

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: No Service

We were very excited for this hike and dispersed stay. It’s just under 4 miles one way and you must get a free permit from the visitor center to enter the Wilderness area at Craters of the Moon. Unforutanley, we didn’t have an NPS Park Ranger, and we didn’t get as much info as we were hoping while getting our permit. With that, we were relying on the basic park map and previous research to find our way to Echo Crater, the main place to camp.

Take the scenic drive through the entire park until you get to the parking lot and trailheads for 'Tree Molds', 'Broken Top' and 'Wilderness'. From the 'Tree Molds' trailhead, follow the sidewalk that loops back around the parking lot, and look for the sign for the 'Wilderness Trail' (it's a small one and a few steps into the trail - see pic).

I highly suggest using a GPS or more detailed map, to make sure you make it to the crater. We thought we were there, but after getting back to service and pulling up the satellite image, we were just shy of actual Echo Crater (see the map picture for more detail). The sights are stunning, both during the day and night, and both on the hike in and the hike out. No fires are permitted, so make sure to bring a stove. We saw some wildlife, but nothing that was bothersome, or an issue. Also, it definitely gets chilly at night.

However, the trail and hike are absolutely beautiful and very much worth the trek. We only stayed for the one night, but would love to return and actually make it to Echo Crater next time around!

DareToEverywhere

Didn't actually stay / Bare forest

"Visited": 10/6/2020

Site: N/A

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

This is located along Grand Canyon Highway - Highway 67, within Kaibab National Forest.

We were looking for a place to stay near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We scoped this area out before going into the park, to decide if we wanted to stay here or go further along our route. We decided to risk it, and drive further towards Marble Canyon later that afternoon.

We didn't really notice any sites on the drive that we took through. There was another road that took a left, and seemed like there might be more room there - although that was a different named FR. The colors were pretty in the fall, but there weren't any big trees and privacy and shade could be an issue. It was in a burn area and everything was thin and bare.

We gave up after not finding any open spaces and not loving the vibe. It didn't seem like anyone really camps here. The Arizona Trail cuts through here, and that was the only tiny open area that we saw.

Great location to North Rim, maybe we just needed to keep driving further.

**Checkout the video I posted. This is from the North Rim of GC, not the actual Forest Road, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like. The right-hand side of the video is what all of FR-241 looked like. Again, pretty color when it was there, but burned and bare.

Mostly private, close to trailhead

Stayed: 10/12 - 10/14/2020 - $15/night

Site: 5

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

Beautiful little first come, first served campground within Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Pretty private for the most part, although we could easily see site 4 and the people staying there.

I was hoping for site 1 or 2, as you can park directly in-front of the site, but those were both taken, along with sites 19& 20. Site 5 wasn’t too bad of a walk from the parking area, but it was a little further back. This was fine because we had privacy and two separate areas. One with our picnic table and a second area for the tent. We just weighed the tent and tarp down with rocks, because it was too rough for the stakes.

We were excited to stay here so that we would have easy access to the Guadalupe Peak trail in the morning. A short trail takes you to the visitor center. The campground is right at the trailhead of 4 trails and is adjacent to the RV section. The RV section holds the trailhead, water filling station, bathrooms, potable water, dishwashing station and self-registration.

It was nice to have bathrooms and running water after a long trip. No showers. Beautiful views of the mountains and stars. A great place to stay if you’re visiting the park for more than a day!

AT&T and Sprint: Poor & spotty

Great little spot between 2 National Parks

Stayed: 10/11/2020- FREE

Site: Corner of entrance and 10 Mile Rd, on the right

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

“10 Mile Rd” runs parallel to the highway. It connects the 3 campgrounds in the area, this spot is the middle one.

Whichever direction you are coming from, watch for the Mile 10 highway marker, the entrance is between the two signs. If traveling south on 180, there IS a spot to turn, you just have to be looking for it. It’s a bit of a dip, but it saves you from making a u-ie.

We pulled in and turned right at the“No Camping Beyond This Point” sign and parked immediately to the left of 10 Mile.*See photo* It was flat and level, a great spot to pitch a tent.

The stars were amazing and we were about 20 mins from the Carlsbad National Park visitor center. The town of Whites City is maybe 5 minutes(The drive into Carlsbad NP is what takes so long).

We stayed on a Sunday and were the first ones there at about 7:45pm. Eventually, two others pitched tents as well.

It was extremely windy! We would have possibly stayed again if Pine Springs in Guadalupe Mountains NP was full. It’s about a 45 min drive to that park. We really enjoyed this spot!

AT&T and Sprint: 3 bars LTE

Easy to find, very busy

Stayed: 10/9/2020- FREE

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

Coming from Las Cruces, this is the first of 3 dispersed areas along Dripping Springs and Baylor Canyon roads. We stayed on a Friday night and were worried we wouldn’t find a spot. Every site was taken along the way until the trailhead. We decided to squeeze in and just sleep in the car, instead of risking our luck with the next two areas.

Easy to find, even in the dark. Nice views of the mountains and a trail right there, if you wanted to do some walking or biking.

This was fine for a quick, one-night stay. I’d prefer to have one of the actual sites and be able to pitch the tent if we were staying any longer. Too close to our neighbors for my liking, but in a pinch, it was a great spot!

AT&T and Sprint: 2 bars LTE

Beautiful views, but noisy!

Stayed: 10/8/2020- FREE

Site: 32.256182, -110.659613

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

This was an absolutely beautiful site above the city of Tucson! Definitely a popular spot. On the satellite view on maps, it seemed like there were a lot more sites than there are. We pretty much took the first open spot that we found (coordinates above). *See photo* Photo is looking west (top of pic) to east (bottom), as you travel UP Redington Rd.

We had a nice area to park the car and a second area to setup our tent. There was even a third area beyond that, for another tent or a second spot for a campfire fire. Overall, it was a huge site, if you’re pitching a tent. I uploaded a video that shows the entire site. The video is shot between the 1st & 2nd areas. Parking to the left, and we pitched the tent next to the fire pit you see. The person walking toward the camera on the far right is coming from the 3rd area!

Directly across the road (Redington Rd), were a bunch of cacti. We hung out over there for a bit during sunset and got some really cool pictures. Awesome views of the sun going down over Tucson were available on both sides of the road. *See photos*

There was a lot of trash, which was disappointing. I filled up the one bag that I had, and barely made a dent. As other reviews say, there is quite a bit of noise. During our one-night stay, there were tons of 4x4s and dirt bikes passing quite often. Definitely a heavily trafficked road.

Pretty easy to get to. I just plugged the coordinates in and it was easy to find. Would absolutely stay again. You can’t beat these views for a free nights’ stay!

AT&T: 1 bar 5G

Sprint: 2 bars LTE

Favorite free camping!

Stayed: 10/6/2020 - FREE

Site: Canyon Edge - 2nd site

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

This was by far one of the coolest places I’ve ever camped. Right on the canyon edge! Beautiful sunset and sunrise! Absolute silence!

The pull-off for this area is situated between a scenic byway sign, from both directions. You have to open an unlocked gate to access the road to the canyon. The coordinates (36.7526, -111.7176) were very accurate and took us right to the gate. Open and close the gate behind you *see video* and take the fork to the left. (I've heard there are more sites on the road to the right, en-route to the canyon, but we did not check that out).

A couple of warnings. Go slowly as you approach the pull-off. There is quite a dip on the one end. Once you get through the gate, it is a rough road. Lots of rocks, high clearance is probably necessary. We did fine in the Rogue, but we were nervous a few times.

There were a couple small sites along the road, if you didn’t want to go all the way. Particularly, I remember a nice spot near the BLM sign, just past the first rough patch of rocks, if you don’t want to go any further. The road is definitely pretty rough. Take it slow and try to get there during the daylight to make it easier.

Once you get to the canyon edge, there are a couple sites that are across the road from each other. We passed those and took the next one on the canyon-side of the road. *See satellite photo* It was a little rough for the tent and stakes, but it worked out fine.

We didn’t go any further, but these were really the only sites that we saw. Another man pulled up later and asked if he could park his car next to us, since there weren’t any more obvious sites.

We were on an 11-day National Park trip and this was by far my favorite site we stayed at. 100% worth it and would love to return!

***Also pictured is a fun, roadside quirk, just 2 miles west down 89A. The Cliff Dwellers in Marble Canyon had car trouble and ended up having to camp out for the night in this location. They woke up to the beauty of the desert and didn't want to leave, so they built a trading post. There are a few dwellings still standing and a unique boulder. Some dwellings are even built into the rocks themselves! It's a cool spot for all ages!

AT&T: Full bars LTE

Sprint: 2 bars LTE

A little rough for tents

Stayed: 10/5/2020- FREE

Site: First big parking area on the left

Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue

Equipment: Tent

We came in after sunset, but its very easy to find. If you pull up the area on maps and look at the satellite view, you can see a couple possible small sites on the left when you pull in. We passed those and went for the first big, open area. *See photo*

We were the only ones that parked on that site when we went to bed, but someone else had shown up during the night. There were a few more people that had traveled down further, as well.

It was dark and a little rough for a tent, so we just slept in the car. There were surprisingly a lot of semis that passed on the main road, but it wasn’t too noisy. Would stay here again.

AT&T: No Service Sprint: 2 bars LTE

Unique "Dispersed" Camping

Stayed: 9/6/2020 - FREE

Site: Left fire pit facing toilet

This campground is the equestrian Kinderhook Trailhead within Wayne National Forest.

I didn't know what to expect for a dispersed campground at a trailhead. We pulled in and there was one couple setup at a designated site (picnic table and fire pit). As we drove around the trailhead, we found a second designated site. The forest website says dispersed camping is allowed and fires are allowed with a 10 foot clearance and a ring of rocks. So when we pulled up and saw picnic tables and fire pits provided, I was a little confused. I'd assume you'd also be allowed to create your own site, if the two designated sites are taken. There's not a ton of room, but I'd say another 5 sites could setup and be somewhat spread out. It is an open area, so there wouldn't be physical privacy, although the tall trees provide shade.

With it being an equestrian trail, there were a lot of horses and trailers throughout the day. Before sunset, everyone cleared out and only campers remained.

One vault toilet and perfect AT&T and Sprint cell service.

DareToEverywhere

Great free spot in a National Forest and along a river

Stayed 9/5/2020 - FREE

Site "Turnaround"

This was difficult to find on Apple Maps, but if you pin the location, it takes you right to it.  Nice little area within Monongahela National Forest. 

We pulled in just at sunset on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend and drove through the entire length of the campground to see that all the sites will filled. We got to the turn around and noticed a couple of fire pits setup and a patch of grass. It wasn't a "designated site", but it was a defined area with the fire pits. We were out the next morning, so we didn't have any problems. The only negative was having cars drive through all night.

Two vault toilets along the long road. There was a trail at the turnaround, but it was completely washed out once we got into the woods. Nice area, right on Shavers Fork of the Cheat River. A few sites are actually on the river side.

Had NO AT&T or Sprint cell service.