Boondocking is going away in many places. In some cases, it’s a temporary cessation but, in other cases, it’s disappearing for good. What’s happening to boondocking? In many cases it’s us. But not all of us. 

So here is a guide to boondocking etiquette and best practices that we hope you share with your fellow RVers. 

What is boondocking?

At its most basic form boondocking is camping without any other infrastructure than what is in your camp setup. That may mean sleeping in your car, your RV, your tent or whatever but not hooked to any infrastructure. 

Some also describe boondocking as camping in faraway places where you’re out of the glow of city lights and camping in the boondocks, so to speak. There isn’t one specific definition but one of the core aspects of boondocking is that you’re camping for free. 

Boondocking camping can also be in places that are just worthy of taking pictures so you can make your friends jealous by sharing them on Instagram. There are so many places, particularly in the western US, where boondocking can mean surrounding yourself with the stunning beauty of nature. 

But there’s also boondocking in WalMart parking lots which has been customary for generations of RVers. WalMart founder Sam Walton encouraged his fellow RVers to use his vast parking lots for overnighting along their journeys knowing, too, that they were very likely to come in and pick up some things they’d need along the way. 

Whatever your style or need, one thing’s for sure: boondocking’s biggest appeal may be that you’re not paying for that night’s stay and that is part of the fun of the RV lifestyle. Free overnight parking. 

What’s the problem?

The problem is multi-faceted, but boils down to people abusing the privilege of boondocking and ruining it for all of us. 

With the huge increase in popularity of the RV lifestyle more and more new RVers are looking to live the lifestyle they’ve seen on social media. By showing off pictures of the spectacular places we’ve camped the sales pitch is working and more of our fellow Americans are looking for ways to also enjoy those beautiful spots. 

As demand increases supply remains the same. More vehicles and people wanting to use the same space means that that space sees more demand and that translates into additional wear and tear. 

Not only are the places we boondock not increasing in number and size, but the number of employees in those places aren’t necessarily increasing either. For example, the Bureau of Land Management oversees millions upon millions of acres of federally-owned land across the country but has only 200 rangers. That’s it!

So if someone is camping and just leaves their trash behind or deposits waste or allows their pets to soil the place there isn’t a lot of staff to resolve that. The alternative is to shut these lands down. 

In some cases this is a temporary closure but not always. Texas is considering passing legislation to simply outlaw overnight camping in public places altogether in their Senate Bill 987. Many, many other municipalities are also outlawing overnighting for the same reason. It’s become a problem. 

A problem for U.S.

Of course one of the things that can’t be ignored is the growing problem of homelessness in the United States. The number of homeless people in cities of all sizes seems to be ever growing. While some of those individuals are barely visible, others have encampments that are quite sprawling and create a blight on the community. 

Unfortunately RVers and the homeless share the practice of camping in places that didn’t start out catering to overnighting. 

No matter what the root cause or societal challenges there are, the bottom line is that we’re all getting lumped together and blamed for trash being left behind and communities being worse off by our being there. So legislative bodies take the only action they can and simply kick us all off their property. 

What can we do? 

There’s one way to stem the tide of boondocking going the way of the dodo bird and that’s to be a better boondocker ourselves. Here are some tips to help us keep these valuable resources available to ourselves and other RVers: 

• Keep it clean. Keep the space around your RV as clean as possible. If you have garbage, don’t just set it outside even temporarily. Instead, keep it inside your RV until you have a chance to throw it away. Know, also, that huge accumulations of garbage thrown in a dumpster at a big box store does cost them money. Garbage collection is expensive so the less you fill their dumpsters, the better boondocker you are.

  • This also applies to pets. Make sure that if your pets leave something behind that it doesn’t stay there, even for a short time. When your pet gifts you with last night’s Alpo pick it up. If you have a pet, make sure you always have bags to put the poop in. It’s your pet, so it’s your responsibility.

• Leave no trace. I’ve read stories of RVers who put their leveling jacks down and damage blacktop, or who leave trash or other things behind. Leave no trace applies whether you’re way out in nature or camping overnight at a WalMart. If there was no sign that you were there, you’re doing it correctly.

• Be a great neighbor. If you do camp in a place owned by someone else, like a WalMart, ask the manager if you can stay there. Then patronize the business if at all possible and thank them for the stay.

• Respect neighbors. If you happen to be boondocking in a parking lot, realize that others may be in the same situation. If you are within city limits, obey local ordinances and laws such as quiet time. Don’t run a generator all night. Parking lot boondocking isn’t really camping; you are there to get some rest, not to light a campfire and roast marshmallows.

• Respect the place. If you do see trash, even if it’s not necessarily yours, perhaps consider adding it to your collection and taking it with you when you go. I realize that it can be gross to dispose of other people’s trash but if RVers like us make a place better by being there we won’t keep losing places to stay.

We had the privilege of speaking with Lauren from Leave No Trace and we encourage you to listen to and share that episode of our podcast with anybody you know who enjoys boondocking. It’s a shame that the misbehavior of a few is taking away one of the best aspects of RVing but, if we all work together, perhaps we can save this beautiful benefit that many of us enjoy. 

Other resources and information

• Check out our podcast episode with Lauren from Leave No Trace.

• Information on why Boondocking at Walmart is disappearing

• The StressLess Camping Boondocking resource center