Tandem Tom

I recently inquired about Hip Camp. So now I was wondering if anyone knows of a app/website that shows all US campgrounds? When we toured in Europe we used Archie's and it was great.
Thanks!!

raybo

Here are a few to check out:

https://freecampsites.net/

US AND CANADA CAMPGROUNDS - FORMAL AND DISPERSED PUBLIC CAMPING LOCATIONS - Website Map

Bicycle Camping Resources By State

There are other sites listed on this page with over 100 links to camping. Most of these are about things other than websites that help you find camping sites. But, some of them may be of interest to you.

Tourist in MSN

I have found that when I load the Open Streets Cycle Layer map on my GPS, all the campsites I wanted to go to were already there. Usually campsites get listed pretty fast when they open, but they are slower to get removed if one closes.

When I have loaded that map layer onto my GPS, I only tried to load small areas, such as several states. Never tried to load all of USA.

Do you have a GPS that you can install a map onto? The only map sources on the internet I am aware of are for Garmins.

BobG

Nothing works better though than Google Maps "campground near ______" ... fill in the blank. Click on the pin drop for a link to camground details and website. Scroll in on the map for closeup on the roads to find it. Here are choices in my neighborhood ...

fishboat

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...-tracking.html

indyfabz

Use the same method regularly, although sometimes you have to weed the results, like when they return mobile home parks, but that’s easy to do.

However, I have wonder whether what you will find on Hipcamp will show up. That site appears to be like an AirBnB for camping at private residences/property.

balto charlie

I like disperesed camping over campgrounds unless I really need a shower. I have used these sites before. I also google dispersed camping near me. Tons of great locations out west

​​​​​​https://freecampsites.net/dispersed-camping/
or
https://www.campendium.com/free-camping

phughes

Actually, there is something better, Wiki Camps. It uses Google maps, but they build on it, and allow you to download the maps so you do not need cell service to use it. GPS still works with it whne you have no service, and you can still access the campground info without service. Great app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...hl=en_US&gl=US

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wikicamps-usa/id859863050

gracehowler

I have had good success with wikicamps, good phone app.
R

cyccommute 

I’d say there is a lot better than Google Maps. This is a screen shot of the same area from Allstays centered on Chatham, NH. There are a lot more campgrounds than shown on the Google map



I’d say that Allstays shows about 3 times as many campsites in the same general area as Google does. I’ve found that Google doesn’t show a lot of information for some reason. I used it to find hotels in Michigan and it missed a whole lot of little ones.

BobG

cyccommute - Yes, Allstays was my first suggestion back at post 3 but I thought I'd suggest Google also. If you crop your photo, zoom in to the boundaries of my Google Map and erase all of the backcountry hike in sites, the Allstays map will look something like this (all NH Allstay map with my labeling), 15 campgrounds ...




If I eliminate two backcountry sites included in my Google Map and the Timberland CG at the top of map (out of comparison area) I see 16 campgrounds that would be appropriate for bike tourists. Many of the green/yellow hike in sites on Allstays are in rough terrain where you wouldn't even want to mt bike to. Some are in "wilderness" areas where bikes are prohibited. My search was for "campgrounds near Jackson NH" thus there weren't as many hits on the north side near Gorham and Whitefield or across the Maine state line to the east.

The wikicamps app suggested above looks like a cool refinement to Google. Who am I to say? I just have a silly flip phone and an ipod Touch! :^) I use the free version of Allstays on my desktop and Google with wifi on the mobile device.

cyccommute 

You’ve been far too aggressive with elimination of the walk-in campsites. Yes, there are a fair number but there are also a lot of drive-in US Forest Service campgrounds that aren’t included in the Google maps and are useable and accessible for bicyclists. There are also a number of campgrounds on the Maine side of the border you have eliminated.

BobG

"Walk in" campsites in this part of New England are usually out of range for bike tourists. Maybe not so out west where you are. You might mt bike into the Rocky Branch shelter but you're not going to bike into the Dry River #3 shelter or Tuckerman Ravine. I don't have the "pro" version of Allstays to click on the sites on your map for specific locations.

Again, my search was for "campgrounds near Jackson NH" All of the USFS drive-in CGs on the Kancamagus Hwy are included until you get further from Jackson. Dolly Copp and Barnes Field are the only USFS drive-in camps between Jackson and Gorham.

A Google map search won't go much further than where you specify. A search specifying Gilead ME will show more sites in the Evans Notch area. If your trip is going to continue into ME just tweak your search ...









'

cyccommute 

The issue isn’t that you eliminated the walk-in sites. Allstays allows you to sort by various types of campgrounds…commercial, city, state, federal, and private. But there is no delineation between USFS walk-in and drive-in campgrounds. You simply removed all of the USFS campgrounds. That removes far more available campgrounds than the walk-in campgrounds and significantly cuts down on the available campgrounds. Google doesn’t even list the USFS campgrounds of any kind.

Yes, Allstays lists some excess campgrounds but the app allows you to click on the campground and get information for it which includes location information. And the hike-in campsites are clearly marked on the app. As I said, Google, for all the power it does have, is often limited in information for whatever reason. For campsites, Allstays is a much better tool. I can’t say anything about the others as I’ve only ever used Allstays.

Pratt

The map should also show Burns Lake Campground, Israel's River Camp, a large campground in Goreham, on Rte 2 near the Maine line, and the Appalachian trail. Just campgrounds I happen to have been at

BobG

No, Burns Lake CG is way the heck up near Whitefield in Coos County, That's almost 50 miles away from Jackson where my search was directed. Israel River is near Jefferson. Gorham was also out of my primary search area although it did pick up Dolly Copp. It also showed Timberland near the ME line in Shelburne. My map was just a random example of a Google campground search using my home for an example.

The map above is a very complete picture of drive-in camgrounds near Jackson including every USFS facility on the extreme east side of the Kancamagus Hwy and all campgrounds north to Gorham and Crawford Notch. My only quibble is that it includes two hike in trailside backpacker sites.

I deleted a recent post I made in reply to cyccommute. The thread was getting too cluttered with my screen shots! Cycco, you can read the email version if you get notifications.

Pratt

Good Point. I guess I was misled by the map extending beyond the search area. My old fashioned searches were related to the XNHAT and what camping could be found. Burns Lake was closed last year. Does the app pay attention to state lines, or just to distance?

BobG

Short answer? It has a mind of its own!

It seems to be most accurate within one state but will only go so far in distance if you specify a town. I did a search from Gilead ME (near the state line) to see how many camps it would find in the Evans Notch area and it showed Hastings (ME), Wild River (NH) and The Basin (NH) among others. See screenshot back at post 13. A search from Jackson NH woud not show any camps in ME but showed both camps in NH, a search from Bethel ME would not show any in NH.

The above will appear with big red pins but if you zoom, zoom, zoom until you're right on top of a camp outside of your search zone, it will pop into view with a green pin. Here's your (closed) Burn's Lake Campground that was hidden on my above map!



Had I used Whitefield NH for my search zone Burns Lake would appear automatically with a red pin before zooming in ...

cyccommute 

That’s the problem I have with Google Maps. It seems to decide what is needed and doesn’t give you options. Why doesn’t it give the campgrounds across the state line? Why doesn’t it give the campgrounds around Whitefield? Your search seems to be centered on Jackson. The search field seems have a radius of 15 miles. And, again, seems to leave out several campgrounds. If you are in route, a search circle of 30 miles is useful but for planning purposes, Allstays gives more options with a wider search circle for start of the day distance planning. It’s more reliable with more options covering a wider area. Yes, there are sites that may not be accessible to bicyclists but it’s better to have too much information to sort through then too little.

BobG

Stuart- I got curious about Allstays and paid $10 for the mobile app just so I could play with it. I think you told me about it years ago on this forum, thanks. Before I just used the free desktop version that listed camps by state. The app is indeed a pretty useful tool. I do wish they'd tweak it to separate drive-in USFS camps from the backcountry. Their contrast is a bit hazy on a mobile screen and can be hard to see the roads when you zoom in to know if the pin drop is on the road or in the woods. Yes, I know, click on it an you learn more, Google does that too. I have no problem updating camps on the fly. All I need is 30 seconds to type (I'm slow) and an internet connection (no smart phone). I do enjoy all of your posts, even when we disagree!