What is car camping? Mix nature with home comforts

Nov 11, 2023

Whether you camp in an established campground or prefer to sleep on public lands that are more remote, car camping might be for you.

It's a great way to enjoy the outdoors if you’re camping with young kids, or with someone who has limited mobility. Lately, employees who work remotely are doing so from the great outdoors.

While there are variations of car camping, the concept is the same: you load your camping gear in a vehicle and drive your car right directly to your campsite.

Here are some tips for car camping: essential things to pack, delicious camp recipes, and navigating dispersed vs. established campgrounds. Consider the best maps and apps, no matter where you camp.

Car camping is different from backpacking. With backpacking, everything you need must fit in your pack. You choose what you can carry — camp pad, sleeping bag, camp stove and food — based on weight.

With car camping, you can pack whatever fits in your vehicle. You can bring your two-burner propane stove, a 5-gallon jug of water, air mattress, fire pit, family tent, sunshades and camp chairs. Car camping allows you to bring bocce ball or horseshoes or the pack ‘n play or bouncy swing for your toddler. Why not strap a canoe on top?

Car camping doesn't mean you must sleep in your car, though it can be convenient to settle down for the night in the back of your vehicle rather than sleeping in a tent. Either way, car camping offers more luxury and convenience than backpacking.

There are two different options when car camping. You can find an established campground on private or public land. Established campgrounds have extra amenities like restrooms, potable water and trash services. These mostly require reservations, but some offer first-come, first-served sites.

Or, you can choose dispersed camping on public lands.

Dispersed camping occurs outside an established campground on public land within U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. You don't have water, toilets or trash disposal. Most dispersed campsites don't have picnic tables, and if there is a fire ring, you might find yourself restacking rocks and digging out the pit before you start your fire.

Dispersed camping is free because you’re finding a clearing off a road on public land. That's why people often call it "free camping."

As people have discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic, dispersed camping is an excellent alternative to designated campgrounds, which fill up quickly or require reservations months in advance.

If you want to car camp in an established campground, your options are endless, though these sites have fees.

Both the U.S. Forest Service and BLM have established campgrounds and there's usually a self-serve fee station at the entrance. Most sites have toilets, water and trash services, though these services may be seasonal. Fees, which go toward maintaining the campgrounds, vary in price but are posted on the campground information page on blm.gov or fs.usda.gov. You must pay within 30 minutes of arrival so bring cash or a check. These campsites can be seasonal, so check websites for seasonal information.

Some BLM campsites can be reserved via recreation.gov.

Find an established campground in a national park.

All Colorado state parks now require camping reservations. Click here for more information on Colorado Parks and Wildlife's established campgrounds.

Explore recreation.gov for established campground reservations.

The National Park Service offers camping in established campgrounds and information can be found on Recreation.gov. Backcountry camping with a permit is also available through the NPS, but this applies to hikers who backpack. Entrance passes are required for most national parks. Free lifetime national park passes are available for veterans and their next of kin. People 62 and older are eligible for a lifetime pass for $80, or an annual pass for $20. If you have a pass, you’ll still need to pay for the campsite.

Most national parks are surrounded by public land owned by the BLM or Forest Service and these lands often have dispersed camping opportunities.

The National Park Service has designated dispersed camping in most of its recreational areas (away from monuments, trailheads and established campgrounds), such as at Blue Mesa Reservoir and Lake Granby.

Camping with kids? Get off on the right foot with these tips. Also, creating a "kid camping kit" helps you get outdoors with young children.

Need some meal plan ideas? Here are a few of our favorite (and easy) camping meals that family and friends will enjoy. This article includes backpacking meals, but they’re still great recipes you can make while car camping.

If you’ve never had to plan camping meals, here is some sound advice.

State parks also have established campgrounds requiring reservations. Browse the specific state park website for fee and reservation information. Fee prices are usually different for residents vs. non-residents.

Starting Jan. 1, 2023, Colorado residents can get a $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass during their annual vehicle registration through the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. This pass provides entry into all Colorado state parks. The cost is automatically applied to your registration fee unless you opt out. If you hold this pass, you only need to pay the campground fee.

Most state and national park campsites can be booked six months in advance, up until the day you plan to visit. Campsites fill up fast. It's best to plan ahead and reserve your site as soon as your date opens for booking.

Outside of government-operated campgrounds, private campgrounds and RV parks offer an array of experiences. There are several apps/websites where you can find information about unusual places to car camp, such as in an orchard.

Some online sites or apps may require a membership fee that often includes reduced or free camping options. These websites include:

Private RV parks and campgrounds have electric and nonelectric sites. A nonelectric site costs less. Choose an electric site if you have an RV or want to plug in cooking devices or charge your phone. If you have your waffle maker, plug it in too. It's car camping, after all.

When heading out to camp, remember you might not have cell phone reception for the entirety of your journey. Having a "hardcopy" map, or a map you can download onto your phone is helpful.

First, visit the Forest Service or BLM website, where you can often find maps and details of BLM-managed campsites and places to disperse camp. You can also stop by a regional office where you can talk to someone and get maps.

You can create your own map in Google Maps. When you find a great spot, "pin" it on your map, add descriptions and a rating so the next time you research where to go, you remember your favorite spots. Google Maps allows you to easily share maps with others, or publicly.

Look for signs that you’re on public land.

Dispersed camping sites are not usually marked and located along secondary roads. Camp away from roadways, waterways and trailheads. The access roads often have signs letting you know locations and distance of a pass, reservoir or trailhead, for instance.

Maps from the U.S. Forest Service show dispersed camping roads via a dotted line, but a few don't. You may run into a gate, but if it's public land, the entrance will be marked with a Forest Service or BLM sign that tells you what uses are allowed in the area.

Choose a spot that has already been used for camping so you don't disrupt fragile ecosystems. Avoid camping on living plants – pick the spot under the tree rather than in the middle of the meadow.

Prepare for weather that could produce flash floods, mudslides or blizzards. In Colorado, the weather changes in minutes.

National forests have different rules than BLM lands. This means there is a marked campsite even though you can't reserve it. This was done because many of these dispersed camping areas became overcrowded, and people weren't respecting the area. The designated sites are designed to protect ecosystems and natural habitats.

How long can you stay? It depends, but for most National Forest Service areas, the limit is 14 days within a 30-day period and 20-mile radius. Some places, like Nederland's West Magnolias, allow for a 30-day stay, making it challenging to find an open spot because campers tend to be long-term.

With no camp host to maintain camp areas within dispersed camping, and no trash or toilet services, it is up to individuals to be responsible campers to keep areas accessible for generations to come.

Here are some rules you should know and follow if you’re planning to disperse camp:

Know how long you can stay. In Colorado, most places limit you to 14 days in one spot and 28 days total in that park or district.