think tank forum

so i've been researching free places to camp near the coast in washington, oregon, and california. they are hard to find, but they do exist!

you have to look at many government agencies:
- USDA Forest Service
- State Game & Fish Departments
- State Park Departments
- Bureau of Land Management
- Bureau of Reclamation

as for the pacific coast area, the forest service seems to be the best bet. state parks are abundant, but they are almost never free for overnight use. however, the forest service has a few forests along the coast that sport many free campgrounds!

i might post a bunch of links into this thread for free campgrounds. i then plan to make a websites that has a searchable database and map of them all.

Siuslaw National Forest:
Rocky Bend Campground http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/recreation/tr … bend.shtml
South Lake Campground http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/recreation/tr … lake.shtml
Castle Rock Campground http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/recreation/tr … rock.shtml

in addition, there are many free trails that have no parking fee. so camping in the forest is another possibility: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/recreation/tr … list.shtml

Olympic National Forest:
Campbell Tree Grove
Lena Lake
Chetwoot
Oxbow
Wynoochee Falls

information for these campgrounds can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic/recreation-nu … unds.shtml

note: parking at these campgrounds often requires a northwest forest pass, which costs $5 daily or $30 annually. so these are "kind of" free.

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest:
there are an insane number of campgrounds that are free in this national forest. in addition, there is a lot of wilderness and many trails to facilitate camping elsewhere. again, a nw forest pass may be necessary to park at most places.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou/recrea … able.shtml

Klamath National Forest:
18 fee-free campgrounds. in addition, many trailheads. also, camping in wilderness around trails and campsites is allowed, naturally. note: this forest is fairly far from the actual coast, as many of these are. nevertheless, i'm including them for their vicinity.

Mendocino National Forest:
25 fee-free campgrounds. also far from the coast.

Los Padres National Forest:
many free campgrounds from monterey to slo to santa barbara.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/recreation/camping/

it seems that the best place for free camping on the coast as far as the forst service is concerned is the southern oregon coastline.

California BLM Information:

most notably, there is the king range conservation area. this area permits beach camping and backwoods camping. here are maps of the coast that show which areas are BLM, CSP, NPS, NFS, etc..:

http://www.blm.gov/ca/arcata/maparcata1.html
http://www.blm.gov/ca/ukiah/mapukiah1.html
http://www.blm.gov/ca/hollister/maphollister1.html
http://www.blm.gov/ca/bakersfield/mapbakersfield1.html

I have used this at various hike sites and it can be used to waive fees in the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests. I have been to the San Bernadino forest the most often, then Angeles National. Definitely worth it, though not free. $30 and $5 for an extra for 'a second vehicle'. I got a guy to waive my $10 fee at Joshua Tree National by showing it. I avoided paying a fee to park multiple times. It also let me avoid buying three day passes on a two nighter camping event.

Day hikes in these areas are much nicer without having to get a day pass, and once you have it I think the rangers leave your car alone even if you're out camping for a week or so away from the vehicle.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/ap/pass-options.shtml

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/recreation/hi … ouse.shtml

Dont forget the wallmarts, they are essential. and if you can pull a natalie portman, you can actually LIVE in the wall mart :P

More BLM land listed here: http://www.californiadesert.gov/

i'm off to 101. bye.

what?

pacific coast highway? i'm in portland right now, gonna be on 101 in a few hours!

the 101 is the Hollywood freeway, 1 is PCH :x

101 isn't the hollywood freeway in norcal. and, yeah, cal 1 is the pch. but i did both anyway.