Free/Hammock Camping locations - how to find, what to look for?

**awinn17** · 04-25-2016, 07:58

Hey guys! I have such great memories of childhood both on the farm and on Scout outings of camping in great places with nobody around. But now even in West Virginia which should be hammock HEAVEN... I can't seem to find many hammock friendly places either by own rules or even ability (trees cleared out). Searching online is pretty hard since they don't typically give you many pictures to go on. I just called the WV Park and Recreation department and asked if at any of these sites I could just paddle around the lake, find a place and camp and her response was "well... you'd have to PAY!". To me, this is nature. You should only have to pay if you're destroying it. To enjoy it should be free :/

My question is- does anyone have a good resource for finding free camp sites or hammock friendly sites? Better yet- Does anyone know the laws/rules/regulations on just stopping and camping? I'd REALLY love to just pull over or paddle around in a state/national park and camp but I don't want to be arrested or fined and I haven't been able to find much information on it.

I've seen posts on stealth camping but never really thought much about it, but I'm starting to now.

Edit: I found this link on using federal lands for "Dispersed Camping". I'll use that term to search for state information. Looks like it's available for national forests at least. http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/gwj/...73539&actid=34

**johnspenn** · 04-25-2016, 08:08

You can double check me on this, but my understanding is that in National Forest areas (aka in GA the Chattahoochee National Forest) you can pretty much camp anywhere. You can go on their website (Google is your friend) and find info there about the ins and outs. Good luck and happy hanging!

**Pennsy Camp and Canoe** · 04-25-2016, 08:34

Allegheny National Forest is free to camp with exceptions around resivours and some roads, should be able to find info on the fs.usda.gov site

**awinn17** · 04-25-2016, 11:40

Originally Posted by Pennsy Camp and Canoe

Allegheny National Forest is free to camp with exceptions around resivours and some roads, should be able to find info on the fs.usda.gov site

Yes, thanks guys! It's encouraging to know that it's possible at least in SOME places. I'm going to call a few park rangers if I can and see which, if any, state parks permit dispersed camping. Pennsy- Are you guys a company? I'm actually from PA in the SW corner and used to have family just on the Ohio side near Erie. Beautiful place!

**Country Roads** · 04-26-2016, 17:33

National forest rules are 200 feet from a forest service road to camp; 300 feet in the Dolly Sods scenic area. Otherwise, you will have to pay to camp in campgrounds or risk getting caught. I do believe there is a back country campsite at Holly River State Park that you can hike to, but I think you do have to check in with the state park people and I am not sure if it is a pay site.
Lots of great places to hike in the Monongahela National forest with many wilderness areas. Not so many places in the western part of the state though, less public lands, but you could also check Ohio if you are close to that border. They also have national/state forest lands.

**SnrMoment** · 04-26-2016, 18:52

THIS from your local bookstore.

**awinn17** · 04-26-2016, 19:36

Originally Posted by SnrMoment

THIS from your local bookstore.

I'll check the local BS for it, that's a good idea.

I also got some recommendations to use coal company or other large company land- Some of the big land owners don't give a darn what you do on it as long as you're not destroying things I guess. Not too far from us there's a huge piece of land owned by a large, international company and people do just that- 4-wheel, hunt, shoot, etc. A guy I work with suggested it based on his least of a 1/2 acre "camp" (hunting camp) where he can go to stay and hunt the surrounding land.

I'm also going to look more into stealth camping. But I'm a little worried about being shot or run off. People here are friendly as can be when they know you or otherwise think they can trust you, but not as much when they find you camping on their land in the dark as they drive by.

**MeAndMyBeans** · 04-26-2016, 19:41

Originally Posted by Pennsy Camp and Canoe

Allegheny National Forest is free to camp with exceptions around resivours and some roads, should be able to find info on the fs.usda.gov site

I sure do love our wonderful ANF!

WV · 04-26-2016, 20:37

Monongahela National Forest has many wilderness and backcountry areas: Cranberry, Tea Creek, Seneca Creek, Dolly Sods, Laurel Fork, Otter Creek, and more.