After spending the last three years searching and camping at free campsites, I figured it was time for a campground roundup of our favorite ones. We’ve stayed at some pretty epic campgrounds, so here is a round up of the most EPIC campgrounds you’ll not want to miss across the USA.
After chatting with Andrew (my husband) I’ve realized that we both categorize “great” campgrounds a liiiiiitle differently. I always want a fabulous view, and he likes being near running water and having some room at the campground. So I’m going to include our favorites below with explanations and photos as to why these are our top 5 favorite campgrounds across the USA.
To read more about how to find free campsites in the USA, please check out this blog post (coming soon)!
Zion Campsite
This is truly the best Free Campground area near Zion National Park. This free campground comes with stunning views of Zion National Park as well as perfect sunset and sunrise views. I genuinely don’t know what could be better than gazing at this view during cocktail hour while cooking dinner at the campsite.
Big Sur Campsite
This campsite in Big Sur, California was an absolute DREAM. I will preface this by saying to get here you’ll want to have a four wheel drive car or an all wheel drive car. Also, please be careful and use your own judgement on certain parts of the road as there are a lot of cars that got stuck and needed assistance to get out.
Luckily, this campground is before a ton of sketchy road parts, but there are NOT a lot of campgrounds within “easy” driving distance on this route so you’ll want to get here as early as you can on a weekend if that’s when you’re looking to go.
This campground in Big Sur, California was perched on a ridge and gave us panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and ocean. I would go back here in a heartbeat.
Sedona Campsite
Driving into this campground was jaw dropping. Not only were we surrounded by all the Red Rocks Sedona has to offer, we were driving and surrounded by Red Rock SAND which just added a whole other element of beauty.
This BLM road was long and had a ton of different pull offs. What I loved most was the openness of the campground. We had a ton of room and views for days of the surrounding landscapes.
To Snag the coordinates to this campground, be sure to check out this Sedona Blog Post!
Mammoth Campsite
This campground was a stunner. There were not many “campgrounds” overlooking this view so timing combined with a little luck will land you here. The key is to drive PAST the gate when approaching the Mammoth Hot Geological site. I have detailed directions in this blog post – so be sure to check it out!
Arches/ Colorado River campground Campsite
There is something so peaceful about camping right along the river. And not just any river, but the Colorado River flowing between two Red Rock Ridges. Not only does camping next to a river provide great white noise for sleeping, it allows for frequent dips and stunning views all day long.
This campsite is located in Moab and made visits to Arches National Park insanely easy.
I hope you found this article helpful and if you decide to camp at any of these campsites be sure to comment or DM me on Instagram @christy_barre.
x,
Christy
