The best Apps for finding free camping in 2025
Apps (and websites) for finding free camping in 2025
Whether you're a seasoned boondocker or just starting out, finding free camping spots can save you money and unlock beautiful, remote destinations. Thankfully, several apps make discovering legal and scenic camping options on public lands easier than ever. Below is a list of the best apps for finding free camping in the U.S. and beyond.
Many of these apps, I use myself when we are on the road. I’ll try to note whether I use, and like, the apps listed. I’ll admit, there are a couple on this list that I had not used before this, or that I have tried and not really liked. I’ll make a note of that as well.
Why would I want free camping?
In large part, the free spots in some of the apps listed below are intended for single-night stays. The idea is to find a safe, ideally quiet, spot to spend a night when on a longer road trip.
However, sometimes these free sites can be used as a weekend getaway. Now, I wouldn’t recommend the Walmart parking lot for that kind of a campout, but some locations are pretty, and safe, and simply open to longer than a single night.
Additionally, many people who travel extensively or live full-time in an RV, know the value of finding free (or low cost) locations for longer term. For these folks, it’s not just about a quick rest, it’s about finding a location to spend some time and unwind. Perhaps it’s a “home base” for further exploration of the area. Perhaps it’s a place to spend a few days to get some work caught up. Perhaps it’s a few days to spend at the camper, to relax and unwind without having any agenda, destination, or daily commitments.
Whether you're a full-time traveler or just looking for a weekend adventure, these apps can help you discover scenic and free camping opportunities with confidence. Most experienced boondockers use multiple apps together to cross-reference information and ensure a legal, safe, and enjoyable stay.
Which one app do I need?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. You might very well want more than one of these apps.
Some apps have limited capabilities on their free version, and I’ll try to note that as I go through these. While they have limited usage, they can be a good starting point. You’ll just want to confirm things before you drive off into the sunset with not enough information.
Also note, many of these apps are crowd-sourced. This means that the information comes from the users. While that is good for hopefully keeping the app up to date, it’s also risky because not everyone is right when they share places. So, if I’m looking for a place that we can boondock, I use a couple different sources. Read several of the comments, or reviews, or whatever is available. I try to read several of the most recent reviews. Because a place that was a slice of heaven five years ago might have been trashed, closed down, or otherwise make undesirable since.
Additionally, most of these apps (other than Harvest Hosts and RV Overnights) have both free and paid versions. My goal is to not spend money, thus this list of “free camping” apps. Some are reasonably priced and some are beyond my desire to pay. So I’ll mostly be talking about the free versions of these apps.
Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome is my favorite way to find overnight sites. While I do use the app quite often on the road, I also like their website for planning my trips. In fact, they recently joined up with RV Life Pro Trip Wizard, and now when I’m planning our trips, I can find Harvest Host locations right in the Trip Wizard. I am loving that new feature; it’s so convenient!
The Harvest Hosts app is available on iOS and Android devices, and of course the website is helpful in planning. I like using the app to keep in touch with guests and hosts.
Some people have concerns about Harvest Hosts, and I’m going to address these concerns here.
Firstly, there is an annual fee to belong to this group. It’s currently $99 per year, but we have a discount code to get you started! And at today’s campsite prices, Harvest Hosts pays for itself in one or two nights!
B: You don’t have to be a wine drinker to stay at a Harvest Host. In the beginning, yes, it was advertised strongly as a way to stay at wineries and vineyards. And that is still absolutely possible, but if you aren’t interested in wine, or beer, or whatever, then don’t stay at those locations. Or, stay at a winery and buy a gift for the neighbor that is watching your house for you while you are gone. Lots of wineries offer food and gift items in addition to wine.
And three: While Boondockers Welcome sites are private properties, and those hosts aren’t a business, Harvest Host businesses are in the business of running a business. So yes, they’ll have rules, and restrictions. And, what people seem to be most bothered by, Harvest Hosts asks that you patronize the business that hosts you. After all, you aren’t paying for a campsite. While there is no strict “rule” for how much to spend, the recommendation is around $30. However, when staying with a small farm that only sells eggs, nobody expects anyone to buy $30 worth of eggs.
Here is our thinking on the matter: Yes, we spend money that we would have otherwise spent on a campsite for a night. However, what we leave with is not “we slept in a campground.” We love Harvest Hosts for the experiences. Here are some memories we have:
Sit overlooking a vineyard at sunset.
Pet llamas and alpacas.
Eat a meal (and have a beer or glass of wine).
Visit with other guests and their dog, cat, or parrot!
Tour a museum and learn about - well, anything that could have a museum! We’ve toured museums dedicated to BB King, Tina Turner, railroads, farm equipment, muscle cars, military flight, and I’m certain dozens I am forgetting about at the moment.
So see, it’s about the memories, the experiences, the friends we’ve met, the tasty treats… we’ve truly enjoyed so many more Harvest Host sites than we have campgrounds.
Gee, I might have gone off on a bit of a tangent there. The point is, Harvest Hosts provides thousands of locations where you can spend a night with no camp fee. Yep, you might pay for an experience or a meal, but wouldn’t you spend money on those things in addition to a campground?
The Harvest Hosts app also offers a route planning option. I have not tried it, because I do all our planning in the RV Life Pro Trip Wizard.
Incidentally, if you are a member and you are heading through the Albuquerque area, look us up! We are a Boondockers Welcome host and we would love to meet you!
RV Overnights
RV Overnights is a relatively new program. It is very similar to Harvest Hosts, and because we are such happy members of Harvest Hosts, we probably don’t give RV Overnights a fair chance.
Both RV Overnights and Harvest Hosts have a majority of their sites in the eastern United States, with fair coverage on the west coast. Both are light in the center of the country. On the other hand, both are constantly adding new hosts.
To my knowledge, RV Overnight sites are all businesses, not private properties.
The RV Overnights app is easy to use, and I like watch the happy, hopping s’more when I open the app. The app also offers route planning.
iOverlander
Full disclosure: I no longer use the iOverlander app. I used to, but I discovered that the free version was pretty limited, and I could get the same information from other apps that I had.
This is not to say that the app is not worth the subscription. It might well be, and you might like it better than any other app. I’m not saying not to try it. I did like it when the free version did more.
The iOverlnder app is available on iOS and Android devices. There is a free version, or a choice for subscription. Coverage is world-wide. In fact, when I open the map on the website, it does not default to the United States. If you are traveling overseas (in either direction) you can find locations everywhere with iOverlander.
Users like iOverlander because of the crowd-sourced database of free campsites, wild camping areas, water fill-ups, dump stations, and more. The app has offline functionality, which is really helpful in remote areas. The app can also be used to find GPS coordinates and user-generated road condition notes.
Campendium
I do still use the Campendium app. It, too, has a free version and a subscription version. Why did I delete iOverlander and not Campendium? That’s anybody’s guess.
In 2024 (I believe), Campendium became part of RoadTrippers. Not to get too far off topic, but RoadTrippers is essentially a competitor to RV Life and we already belonged to RV Life so we have not joined RoadTrippers. Therefore, I cannot really make comparisons between the two. I believe that paid members of RoadTrippers have better access to the Campendium app. I just use the free version.
My understanding is that a side effect of being part of RoadTrippers, is that the app is no longer available to Android users. Perhaps I should heed that as a sign of things to come, and assume the app might eventually be available on my iPhone only if I am a paid RoadTrippers user. But I’m only guessing on that, don’t assume I am correct please! I guess if that happens, I’ll just use another app more heavily.
I sue the Campendium app to search for free overnight parking. That might be at a business such as Cracker Barrel, or on public lands. An additional useful layer shows dump station locations. When we are on the road for long periods, mostly boondocking, this layer becomes important every few days.
The Campendium app also shows campgrounds. If I am using the app to find a free location, I uncheck that box. When I see a free location that I am interested in, I can read reviews and look at photos submitted by users. Again, look for the newest reviews and tips.
With the paid version, there are overlay maps of cell coverage, elevation changes, trails, air quality (smoke), and public lands. Offline maps are available with the subscription.
A Campendium subscription is a favorite in the RV community for a reason—it can be especially helpful for people working remotely who need cellular access.
The Dyrt
Like most of the others, The Dyrt app has a free version and a paid version. This app is available for iPhone and Android devices.
Yep, The Dyrt also has a website version. It’s only fair to mention that since I have with all the other apps.
With The Dyrt app, find public campgrounds and private properties that list themselves as available. You can also find RV parks and dump stations, which I’ve listed as available in other apps as well.
One of my favorite features of The Dyrt app is the fresh water filter. As I mentioned earlier, when we are solely boon docking, we occasionally need to find a dump station. Likewise, we need to keep our fresh water tank filled. This might be the least-available feature and I’m glad it’s available on The Dyrt.
The paid version of The Dyrt app includes offline maps and BLM/National Forest overlays, trip planning, and campsite lists by state or park. In-app filters allow you to look at only free or dispersed camping, or paid campgrounds. The Dyrt has one of the largest campsite databases and is great for planning trips that mix free and established camping. The Pro membership is worth it if you travel often.
Sekr
I just learned about this app while researching for this article. So, everything I write in this section will be what I learn from their website.
I did download the app to see how easy it is to navigate. The app is available for iOS and Android. Although it seems to be free, they do want you to sign in to get information and I didn’t want to commit. The few locations I managed to open had user reviews, and whether there was overnight parking. Some reviews were a few years old. I do see filter options like museums, attractions, propane, fresh water, dump stations, and showers as well as free and paid overnight parking and camping.
The app and website for Sekr mention van life. So right away I wondered if this app is more for sort of stealthy, mid-city parking, and driveway surfing. That’s easy to do in a van; not so much when towing a big RV being a pickup. And this may be a big reason I never heard of the app; I don’t really seek out single parking spaces.
This app shows trailheads, so if you want to camp and hike this might be a good choice for you. There also appears to be a fairly active community with organized events as well as interest-based and location-based forums. I read somewhere, but don’t actually see, filters for women-only or LGBTQ-friendly spots. Without logging in, I am not sure how robust those filters are.
Oh, OK, I was wrong. There is a paid version. I could unlock terrain, street view, and cell coverage. For fee, but with login, public land layers can be opened.
I didn’t mention this is all the sections, because I don’t really think to explore countries outside the US. The Sekr app seems to be only available in North America.
RV Parky
Although this app is more for finding paid campgrounds, they do offer information on whether overnight parking is allowed at stores such as Walmart, Cracker Barrel, and others. It also shows national, state, county, and local parks and indicates whether they are paid or free.
As with other apps, there are user reviews and photos.
RV Parky is a good app if you only occasionally need a one-night stop on a long road trip. If you like to travel until you are tired, then find a place to sleep, this is a good app for finding campgrounds and free overnights.
How will you search?
I’m sure I’ve missed something, because there are so many options in this area. I’d be pleased if you would add a comment at the bottom of the page, if you have other apps or comments about this list.
