For 3 months in the late Summer of 2021 I went on the adventure of a lifetime in my trusty horse of a van, “Canvas”, as I searched for a new space to base life and business out of. I ended up choosing Laramie, WY (more on that here) but along the way I found a myriad of amazing spaces to van camp in.
My criteria were: A) Must be free. B) Cannot be a Wal-Mart parking lot… Yeah that’s about it.
I am a bit frugal and was not about to camp in anywhere like a KOA or a Rest Stop. Okay maybe one truck stop but that’s different.
The arc of the trip was Washington -> Idaho -> Montana -> Idaho -> Wyoming -> Colorado -> Utah -> Colorado -> Texas -> Arkansas -> Tennessee -> Utah -> Wyoming.
The sections will be broken down by state. Simply copy and paste the GPS coordinates into your favorite map app and you are golden!
See entire map here.
WASHINGTON
IDAHO
MONTANa
WYOMING
COLORADO
UTAH
TEXAS
TENNESSEE
WASHINGTON
Washington.1 - Leavenworth
47°32'42.3"N 120°39'59.2"W
Service - 1 of 5
Dirt Road
Great View
IDAHO
Idaho.1 - Boise
43°36'56.7"N 115°59'28.0"W
Service - 0 of 5
Highway Pullout
Idaho.2 - Ketchum
43°44'30.5"N 114°17'56.6"W
Service - 1 of 5
Dispersed Camping
Near Stream
Lots of Other Spots Near
Idaho.3 - Ketchum
43°46'03.6"N 114°16'42.2"W
Service - 1 of 5
Dispersed Camping
Near Stream
Lots of Other Spots Near
Idaho.4 - Huntington
44°22'58.2"N 117°18'18.7"W
Service - 4 of 5
Off Highway
Idaho.5 - Burley
42°34'32.7"N 113°55'57.0"W
Service - 4 of 5
Off Highway
MONTANA
Montana.1 - Whitefish
48°25'55.4"N 114°27'19.6"W
Service - 0 of 5
In Woods
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Montana.2 - Missoula
46°55'31.0"N 113°57'38.0"W
Service - 0 of 5
At Mountain Bike Trailhead
Montana.3 - Missoula
46°53'55.1"N 113°57'05.9"W
Service - 1 of 5
Mountain Bike Trailhead
Gravel Road
Montana.4 - Helena
46°34'02.1"N 112°03'23.9"W
Service - 0 of 5
Grassy Pull-off
Near Houses
Montana.5 - Grantsdale
46°06'48.6"N 114°00'44.1"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Montana.6 - Como
46°03'27.1"N 114°14'08.0"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Near Lake
Montana.7 - Butte
46°01'34.4"N 112°33'53.3"W
Service - 3 of 5
Gravel Pull-out
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Lots of Spots Nearby
Montana.8 - Homestake
45°55'23.2"N 112°22'35.9"W
Service - 1 of 5
Steep Rough Gravel Road
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Lots of Spots Nearby
Montana.9 - Bozeman
45°35'02.0"N 111°02'26.3"W
Service - 0 of 5
At Mountain Bike Trailhead
Montana.10 - Bozeman
45°31'22.1"N 111°01'47.6"W
Service - 0 of 5
Long Gravel Road
Large Grassy Pull-out
Near Lots of Other Spots
Montana.11 - Big Sky
45°17'20.0"N 111°24'06.3"W
Service - 4 of 5
Gravel Parking Lot
Right Next to Big Sky Resort
Montana.12 - Mile Creek
44°45'47.6"N 111°26'53.8"W
Service - 2 of 5
Grassy Parking Lot
Next to Stream
Next to Mountain Bike Trailhead
WYOMING
Wyoming.1 - Pahaska Tepee
44°28'05.9"N 109°41'54.4"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Pull-out
Right Before Yellowstone East Entrance
Wyoming.2 - Sheridan
44°48'26.0"N 107°00'54.6"W
Service - 3 of 5
Gravel Pull-out
At Mountain Bike Trailhead
Wyoming.3 - Buffalo
44°19'22.3"N 106°53'32.3"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Wyoming.4 - Ten Sleep
44°01'36.9"N 107°29'04.0"W
Service - 2 of 5
Gravel Road
Great View
Lots of Spots Nearby
Wyoming.5 - Middle of Nowhere
43°51'57.2"N 107°32'28.8"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Absolute Middle of Nowhere
Zero Light Pollution
Wyoming.6 - Grand Teton
43°44'06.1"N 110°34'52.0"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Wyoming.7 - Jackson Hole
43°32'32.4"N 110°51'25.7"W
Service - 2 of 5
Gravel Pull-off
Next to Mountain Bike Trailhead
Wyoming.8 - Dunoir
43°35'31.6"N 109°46'29.7"W
Service - 0 of 5
Paved Pull-off
Next to River
Wyoming.9 - Pinedale
42°56'41.4"N 109°46'04.7"W
Service - 1 of 5
Gravel Pull-off
Great View
Next to Mountain Bike Trailhead
Wyoming.10 - Big Piney
42°36'51.0"N 109°51'17.8"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Pull-off
Near River
Wyoming.11 - Kirwin
43°56'02.1"N 109°12'51.9"W
Service - 0 of 5
Rough Gravel Road
Near River
On Road to Kirwin Ghost Town
Wyoming.12 - Louis Lake
42°35'40.3"N 108°50'22.8"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Right on the Beach
Lots of Spots Nearby
Wyoming.13 - Sinks Canyon
42°44'21.2"N 108°49'49.3"W
Service - 0 of 5
Paved Pull-off
Bathroom 100’ Up Road
Close to Mountain Bike Trailhead
Wyoming.14 - Casper
42°44'05.0"N 106°18'51.8"W
Service - 3 of 5
Large Gravel Parking Lot
Close to Mountain Bike Trailhead
Wyoming.15 - Sugarloaf
41°20'45.3"N 106°17'26.0"W
Service - 0 of 5
Steep Entrance
Lots of Spots Nearby
Bathroom Across Road in Campground
Wyoming.16 - Vedauwoo
41°09'06.7"N 105°22'03.2"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Bouldering All Over
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Bathroom At Entrance to Park
Wyoming.17 - Happy Jack
41°15'44.0"N 105°23'56.3"W
Service - 2 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby. Too Many to Count!
Bouldering All Over
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
Bathroom At Entrance to Park
Wyoming.18 - Curt Gowdy
41°10'57.3"N 105°18'27.4"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby.
Bouldering All Over
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
COLORADO
Colorado.1 - Red Feather Lakes
40°49'49.0"N 105°33'57.6"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Colorado.2 - Lyons
40°12'14.0"N 105°18'29.2"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Pull-off
Right Next to River
Colorado.3 - Leadville
39°16'25.9"N 106°20'28.4"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Right Next to River
Colorado.4 - Woodland Park
38°57'45.6"N 105°00'04.5"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Great View
Next to Mountain Bike Trailhead
Colorado.5 - Dominguez-Escalante
38°36'07.5"N 108°15'26.6"W
Service - 1 of 5
Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Colorado.6 - Trinidad
37°08'21.4"N 104°36'45.2"W
Service - 0 of 5
Gravel Road
Near Mountain Bike Trailhead
UTAH
Utah.1 - Chicken Hollow
39°59'57.9"N 111°26'19.2"W
Service - 0 of 5
Rough Gravel Road
Lots of Spots Nearby
Utah.2 - Moab
38°39'15.4"N 109°40'29.2"W
Service - 2 of 5
Gravel Parking Lot
At Mountain Bike Trailhead
Utah.3 - Moab
38°22'12.6"N 109°26'22.8"W
Service - 0 of 5
Rough Sandy Path
Nestled in Rock Canyon
Hidden Gem!
TEXAS
Texas.1 - Fredricksburg
30°36'09.2"N 99°02'45.0"W
Service - 1 of 5
Gravel Pull-off
TENNESSEE
Tennessee.1 - Memphis
35°07'04.3"N 89°48'08.8"W
Service - 4 of 5
Gravel Pull-off
At Mountain Bike Trailhead
Down by the River…