Where is the "overland" camping?

[Velogeo]

Where is the overland camping in Washington? The campgrounds can be nice six months out of the year when they're mostly deserted but where do you go when they weather's nicer and the campgrounds are too crowded for comfort? The WDFW lands fit my definition of the open camping where you can pick your spot away from others and enjoy the outdoors. Where else can we go?


Peter

[Steve]

I find that the further away from the I90 and/or I5 corridor you
travel, the less people you run into. Also, the further away from
pavement, the rougher the road and the higher the elevation diminishes
the amount of people.

Of course if you can travel during the week, that makes things even
less crowded. I also tend to avoid holiday weekends if possible.

If you are willing to camp outside approved campgrounds, there are
plenty of possibilities. WDFW lands are great. Other areas I like are
the South Cascades, the Okanogan area of North Central Washington, and
Northeast Washington.

With the price of gasoline, more people will also be staying home than
before.

I know it's the holiday weekend so we may not responses until the
workweek returns, but I would also like to hear favorite places of
other forum members.

Steve

[AWDios]

Fortune Creek area is nice, but it seems to be getting pretty well known and can get crowded at times.

[Jerry]

I go along with Steve. Besides State of Washington lands I would look for privacy and open spaces in the Okanogan, Colville, Kaniksu and Umatilla National Forests. They are all more remote than most folks from the Puget Sound area would care to drive on a weekend.

BLM lands offer overland experiences, but you would find that opportunity more in eastern Oregon, southern Idaho, Nevada and Utah.

Probably the BEST place to enjoy "overland" travel (staying on the trails, but still driving overland) is in British Columbia. Maybe Ed will chime in with some ideas in that regard.
Jerry

[Velogeo]

I guess I'm a little jealous of Oregon having all that open BLM land. It just seems more "overlandish." Honestly, until the Whiskey Dick trip I hadn't spent any time on WDFW land didn't realize how much there was. After the trip I ordered some maps from the DNR, including a map showing all the public land in Washington. I'm not so jealous anymore.

What are the rules about camping in the national forests?

I definitely want to do a lot of exploring in BC -- and further north.

[Steve]

I think I read that over 60% of oregon is public lands, and even higher for Idaho. Washington state is down around 40% public lands.

Steve

[Velogeo]

Oregon 98,466 sq mi total, 59,079 sq mi public
Washington 71,342 sq mi total, 28,536 sq mi public

I'm still a little jealous.


My wife and oldest daughter have both requested "beach camping." You're not allowed to in Washington or Oregon as far as I know. I'd bet they frown on it big time, actually. What are the the options for camping on or near the beach with out staying in a campground?



I found Public Lands Information Center and Northwest Outdoors Travel Guide while checking my figures.

[n16ht5]

i wonder what the numbers are for BC... man I wish I could live there

[Binford]

Originally Posted by Velogeo

Oregon 98,466 sq mi total, 59,079 sq mi public
Washington 71,342 sq mi total, 28,536 sq mi public

I'm still a little jealous.

Problem is, more and more of that "public" land is being closed off to us. So don't be too jealous! Roads are being physically removed to be able to call them "roadless" and thus qualify them for expanded "Wilderness Areas," so we can't even ride our mountain bikes there, let alone drive them.

For the record, I support the concept of designated Wilderness Areas, but as with all things political, follow the rules, folks! Roadless acreage does not mean take the roads out first.

[Velogeo]

BC has 234,206,480 acres of public. I was too lazy to convert it to square miles. --- British Columbia - Geography in BC

Canada is the second largest country by land mass and has the population of California or New York state. There has to be a lot of backroads worth exploring. The one I want to drive is the Dempster Highway. I'm waiting for my youngest to get a little older so we can start doing some longer trips. When we can we're going to be spending time in BC.





It seems like the tide might be turning a little bit, but having 4 wheel drive (and actually using it) condemns you in a lot circles to being some sort of seal clubbing, land raping neanderthal. It's always that image "they" have in mind when they close land, it seems. I'd get a kick out of driving a rock crawler or a big mud bogger once or twice, but in the end I agree with Bill Burke in one of his videos. I four wheel to explore and get out to the beautiful places and enjoy the quiet -- paraphrasing. I'm not out there to "rip it up." Despite some brief moments of idiocy -- which is human nature -- I don't think the vast majority of people are. The habitual morons really ruin a good thing.

It's really too bad. I think a rational use and recreation policy would keep more land wild for a lot longer, for more generations, than closing it off entirely now. I think Tread Lightly is a really good thing, a good start. Think about Ducks Unlimited. Most folks don't know it, think of them as the folks that want to kill Daffy and Donald, but they've done more for, put more money into, wetland restoration than anyone else. And they're listened to by the Sierra Club, the government, etc. Though, I do blame them for all the damn geese on my lawn.

Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now. Don't want to be one of those ranting internet wackos.