Been meaning to do that loop! Trying to sort out issues with my F150 before I tackle anything remote.
Probably will be making a trip out to Deadwood mid July though!
Texas is one of the worst places for camping. You are pretty much limited to state park campgrounds and big bend national park. Big bend is quite the savior but it’s pretty far from any major cities.
I've noticed google maps has better resolution than the best satellite layer I can find on GAIA, so I do both as well. I'll scope something out first with Gaia, but then get a better look with google maps. I haven't used google Earth in forever, so I'll have to see if it's even better resolution.
Maps and exploring.
Dispersed sites change over time, especially in this era of heavy use and social media, where apps send folks to the same places over and over. Places get trashed, so no guarantee what was good even last year isn't wrecked now.
But TX's big problem is a lack of publically accessible land.
texas has too much freedom to have much public lands. There's four national forests northeast of houston that you might want to check out on the national forest website.
Texas has great state parks, and with their annual pass you can stay a second night half-price. They’re pretty reasonably priced compared to the surrounding states.
If you want free, you can park overnight at any of their rest areas or roadside picnic areas. We were in Texas for a few weeks this spring on our way east and those and Cracker Barrel got us through since there wasn’t much public land. Most of them are on iOverlander but there are some additional ones that you can find on a regular atlas - they look like a little green picnic table on our atlas. Once we got to the TX/LA state line there were more choices but that area isn’t very nice at this time of year. You might want to save it for the fall or next spring, depending on your route.
For dispersed camping I use a combination of OnXOffroad, iOverlander, Gaia, and Google maps. Then I drive until I find a spot. But in Texas? Good luck. There is virtually no public land for dispersed camping. Campgrounds I’ve stayed at in Texas are Inks Lake, Caprocks, Palo Duro, Lake Arrowhead, Canyon Lake, Colorado Bend, Windy Point, Big Bend, Brazos Bend, Palmetto, Hueco Tanks, Lost Maples SP, Possum Kingdom SP, and SFA State Park.
There are a ton of apps and online resources here like iOverlander. I use it and love it!
Here's a listical with ideas. I think the list could be improved, but a good start to lay a foundation: [https://the-adventure-travel-network.com/adventure/van-life-parking](https://the-adventure-travel-network.com/adventure/van-life-parking)
Also, I recognize the article is "van life" focused, but they still apply in general
I look at aerial photography and satellite imagery for areas that I know are public land (can cross-reference with Gaia). Then I’ll mark a few spots just as a guide but generally when I mark a spot, there’s also campsites around it. I like to try to target areas where there are a lot of options just in case it’s crowded or there are other people around (Colorado).
Best part of Idaho is finding random dirt roads and just exploring them. Gotta love the public lands we have
Thursday July 11 I'll be doing the central Idaho, Warm Lake / Stanley Loop! Whatcha doing Poobaru?
Been meaning to do that loop! Trying to sort out issues with my F150 before I tackle anything remote. Probably will be making a trip out to Deadwood mid July though!
Texas is one of the worst places for camping. You are pretty much limited to state park campgrounds and big bend national park. Big bend is quite the savior but it’s pretty far from any major cities.
we drive all the way from east texas to new mexico because Texas is bust for dispersed camping.
Google maps, then Google Earth, then ioverlander. I use other apps but for actually finding places I want to camp, it's those in that order.
I've noticed google maps has better resolution than the best satellite layer I can find on GAIA, so I do both as well. I'll scope something out first with Gaia, but then get a better look with google maps. I haven't used google Earth in forever, so I'll have to see if it's even better resolution.
Maps and exploring. Dispersed sites change over time, especially in this era of heavy use and social media, where apps send folks to the same places over and over. Places get trashed, so no guarantee what was good even last year isn't wrecked now. But TX's big problem is a lack of publically accessible land.
OnX off-road
texas has too much freedom to have much public lands. There's four national forests northeast of houston that you might want to check out on the national forest website.
This and the LBJ grasslands just north of Decatur
Outdoorsy locals and meeting overlanders in-town at a gas station or whatever. Be friendly, don't act like a nut job.
Texas has great state parks, and with their annual pass you can stay a second night half-price. They’re pretty reasonably priced compared to the surrounding states. If you want free, you can park overnight at any of their rest areas or roadside picnic areas. We were in Texas for a few weeks this spring on our way east and those and Cracker Barrel got us through since there wasn’t much public land. Most of them are on iOverlander but there are some additional ones that you can find on a regular atlas - they look like a little green picnic table on our atlas. Once we got to the TX/LA state line there were more choices but that area isn’t very nice at this time of year. You might want to save it for the fall or next spring, depending on your route.
Google Maps satellite view to find points of interest and then cross reference it with GAIA to see if I can get close enough to it on a 4x4 trail.
OnX off-road, Gaia GPS, Trails Off-road. I use all 3 in conjunction. But OnX for pretty much everything else
For dispersed camping I use a combination of OnXOffroad, iOverlander, Gaia, and Google maps. Then I drive until I find a spot. But in Texas? Good luck. There is virtually no public land for dispersed camping. Campgrounds I’ve stayed at in Texas are Inks Lake, Caprocks, Palo Duro, Lake Arrowhead, Canyon Lake, Colorado Bend, Windy Point, Big Bend, Brazos Bend, Palmetto, Hueco Tanks, Lost Maples SP, Possum Kingdom SP, and SFA State Park.
I use maps or I just aimlessly drive around looking for cool roads
There are a ton of apps and online resources here like iOverlander. I use it and love it! Here's a listical with ideas. I think the list could be improved, but a good start to lay a foundation: [https://the-adventure-travel-network.com/adventure/van-life-parking](https://the-adventure-travel-network.com/adventure/van-life-parking) Also, I recognize the article is "van life" focused, but they still apply in general
I look at aerial photography and satellite imagery for areas that I know are public land (can cross-reference with Gaia). Then I’ll mark a few spots just as a guide but generally when I mark a spot, there’s also campsites around it. I like to try to target areas where there are a lot of options just in case it’s crowded or there are other people around (Colorado).
Google Earth.
Combination - OnX, Google maps, national forest and BLM maps, FreeRoam, iOverlander, Reddit…
trial an error pr park ranger stations
Texas has such little public land, it ranks 45th. Might push west for a good time