Desert boondocking tips for RVers by Bob Difley

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CraggyWash_Knowles_site-We enjoy dry camping and have nosed out a few fantastic places in Oregon, California and Arizona. (Including the one picture on BLM land north of Lake Havasu City, AZ)

Our go-to authority on all things boondocking is Bob Difley.

I first met Bob about a dozen years ago when he and his wife, fitness enthusiast Lynn Difley, were doing workshops at the former RV Life on Wheels Conferences organized by the late RV guru Gaylord Maxwell.

According to Bob, “there is always room for another rig” at every boondocking destination. “As you roam around and talk to other boondockers you will find more desert boondocking locations than you ever imagined. Many are just places where an RVer has pulled off onto an unnamed, unpaved desert track and found a nice spot behind a hill, overlooking a wash, or hidden in a grove of desert willow or mesquite trees.”

If you would like to try this open desert camping, here are a handful of the Bob’s basic rules you need to know:

– The BLM allows free camping for up to 14 consecutive days out of every 28 days on open land. After 14 days, you must move at least 25 miles away from your current location and cannot return for another 14 days.
– Camping is legal except where specifically prohibited by signs or fences.
– No camping within 300 feet of a human-made watering hole or tank to allow wildlife unhindered access.
– Use existing routes and trails. Do not blaze new roads.
– Camp at previously used sites, being careful not to damage vegetation.
– Pack It In, Pack It Out: Pack out your trash and any that was left by others.
– Leave What You Find: Protect cultural resources by leaving all artifacts, arrowheads, potsheards, and bones as you find them.

For more information about boondocking, check out other articles written by Bob Difley on RV Boondocking News.

Julianne G. Crane

Photo: Craggy Wash, one of our favorite BLM locations north of Lake Havasu City, AZ. (Julianne G. Crane)

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