Camping along the east coast, public lands are a great option, assuming prime spots aren’t taken in our national forests or beach camping areas.
We use Hipcamp when public lands are full or weather pushes us out of our planned site. The platform bridges a gap in trip planning by listing private campsites with clear details on access, terrain, and amenities. It’s simple, visual, and surprisingly reliable for last-minute travel. Often we book a site with no other campsites on vast properties.
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How it Works
Hipcamp lists everything from open meadows to back-road clearings where rooftop tents and small trailers fit easily. Each site includes access notes, GPS coordinates, and reviews that actually tell you whether a Tacoma can make it up the hill.
The search filters for 4WD access, pet rules, and site type save time. We’ve booked everything from a farm in Maine on the edge of Acadia to a forest patch outside Shenandoah National Park.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Thousands of private campsites across the U.S. | Some listings overprice bare-bones setups |
| Access filters for 4WD, RVs, tents, etc. | A few hosts exaggerate amenities |
| Host flexibility with late arrivals | Service fees on short bookings |
| Strong photo galleries and guest reviews | Needs better offline access and satellite maps |
| Fast, mobile-friendly booking | Directions occasionally off-grid inaccurate |
Tips for Finding the Perfect Spot
- Filter hard. Use terrain, amenity, and access filters first, then sort by rating.
- Read recent reviews. They reveal mud, bugs, or new fire rules. There’s a paradox being out in the wide open countryside – it seems common for people to let their dogs stay outside all night…barking.
- Confirm gate codes and GPS. Message hosts before rolling out of service.
- Cross-check maps. Hipcamp pins aren’t always perfect for forest roads. Take a look at how close it is to a major roadway. We’ve found sites with amazing views and had 100+ acres to ourselves – except a major highway 1/4 mile away that required earplugs to sleep.
- Book early on weekends. The best sites fill fast, especially on holidays. Sometimes sites are cheaper if you book last minute, however.
- Is the site on an active farm? Want to guess what many farms have? Roosters. Know what time roosters start their work day? 4AM. If you’re an early riser, that’s a non-issue. If you like rolling out of bed at 730, you’re gonna have a bad time. Ask the host if they have roosters, it’ll make your stay better if you don’t wake up insanely early on a daily basis.
Final Verdict?
After two years of using Hipcamp, we trust it for quick, dependable site finds when BLM or forest land isn’t practical. It’s not flawless, but it’s the best way we’ve found to discover private, overlander-friendly land without hours of research. Plus, you can relax knowing that your site is your site.
One thing that I want to note: The review ratings. They seem skewed very positive, and I think it’s their rating system. They only have three options – thumbs down, mixed, and thumbs up. If you’re a typical human, you’d see those ratings as 0%, 50%, or 100%. Well, things would have to be pretty bad to get a 0%, thumbs down. Things would also have to be pretty bad to effectively give a rating of 50%. So, most people likely defer to thumbs up, which is another 100% review toward the average. We’ve stayed at some sites that had a 98% rating and we really scratched our heads on how. That’s my $.02.
Something to bear in mind, is that often these hosts are farmers, ranchers, etc. and have no prior experience in the hospitality business. In our stays, every host but one has been very kind and thoughtful and we’ve had some great repeat hosts for the following season.
Save $10 on Your First Trip
Readers can save $10 on their first Hipcamp booking here:
hipcamp.com/i/johndaa1345