Going from Chicago out West, what’s your favorite stopping point?

Posted by NickleDaPup@reddit | overlanding | View on Reddit | 19 comments

Struggling with trying to find a decent spot that’s not 14 hours away. My current midway point is Nebraska National Forest since it’s an easy diversion from I-80 while still heading West.

I’m still deciding between starting my real camping in CO or WY so it will probably just depend on where I can find my first sleeping spot.

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Yeah there’s not a lot of great camping opportunities in Iowa or Nebraska. Aurora, NE has a nice free campground at a city park if you’re just looking for a place to spend the night. Lake McConaughy in the Sandhills is cool too and has (paid) boondocking on the beach, but if you’ve made it that far you’re pretty much already to Colorado.

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NickleDaPup@reddit (OP)

The Eastern side of CO is pretty desolate too, at least looking on OnX there’s really not much until you get West of Denver. I saw that lake earlier and it’s looking like my best bet so far, I’m definitely fine paying a little if it means I’m not camping with a bunch of cows

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SpiritualOrchid1168@reddit

There’s tons of camping west of Denver but if you’re going in the next few weeks a lot of the high elevation roads will still be closed for winter. Some areas could get a foot of snow this weekend.

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PonyThug@reddit

There are multiple reservoirs in Nebraska right off 80 than you can camp for free if you are Simi stealthy about it. Great swimming too

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outdoorsauce@reddit

Idk man id just sleep in your drivers seat at a truck stop until you hit colorado or at the least the wind river range in Wyoming if north or wasatch if more south.

If you want to drive 70 through Colorado stop after the Denver metro past evergreen or above Idaho springs/blackhawk. On my own trips it feels like such a waste to pursue any camping in middle America considering the last 3/4 of my route is so good.

Skip the 1/2 stop!

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lucky_ducker@reddit

There's a bunch of tiny Nebraska Wildlife Management Areas along and near to I-80, and most of them allow free overnight stays. Also lots of small towns have a city park with a campground that won't break the bank. Recent stays: Audubon Iowa $15, Aurora Nebraska free (donation suggested).

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NickleDaPup@reddit (OP)

How do you generally find them? I’m looking mostly through OnX and trying to google too but it’s not as helpful.

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lucky_ducker@reddit

I use freecampsites.net for leads, Google maps and OnX to check them out, and official websites to fully understand the terms. Some sound great until you uncover that you have to register with the city police or clerk before 4:30pm.

I've also zeroed in on specific towns googling "cityname city park camping". Some very small towns turn out to have a campground.

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NickleDaPup@reddit (OP)

Thanks, just checked out that camping site and I’ll definitely be spending some more time looking through there. It looks like they leave pretty helpful reviews too

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ceazzzzz@reddit

Is going a little bit South or North possible?

There is Route 66, and it’s the centennial year.

I drove it a couple years ago, and I had seen tons of spots to be able to spend the night.

Mark Twain NF is south of St. Louis, lots of choices there.

Going a little bit North, to I-90 (probably too far), there are areas near La Crosse along the Mississippi that a comfy enough to want to spend more than a sleep and breakfast.

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Wayward_Sun_Shine@reddit

Great question. I’ll be headed out of Indy out west end of the year.

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PKMNtrainerKing@reddit

Definitely stay clear of Cheney state park, Kansas. Man, what a shit hole

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MilitantPotato@reddit

Vedauwoo Campground is right off 80 and has some really nice rock features.

How far west are you going? Most of our spots are more westward.

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NickleDaPup@reddit (OP)

I did camp in Medicine Bow National Forest last year but it was too far away to be my last stop. I completely missed that Vedauwoo trail but I’ll have to check it out this time.

Farthest West I’m going will be Idaho and Utah, just struggling with the dead zone of camping spots in the middle of America

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MilitantPotato@reddit

Not exactly "nature" but the website harvest host is basically an air bnb for RV/camping. There's a couple other websites too.

We've done a couple to avoid sleeping in a parking lot, usually there's some amenities so it's not just sleeping in a corner field. A full fresh farm breakfast was probably our favorite, def broke up the long drive well.

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NickleDaPup@reddit (OP)

That website has some really cool stops, it would be great to buy fresh from a farm right before camping. Is the annual subscription the only way to book on there? It honestly makes sense because then you have a more trustworthy customer base.

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MilitantPotato@reddit

Yea you need the subscription. I just re-read the rules and it's pretty limited, requiring a proper RV with plumbing.

Maybe hipcamp would be a more useful site.

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NickleDaPup@reddit (OP)

I’ll check that out too, I’ve at least found another campsite area that seems decent. Lake McConaughy is right outside the northeastern border corner of Colorado. I think it’s my best option so far and seems to be bookable online