Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Camprtron, public-land camping, dispersed camping, and how the app works. Where a guide covers a topic in depth, we link to it.
About Camprtron
What is Camprtron?
Camprtron is a campsite finder that ranks free dispersed (boondocking) and reservable developed campsites by the peaks, water, fishing, and trails near camp within your drive time and with your vehicle’s road access factored in. Coverage spans 50 states across the Mountain West, New England, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, California, the Great Plains, the Mid-Atlantic North, the Northwoods, the Ozarks, Appalachia North, Appalachia South, the Gulf South, the Ohio Valley, Alaska, and Hawaii, expanding toward all 50.
Who is Camprtron for?
Camprtron is built for anyone who picks a campsite by what is around it rather than by a name on a list: tent campers and car campers looking for free dispersed sites on National Forest or BLM land, van and truck-camper travelers who need to know what a road demands before they drive it, trailer and RV owners who have to match a rig to a road access tier and a posted length limit, and anglers, hikers and mountain bikers who want to camp close to the water or a trailhead. It suits trip planning better than same-night booking, because it ranks a whole region against your origin and drive time instead of listing one campground at a time.
How much does Camprtron cost?
Camprtron costs $5.99 a month or $49 a year. Every new account starts with a 3-day free trial that never asks for a card; when the trial ends, a plan is what keeps search working. The pricing page has the full details.
Which states does Camprtron cover?
Camprtron covers 50 states across the Mountain West, New England, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, California, the Great Plains, the Mid-Atlantic North, the Northwoods, the Ozarks, Appalachia North, Appalachia South, the Gulf South, the Ohio Valley, Alaska, and Hawaii today. We are adding states as we grow, with all 50 states as the long-term goal. The data coverage page lists the exact site counts loaded per state.
Do I need an account?
Sign-in and ranked trip planning happen in the Camprtron app. Signups are open, and every new account starts with a 3-day free trial with no card required, so you can create an account from the sign-up page. The public site directory (campsite listings by area, access tier, and camp type) is open without an account.
Is there a mobile app?
Camprtron is a web app today, optimized for mobile browsers. Native iOS and Android apps are planned.
How do I contact Camprtron?
Email us at social@camprtron.com or reach us on X at @Camprtron.
Dispersed Camping & Boondocking
What is the difference between dispersed and developed camping?
Dispersed camping (boondocking) means camping outside a designated campground on public land, National Forest or BLM, with no hookups, reservations, or fees in most cases. Developed campgrounds are designated sites with amenities such as fire rings, vault toilets, and sometimes water; they typically charge a nightly fee and many are reservable in advance.
What is boondocking?
Boondocking is the informal, vehicle centric term for dispersed camping on public land; self contained, without hookups, usually free. The U.S. Forest Service and BLM use the term “dispersed camping” in their regulations; boondocking emphasizes the off-grid, self-sufficient aspect. Read the full guide →
Is dispersed camping free?
Yes on most National Forest and BLM land there is no nightly fee and no reservation required. A handful of high use dispersed zones require a free permit. Developed campgrounds charge a nightly fee; many require advance reservations through recreation.gov.
Is dispersed camping banned anywhere?
No state bans it outright. The restrictions that do exist are narrower: they cover an area drawn in a forest order, a named road, a season, or how many nights you can stay. Two places on our list ban camping along their roads altogether, and a stay limit is regularly mistaken for a ban. Every order we track, cited and dated →
Can I camp on state land, not just National Forest or BLM?
Sometimes, and it changes at every state line. Some states let you camp on their own land with nothing to pick up first, some want a permit, some keep you to marked sites, and a few have no state land you can camp on at all. Wildlife Management Areas are the usual trap: most states ban camping on them. The answer for every state →
Vehicles & Road Access
Do I need a 4×4 or high clearance vehicle?
Many dispersed sites do require high clearance or 4×4 capability, but a large number are passenger car accessible on graded gravel roads. Camprtron tags each site’s road access tier passenger car, high clearance, or 4×4 required and shows a suitability warning based on your rig. It’s a tag and a warning, never a filter that hides sites from you. See high clearance vs. 4×4: what’s the difference and the access road analysis for the data behind it.
Can I use Camprtron with a trailer or RV?
Yes. For each site, Camprtron matches its road access tier (passenger car, high clearance, or 4×4 required) against your rig’s ground clearance and drivetrain, and flags the fit as a warning (never a filter). For developed campgrounds it also compares your rig length against the posted maximum vehicle length. The 4×4-required tier is generally not compatible with any trailer; the passenger car and high clearance tiers cover a wide range of towable campers. Camprtron classifies road access from MVUM data; it does not measure individual road width or turning radius, so check current conditions before committing a long rig to a narrow forest road.
How Camprtron Works
How does Camprtron rank campsites?
Each site receives a composite score from a weighted blend of nearby terrain features: peak prominence, water proximity, fishing access, hiking trails, mountain biking, and drive time from your origin. Dropped criteria redistribute their weight so the score is never misleadingly deflated. Read the full methodology →
What data sources does Camprtron use?
All data comes from public-domain government sources: USFS Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM), the Recreation Information Database (RIDB), BLM, National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), and Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW). We process these through a PostGIS spatial pipeline and publish our methodology openly. See the data & methodology page →
How current is availability and reservation information?
Availability is checked live against recreation.gov when you open a site in the app it is never pre baked into search results. That means you always see the current reservation status, not a cached snapshot.