A few times in my season I like to travel to spots that are a few hours away. Most of the time there is a camp ground or you're permitted to camp on national forest. My question is,what do you guys recommend when there's not really any camping permitted or hotels really close?
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Recline in the driver's seat and conk out or sleep in the the bed of the truck.
Seems like quite a few people have mentioned sleeping in Walmart parking lots in those situations. :D
I really can't relate to the problem in that I am generally hunting where there is public land somewhere in the area that allows "dispersed" camping. I suppose my recommendation would be to always have some sort of map or mapping app available that shows land status where you are at.
Out this way, I just look at the land status, find a public parcel nearby, if necessary, and park on it and sleep in my truck. Then again, back east I suspect there are places where that strategy is just not feasible. I guess that's when you look for the nearest Walmart. ;D
Quote from: nyturkeyduster on April 02, 2025, 09:49:51 AMRecline in the driver's seat and conk out or sleep in the the bed of the truck.
Done it manny times.
I've slept in a truck to bear hunt, judge dogs, fish, etc never to turkey hunt but that's what I'd do
look up vrbo rentals or air bnb. Ask around and sometimes there's places that are not advertised. For example, I have a vacation rental and I don't advertise it or list it online. I rent solely from reference and word of mouth.
I have slept in the bed of my truck, front seat or in the case of an SUV, in the back of that. Sometimes a wide spot on a gravel road was all I needed. Never go out of state or need to go far for turkey hunting, but deer,bear and elk hunting on the other side of the state all the time.
Truck cab, or a hammock if car "camping" isn't permitted. If I have one roosted, I've also just sat at a tree and slept waiting for sunrise. I've def bumped birds from snoring...
I have a quick set tent and sleeping pad if a legal place to set up. Freeway rest areas work for about 4 hours or so. Getting too old for this sh** at times and any motel will do.
Thanks everyone for the replies! I normally do just truck camp. This particular hunt is a lottery hunt I was awarded, so I don't think they permit camping. There are two Walmarts fairly close,so I may just try that. I have never done Walmart thing before.
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If Walmart is closed overnight be careful of local police patrolling the area. Or you might be sleeping in a 6x8 room.
I sleep in the camper shell of my truck about anywhere. Have a homemade lower profile decked system. Mega mat and positive attitude
I'm not a camper. I like hot water, clean toilets, showers, etc. I'm a wuss when it comes to that, I'm not gonna lie. I look for a VRBO or Air BnB wherever I go. I have found some nicer motels too.
I have been known to drive all night and time it to be at a gate at 4 a.m. I will at that point take a cat nap in my truck for a few minutes before hiking but that is the extent of my camping lol
I built a sleeping platform in the back of my Tacoma camper shell. I'm good for 2-3 nights in it but then I need a hotel or VRBO.
Tri fold mattress in the back of SUV mostly, occasionally set up a tent but I like to remain mobile!
I have never stayed at a Walmart parking lot, parking lot's seem to attract shady characters. Pull off the side of the road if there are no camping spots, have slept in the rig where there is no camping on a back road plenty, have yet to have an issue.
Plus driving to a town to stay in a parking lot is often 20 plus miles, I will stick with a back road.
Camping is boring and kind of uncomfortable, but in a pinch,it will have to do.
Has anybody tried the back seat air mattress they sell on Amazon for the can of a truck?
Camping is easy, but boring and uncomfortable, but finding a good motel can be difficult.
I enjoy camping. Being a little cold and uncomfortable sometimes is a good thing
Quote from: arkrem870 on April 03, 2025, 08:46:02 AMI enjoy camping. Being a little cold and uncomfortable sometimes is a good thing
Keeps you honest
Quote from: arkrem870 on April 03, 2025, 08:46:02 AMI enjoy camping. Being a little cold and uncomfortable sometimes is a good thing
I do, as well, although after about three-nights worth, I am ready to find a shower and regular bed for a few nights before I do it again. :D
I think the point asked in the original post was mainly where does one stop for the night if there is no public-land option, motel, or other similar accommodation near where he is going to hunt? Is pulling over at a wide spot on a road a good solution? Maybe in some places that is a reasonable idea. In others, I suspect not so much. I know that, in unfamiliar territory, I would be sleeping very "lightly" with some sort of weapon handy...and even then, I would be uneasy about the situation.
I mentioned the Walmart solution, partially in jest, but also because I have seen that mentioned more than once by people in the same situation. I know the Walmart's around here (or at least some of them) allow travelers to stay in their parking lots in that I have seen, on multiple occasions, pretty big RV rigs set up here that were obviously staying overnight. Is that safer than pulling off the road somewhere? I couldn't say, but I would weigh the odds based on where I might be traveling.
Bottom line for me is that, when traveling, I always have some sort of tentative plan as to how far I am going to get before stopping for the night...or where I will be staying if the place I am hunting has no accommodations of any sort. I know, for me, I would rather get up earlier and drive a bit further rather than feel anxious about sleeping in an unfamiliar setting. :icon_thumright:
A google search shows Walmart allows this, but it is at the discretion of the store manager, so I guess just go in and ask, or slide in if there are a few RV's there already!
I prefer a cheap motel.
My girl has a hiking app on her phone. I believe it is "All Trails", it shows a lot of things OnX doesn't. Like available camping areas. Plus a lot of walking trails! Hikers seem to document a lot of good info.
These camping/sleeping areas may include commercial parking lots. It's actually good info for someone travel on the cheap.
Later in May when it gets hot hot...cheap hotel is hard to beat. Sweating all night is no fun. Having a nice battery power fan is critical for afternoon naps while camping
As an aside to this discussion, how does everybody deal with flying in somewhere and renting a vehicle to hunt? A couple of us are headed out of state to a remote area where the one and only motel is a minimum 30-45 minutes or more from the hunting areas. Checked on rentals (AirBnB and the like) and nothing any closer.
We went the motel route and will just leave very early to drive to hunting spots, but considered just stopping at a sporting goods store and buying some cheap camping equipment and camping in hunt areas (would have saved money that way but the thought of minimalist camping for a week was harder to swallow than shorter nights and just driving a bit more). None of the options were desirable, but we had to make a choice.
Anybody got any good solutions to that sort of problem?...
Gobblenut, several solutions to that problem but in all honesty you probably picked the best for someone who is working full time and has limited vacation time.
You could ship your own better quality camping gear to a FedEx, UPS Mailboxes Etc. type place for them to hold for you to pickup. Ship it in a cooler so you don't have to buy one. Then ship it back at the end of your trip.
You could fly to wherever and rent an RV instead of a car.
If it's just two of you you could do a low budget hybrid of those two but instead of an RV rent a van and ship your camping gear. That way you have the option of sleeping in the van or camping.
If time permitted you could just drive with your camping stuff or rent an RV close to home and drive.
This year I'm driving to Colorado solo and will spend a night in a motel on the way out and back and depending on how long I wind up staying it will be a mix of VRBO, camping and motels. But I'm retired for the most part and now have the luxury of time that I didn't have while I was working.
Didn't consider the option of shipping stuff to improve the camping experience. :icon_thumright:
As for the rental vehicle dilemma, we have rented a four-wheel-drive truck because we want to be prepared for any sort of remote two-track conditions in the area. Nothing worse than not being able to get to a spot because the roads require a high-clearance 4WD (been there, done that).
As for driving instead of flying, quite honestly, I absolutely HATE driving on long-distance trips that may take two or more days to get to where we are hunting. I am retired, as well, but my "boss" allows me about a week for these trips before she gets a bit cranky about me being gone ;D ...and if we drive instead of flying, and it takes two or more days to get to where we are headed and back, well, that doesn't allow much hunting time in a week! ::)
As such, my limit for driving distance for a hunt is about a day's worth...not only due to the "hunting time" allotment, but also due to my own mental block about longer-distance driving. ;D