From: damouth@wrc.xerox.com (David E. Damouth)
Subject: Re: General question Re: Campground safety
Reply-To: damouth@wrc.xerox.com
Organization: Xerox Webster Research Center
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 15:27:57 GMT

>>I can't figure it out how can one camp out of a designated site.

Most State and National PARKS are regimented - you can indeed camp only
in designated sites, which are usually crowded, but offer piped-in
water, flush toilets, and may even have swimming pools, tennis courts,
...

Most State and National Forests are open for camping anywhere.  These
may have formal campgrounds, with varying levels of facilities for
those who want them, and perhaps a small fee.  But you can also just go
off in the woods by yourself anywhere.  Each State or National Forest
will have its own set of rules:  you really need to ask in advance.
Sometimes these rules will be posted along the road or in marked
campgrounds, but it is best to write for the written brochures for the
regions you intend to visit.  Most states are very good about
responding to mail requests for such information, *if* addressed to the
correct address.  Permits are sometimes required and are usually free.
Sometimes, a permit is only needed if you want to build a fire.
Generally, you must camp a specified distance from roads, streams,
waterfront, and trails (perhaps 100 feet - again, a local rule). 
Most hiking trails also are described by trail guides published by
private organizations, and these usually have a section describing the
local rules.  The state of Pennsylvania, for example, will send you a
quite detailed list of all the hiking trails in the state, and it even
has a mailing address for each trail if you want to write for more
detailed information on that trail.  They will also send you maps
showing where all the public-use areas are located, lists of rules 
and regulations, and assorted other information.  New York state also
publishes a public-use area map for the entire state.  The entire
Adirondack region is covered in great detail by a set of trail 
guides from the Adirondack Mountain Club.  

Every major city will have one or more outdoor-oriented stores which
will sell such trail guides for their area. In the East, the EMS stores
often have a good selection of such guides and related books.  In the
West, REI fills that niche.
   
I've never had problems leaving my car in rural state and national
forest areas  alongside the road.  The car should, of course, be
completely off the road.  Even in rural farm or forest country which is
not designated as a park or forest, lots of cars are left beside the
road by hikers, hunters, fishermen, flower pickers, etc.  I've never
heard of any legal problems.  I'm speaking here of relatively
untravelled, often unpaved, roads.  Numbered state or federal highways
may indeed have laws prohibiting you from leaving a car along the road
except in designated areas.  

Informally, private land which is not posted and is in a sparsely
populated rural area can be walked on without worrying.  But if you
want to camp there overnight, it is good manners to ask the owner
first.  If the owner is far away, so that it is impractical to ask, and
the land is not posted, I would feel free to camp in a low-impact
manner - hidden well away from road, trails, or buildings, and leaving
no sign that I had been there.  My fuzzy and unauthoritative
understanding of the law is that the owner can tell you to leave under
such conditions, but you are not doing anything illegal as long as you
comply with a request to leave.

Yes - there are differences in attitudes and laws between regions. The
rules and requirements about posting private land are local or state, not
national.

---
/Dave
David E. Damouth
Xerox Webster Research Center
damouth@wrc.xerox.com
voice: 716-422-3186
fax: 716-265-7133


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