Day 59: Free Van Camping in Georgia on Wildlife Management Land
Georgia is a beautiful and spacious state that I prefer for van camping and traveling in general over Florida. Outside of hunting camps in national forests like Osceola National Forest, the only free van camping I found was through the Southwest Florida Water Management District. And, even though it was free, you had to reserve a spot online and many spots were filled up, sometimes months in advance.
Free van camping is so much easier in Georgia thanks to the state’s Wildlife Resources Division. You don’t have to create an online account, you don’t have to make a reservation, and, based on my experience at a Di-Lane campground called Pine Hill campground, found through Campendium, there are not many other campers and Chester can run around freely without me worrying about him bothering someone else. The campground is spacious, free of over-regulation, and generally feels much better than campgrounds in Florida.
Where are all these free van camping sites located in Georgia? You can find information about them on the Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) web page. On this page, there are 138 areas listed. To find the areas that accommodate free van camping, click on the area that interests you and look for a bullet point that says Primitive Campsites under the Accommodations & Facilities heading. Not all areas have this, and many areas are listed on Campendium, so take your time clicking through the areas with pictures and names that seem interesting.
Another option is to use the WMA interactive map if you want to go to a specific area of Georgia. Look for campground icons on the map and cross-reference these areas with corresponding pages on the website as the web pages have more information about the area than the map. For instance, imagining I wanted to stay in the southwestern part of Georgia, I clicked on a WMA area in this region called Chickasawhatchee and saw a campground icon in the top left. I then went to the corresponding web page to verify that this is an area I might want to visit.
This campground is not listed on Campendium and seems promising for van travelers and RVers alike. The corresponding web page states: “The 19,700-acre WMA includes campsites for tents and RVs.” This is a reminder to not rely solely on camping applications like Campendium and to Google search for state-run land management departments outside of state parks since state parks often charge money for RV camping even if you’re in an off-grid van.
3/2 Update I’m staying at Oconee WMA now. I looked at the interactive map and saw a campground icon. But, when I looked at the corresponding web page, Primitive Camping was not listed under Accommodations and Facilities. This is because this is technically a hunt camp. But van lifers can stay at these hunt camps. They are almost the same as primitive camping sites. The only caveat is that these hunt camps require either a hunting license or $60 Lands pass for non-hunters like me that’s good for a year.
