In its 2022 Camping Report, camping app The Dyrt has discovered that dispersed camping–camping on public land outside a designated campground has doubled from 2020 to 2021.
According to a press release, dispersed camping grew significantly amid an overall increase in camping due to overbooked campgrounds and a shortage of reservable campsites.
Nearly half of campers reported difficulties finding reservable campgrounds in 2021, which is a threefold increase before the pandemic. Dispersed camping was more competitive as well, with 35% of dispersed campers encountering crowding last year, up from just 15% in 2019.
Dispersed camping provides a pure nature experience–and we need to keep it that way,” says The Dyrt CEO Kevin Long. As campgrounds fill up and dispersed camping expands in popularity, understanding Leave No Trace is more important than ever.
Leave No Trace principles include getting rid of waste in a responsible manner, leaving what you find, respecting wildlife, minimizing campfire impacts, and avoiding crowding through strategies like off-season camping. The nonprofit also provides advice for sharing the philosophy with others in the camping community.
I’ve always loved dispersed camping, mostly because the campgrounds here in Colorado have become so crowded the last ten years or so,” says The Dyrt user Andrea Schmutt of Denver.
“I lived on the road for a few months this past year, so I accessed dispersed camping and alternate overnight spots along the way. The Dyrt was one of the few apps I used to help with that.”
The Dyrt PRO’s popular PRO Maps features were designed to be used with the concept of dispersed camping in mind. For just $36 per year, campers can access to maps showing different types of public land with legal camping. Maps are available for download for offline use.
“Let’s be honest, camping on public land, while often free, was not typically very accessible,” says The Dyrt founder Sarah Smith.
“Finding information about where exactly to go and what you’ll find when you get there was hard. We’re proud to be closing that knowledge gap and helping a wider variety of campers enjoy Bureau of Land Management land, national forests, and other public wilderness that belongs to everyone.”
Noticing the surge in dispersed camping, The Dyrt PRO’s PRO Maps can help find legitimate camping spots on public land, making exploration easier. Sticking to Leave No Trace principles is crucial with this trend.
Yeah, it’s super important to follow Leave No Trace when camping off-the-grid. Have you checked out those PRO Maps for finding legit spots? They can really help you navigate public lands and keep the wild places pristine!