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Van life in the US: free camping and the rules, city by city
Where the free public camping is, how far the BLM land and national forests are, what the RV parks look like, and what the law says about sleeping in your van, for 14 US cities. Every number links to the agency map or the legal text it came from.
As of October 2026, Riverside has the most named free dispersed camping areas within 50 miles of downtown (8), and Las Vegas, San Diego, Tucson, Riverside and Portland have BLM land within 10 miles. 6 cities have their vehicle-sleeping rule on the site, read from the statute or code.
- 1. Riverside, CA
- 8free areas within 50 mi
- 2. Denver, CO
- 3free areas within 50 mi
- 3. Asheville, NC
- 2free areas within 50 mi
Free camping near each city
Named dispersed areas and BLM primitive sites within 50 miles of downtown, best first. Public campgrounds are Forest Service and BLM sites; RV parks are counted on OpenStreetMap within 30 miles.
| Rank | City | Free areas | BLM land | Public campgrounds | RV parks | Sleeping in a vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverside, CA | 8 | Within 10 mi | 78 | 32 | Not collected yet |
| 2 | Denver, CO | 3 | Within 25 mi | 48 | n/a | Not collected yet |
| 3 | Asheville, NC | 2 | None within 100 mi | 15 | 16 | Not collected yet |
| 4 | Chattanooga, TN | 1 | Within 100 mi | 11 | 7 | State camping ban, warning first |
| 5 | Anaheim, CA | 1 | Within 25 mi | 33 | n/a | Not collected yet |
| 6 | Austin, TX | 0 | None within 100 mi | 0 | 84 | State camping ban, vehicles not named |
| 7 | Chicago, IL | 0 | Within 100 mi | 0 | 3 | Not collected yet |
| 8 | Las Vegas, NV | 0 | Within 10 mi | 7 | 17 | Not collected yet |
| 9 | San Diego, CA | 0 | Within 10 mi | 10 | 25 | Banned 9 pm to 6 am and near homes |
| 10 | Miami, FL | 0 | Within 100 mi | 0 | n/a | Lawfully parked vehicles excluded |
| 11 | Atlanta, GA | 0 | Within 100 mi | 0 | n/a | Not collected yet |
| 12 | Tucson, AZ | 0 | Within 10 mi | 12 | 6 | Not collected yet |
| 13 | Nashville, TN | 0 | None within 100 mi | 0 | n/a | State camping ban, warning first |
| 14 | Portland, OR | 0 | Within 10 mi | 43 | 36 | Vehicles count as camping when shelter is available |
Full detail, including the nearest free site and the campground list with fees, is in the camping section of each city page. The ranking page: best US cities for van life.
Van life guides
Where free camping is closest to a US city
BLM land, national forests and named dispersed camping areas within 50 miles of each downtown, from the agencies’ own maps.
Sleeping in your van: the rule in each city
What the statute or city code says about sleeping in a vehicle on public property, read from the legal text, with the gaps marked.
Questions people ask
Where is free camping closest to a city?
Las Vegas, San Diego, Tucson, Riverside and Portland have BLM land within 10 miles of downtown, where dispersed camping is free for up to 14 days. Riverside has the most named free camping areas within 50 miles, 8.
Is it legal to sleep in a van in these cities?
It depends on the city and the state, and the only honest answer is the legal text. 6 of the 14 cities have their rule on the site, read from the statute or code: for example Florida's camping law excludes a lawfully parked vehicle, while San Diego bans vehicle habitation on streets from 9 pm to 6 am. See the rule in each city.
Where do the camping numbers come from?
BLM land from the Bureau of Land Management’s Surface Management Agency map service, national forests and campgrounds from the US Forest Service’s boundary and recreation-site services, BLM campgrounds from the BLM recreation-site service, and RV parks from OpenStreetMap. Each city page links the agency page for every site.