The Best Campsites Aren't Always on Google Maps

Originally posted on Powder | By Max Ritter | Last updated Jun 15, 2026 2:02 PM ET

To me, there's nothing worse while summer camping than pulling into your favorite truck campsite only to realize someone else got there first. It's happened to me more times than I care to admit–but looking back, I realize that a tool like OnX's dispersed camping layer would have made my life a whole lot easier. Sure, there's something adventurous about having to piece together beta from all corners of the internet to figure out where to spend the night for free, but it's also pretty darn cool to be able to toggle on a layer on an app I already use to expedite that process.

In fact, OnX just added a major expansion of its Dispersed Camping Layer across both the onX Offroad and onX Backcountry apps. The update adds 193 million acres coverage, specifically on Bureau of Land Management land, building on their existing Forest Service land coverage. Turns out, BLM land is kind of the place to be.

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The expanded Dispersed Camping Layer brings information pulled from federal land use maps, online forums, and closure notices directly into the app's navigation experience, helping users confidently identify where camping is allowed and where restrictions exist.

OnX heavily focused on Western states with loads of camping-friendly public land like Nevada, Alaska, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, while also improving access across the Midwest where dispersed camping information has been notoriously difficult to find, such as Michigan and Wisconsin.

Some fun facts: Nevada and Alaska each contribute more than 40 million acres of mapped BLM land, while Utah adds over 18 million acres and Wyoming over 16 million. On Forest Service land, California leads all states with more than 30,000 miles of mapped dispersed camping corridors, followed by Idaho (21,774miles), Oregon (20,978miles), and Montana (15,506miles).

This new digital mapping tool should make planning your next summer camping trip a whole lot easier, not to mention alleviating some of the stress of those late nights of pulling into campsites and having to pivot to a new zone on the spot.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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