Nomads View dispersed camping

[solo318]

Looking for first hand information on Nomads View in South Dakota. We are planning on stopping there and boon docking for a few days on the way to Custer next year. I' ve never used any government land to dry camp on. Is there any procedures or rules I should be aware of? Any rules on Generators and stuff?  We are heading there with friends, Is it acceptable if we park together? How much room would you leave between campers?

Thanks for any first hand knowledge.

 

[2gypsies]

First make sure dispersed camping is allowed. BLM land is usually OK but there may be some restriction on national forest lands.  If you're not sure of the road condition going in it's best to disconnect and drive the vehicle in first.   Pick a spot that has already been used; don't create your own by driving over vegetation.  Your friend could park as close as you want.  However, it's common courtesy not to park close to others if there's plenty of other space to park.  If you see a RV with solar panels please try not parking close to him if you'll be running the generator. There are no rules on generator hours.   Bring your own firewood and use an existing firepit, if possible. Don't cut limbs for firewood.  Pour a bucket or two of water over the fire before leaving and make sure it's out completely.  Pack out all trash and don't toss any in the firepit. Fill with fresh water and have empty holding tanks and you're good to go.

[Al F]

7 hours ago, solo318 said:

Looking for first hand information on Nomads View in South Dakota. We are planning on stopping there and boon docking for a few days on the way to Custer next year. I' ve never used any government land to dry camp on. Is there any procedures or rules I should be aware of? Any rules on Generators and stuff?  We are heading there with friends, Is it acceptable if we park together? How much room would you leave between campers?

Thanks for any first hand knowledge.

 

Here is info and review for Nomads View: https://www.campendium.com/nomad-view

Here are the GPS coordinates for the place:  43.8898, -102.227   Copy and paste the coordinates in Google Maps to view the area to get good feel for where you are going.  Be sure to select "satellite view" on Google Maps.  

It looks like you can boondock anywhere along the rim. 

A group of friends usually park their RV's together.  I have never seen a restriction on RV's parking together in boondocking areas, as long as there is room. 

PLEASE respect your fellow boondockers, who do NOT use generators, and park at least 200 yards from them so your generators (assuming you will be running them) will not be heard by your neighbors.  Even very quiet generators can be heard a long ways away when things are quiet.  

When selecting your parking place, especially as a group of boondockers, try to park at least hundred yards away from any solo boondockers.  It is extremely irritating to someone boondocking to enjoy the piece and quiet, to have a group of RV's pull up and park 30-50 yards away.   Not that you will be overly noisy, but people sitting outdoors and talking, can be heard for quite a ways away.  

The above is a courtesy to other RV'ers, not a rule.    You can always go say hello to the camper(s) already there and ask if your generator or group will disturb them. 

Rules generally are:

--  Park only where others have parked before.  Don't make new parking areas and fire rings.

--  Pack all your trash out and pick up any trash others may have left behind.

--  NO dumping of gray or black water tanks.  

[Al F]

Here is a view on Google Maps of a boondocker along the rim where you are planning on going:  43.900545, -102.230603.

You could probably line up 2-3 RV along the rim there.   Other places are larger so you could get more RV's in.  

If it is raining the road may be muddy & slippery.  

What we do a lot of the time is drive close to or into the area we are planning on boondocking and then drive our toad to check out places to park.  Much easier to drive the toad around than the RV.  We have taken a lawn chair and have left one of our group to hold the place while we go back and get the RV(s). 

[solo318]

Awesome advice.  Have you been there? it looks awesome from the photos.  Our plan is to stay there for a few days and then head to a campground for a week or so. Maybe I'll have my solar done by then. But the other couple uses Cpaps at night and will need their gen set anyway.

p.s. My wife doesn't like heights and says we WON'T be camping on the rim.

 

[dmk]

Depending on the time of year be prepared for a busy place. We stopped by last week it was pretty full. Two years ago we were nearly by ourselves. Like others have said check the road in first especially if recent rain has fallen. Be prepared for wind and storms. It is an awesome place just think about wind and storms when you setup and you'll be fine.

[Al F]

5 hours ago, solo318 said:

Awesome advice.  Have you been there? it looks awesome from the photos.  Our plan is to stay there for a few days and then head to a campground for a week or so. Maybe I'll have my solar done by then. But the other couple uses Cpaps at night and will need their gen set anyway.

p.s. My wife doesn't like heights and says we WON'T be camping on the rim.

 

About the CPAP's:  If they can turn off the humidifier and/or tube heater the CPAP actually uses very little power.  Around 1 amp of 12V DC or a little more if they have to run it through an inverter. 

My wife's CPAP shows it uses 12V on the sticker on the bottom.  The mfg sells a 12V cord that plugs into 12V outlet.  Her CPAP uses about 1amp or about 8AH of battery through the night.   She stopped using the humidifier several years ago.  

[solo318]

6 hours ago, dmk said:

Depending on the time of year be prepared for a busy place. We stopped by last week it was pretty full. Two years ago we were nearly by ourselves. Like others have said check the road in first especially if recent rain has fallen. Be prepared for wind and storms. It is an awesome place just think about wind and storms when you setup and you'll be fine.

Good to know. We are planning mid June next year. I guess if it's full on the way to Custer we can camp on the way back.

Do the storms seem to come in from any particular direction? Might help with set up. Here in Florida the afternoon storms usually com from the southwest.

Edited July 7, 2020 by solo318

[solo318]

So I'm about to click go on our campground reservations for next year. I'm a bit concerned though. We just got home from Gatlinburg and were frankly appalled by the number of people crammed into the national park. When the parking areas filled, people literally parked on us 441 and just locked the car and walked away. (not just one car, lots of cars) The owner of the campground we love there said the town is booming with people who have nothing else to do. Traffic was terrible. Is this the norm for all of the national parks? or just a anomaly?  I kind of hate to drive 30 hours to sit in traffic with rude people. Anyone been through the black hills lately?

[Al F]

I can't speak for the Black Hills or Custer, but ALL the popular NP's and State Parks, as well as many other places, have gotten very busy over the last 10 years or so.  

We were in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in August 2019 and it was pretty busy.   However we stayed inside the parks and would get up and on the road to the scenic places and hikes we wanted to go to.  Staying in RV Parks outside the NP's may add 30 minutes to an hours drive to get to the first area you want see.  Basically we got to the parking areas before the crowds arrived.   We spent about 10 days in the Tetons and 2 weeks in Yellowstone. 

 

[2gypsies]

1 hour ago, solo318 said:

 Is this the norm for all of the national parks? or just a anomaly?  I kind of hate to drive 30 hours to sit in traffic with rude people. Anyone been through the black hills lately?

Timing is crucial.  The Smokies can be visited very easily by many people because it's close to populated areas.  However, October is extremely popular because of fall color.

Black Hills/Custer is popular in summer with school vacations.  Sept/Oct would be good there.

Some places you have to make an effort to get there because of a long drive so they're are not so much weekend trips for the locals like in the Smokies.  They are a major destination for vacations and for when school isn't in session.

Someone mentioned that Moab/Arches Nat'l Park was a zoo this week.  That's because of an extremely popular annual Jeep Jamboree.  Ouray/Silverton, CO also has a fall jamboree & that's a popular time.  Try Googling for Calendar of Events for the area you want to go and see if there is a special thing happening and avoid that time, if possible.

For a park like Yellowstone some can avoid the major crowds by starting your tour at 7 or 8am; return to the campsite for lunch and a nap and go back out at 3 or 4pm until dusk.  Those are the best time to see the animals, also as they take naps mid-afternoon, too! 

Basically, you can't avoid crowds at the popular destinations but you can reduce being in them if you do a little planning.

Have a good trip!

[solo318]

Back to the planning stages. It looks like we will be staying 2 nights in July. the 10th and 11th. unfortunately it's a weekend. so we are crossing our fingers.

Does anyone have any video of the road in? I'm concerned about that, having never seen it. Have you guys been down it in a class 8 truck? My rig has road tires all the way around and doesn't have a locker in the diff.

I know there is a cell tower nearby, is the service for T mobile decent? We have to coordinate with some more people on the day we leave.

Sorry for the rookie questions, In Florida we don't have good options to boon dock.

 

 

[Grizz1]

I was out there this past summer. Did not camp there but took a drive out there in the Jeep. I think I have some video, let me look and if I find it I will post a link. It is an awesome place to boondocks as far as location there were a lot of people out there. Some big 5er’s and some big MH’s too along with smaller rigs. 

[solo318]

On 11/5/2020 at 10:50 AM, Grizz1 said:

I was out there this past summer. Did not camp there but took a drive out there in the Jeep. I think I have some video, let me look and if I find it I will post a link. It is an awesome place to boondocks as far as location there were a lot of people out there. Some big 5er’s and some big MH’s too along with smaller rigs. 

That would be awesome. We are going to try to stay in town until daybreak, then head out to the rim at first light.