Finding a campsite inside a National Park is a pain in the ass. First, there’s permits which book out months in advance. Then, if you do manage to get one, your site is probably sandwiched between two others creating an experience far from primitive.

Don’t get me wrong, camping inside the park is great when you need the real estate and want to be close to trails for an early morning hike, but it’s not the kind of car camping I’m about. The good news is every National Park is surrounded by National Forest and public lands just waiting for a tent. Here’s how you find the National Park-quality campsites outside the borders.

Maps

“Look at a map. Real groundbreaking advice, Jim.”

You laugh but it’s not so obvious to everyone. Google Maps doesn’t usually label campgrounds and rarely distinguishes between reserved and first-come-first-serve sites. The trick is to find the park entrance on the map and look for the first road splitting off outside the park.

Check out the map above (click to zoom in). The first road leaving AZ-67 is way above the National Park, but a dirt road eventually winds back down to the edge of the Grand Canyon. Roads like that are your best bet and it’s how we found our site in the picture up top.

Ask Around

Park Rangers are a great resource for finding stellar views, but don’t stop there. We found our spot at the Grand Canyon by advice from a hitchhiker at Jacob Lake Inn. Last summer, a Sequoia National Park Ranger showed us all the best places on a map for camping in neighboring Sequoia National Forest (the campsite at the end of the video below).

Don’t be shy — ask anyone and everyone for help.

Wander

Even though we used Google Maps and had a good tip from a hiker, we still did a fair amount of wandering the back roads of the Grand Canyon for that perfect campsite. Forest roads are there for a reason and there’s a good shot that they lead to more sites.

Get Lucky

Sometimes the best campsites are the ones you find by pure luck. Just look at that map — the red represents all public land in the United States. If you’re camping west of the Rockies, you will find a spot. How good is that site? Depends on how much you’re willing to look and explore, but a little luck can go a long way in the outdoors.