this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2026
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Our national parks are our redeeming factor, but the current admin is trying to destroy even those.
Also, remote wilderness isn't really a thing here anymore either. Yeah there's a lot of open space in the west but most of it is owned by corporate conglomerates or utility companies, fenced off and signed "no trespassing." If you want to spend time in the wilderness it pretty much has to be in a park or on private property that either you own or have permission from the owner.
There's no real "commons" or "wilderness," every square foot is owned and/or managed by someone or some company or organization. Public lands are few and far between and those generally have rules about occupancy like "no camping" or "vacate before sunset."
That romantic vision of the "american wilderness" isn't really a thing anymore...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_lands_in_the_United_States
Most BLM and National forests lands are opened to dispersed camping. Of course there are still rules, but that's not wilderness meant in the sense of my comment. These are places you are allowed to be and truly be alone. You can hike into these areas and not have another human for 25+ miles if you pick the right spot.
Anyway your idea of rules for public lands doesn't reflect the reality of the majority of lands. National parks of course have the strictest use laws since their goal is complete preservation.
Ah yeah, most on that map is from the Rockies westward. I'm from the east coast so my perspective was informed by what I've observed around me.
And I didn't mean to imply that public lands shouldn't have rules for preservation, but it's more than just that. Most parks have designated camping areas and if you want to be there overnight you need to book a spot there. You can't just wander aimlessly and build a lean-to like you're John Muir or Henry Thoreau.
There are exceptions of course, for instance along the Appalachian trail you can just show up to a shelter area and if it's not full you can pitch a tent there.
But if you want to find a spot that you can't see or hear a road from, you're going to be hard-pressed to find one anywhere east of the Rockies.
Yes you can do that in almost all western BLM land.
Dispersed camping is free in most National forests in both the east and west. Although due to smaller lands there are fewer that are open.
Regardless you can just walk into most national forests and go as deep as you want. I highly recommend reading up on the rules more, there's a lot more recreation than you seem to think. The Northeast is probably the region with the least, but Maine and upstate New York do have some forests where dispersed camping is permitted