Boondocking in Big Sky Country

Boondocking refers to camping outside of campgrounds without any hookups, while dry camping simply refers to camping with no hookups. In other words, all boondocking is dry camping, but not all dry camping is boondocking. When you stay at a campground with no hook-ups you are not boondocking. So, when we were staying at Standley Lake Regional Park or Devil's Tower National Park, that was dry camping.

Rather than relying on hookups, boondocking uses the RV's onboard fresh water (and holding tanks), electricity, and propane, meaning you have a finite amount of water and propane and must generate (or store) your own electricity. You and your rig are self-sufficient. Camping in undeveloped, primitive campsites basically means you pick where you camp. Imagine overlooking a valley where camping is allowed. You head into the valley and pick your spot. It's not marked, labeled, or reserved, and you didn't directly pay for it—though you might have paid to get "into" the valley. You picked it because it's level, close to the river, and sheltered by a large rock, and it has enough room to navigate your rig. Maybe there are signs of a rock ring from a previous camper or the last time you camped here. There are no services: no camp host, no quiet hours, no dump station, no hookups, no level pad to park on, no gazebos, and no restrooms

From Devil's Tower, Wyoming we departed on Friday morning, May 31, to drive north across the state border into Montana. Stopping for lunch at the Red Shale dispersed camping area in the Custer National Forest we discussed whether to drive on to Billings, Montana or stay the night there and boondock. It was a beautiful location and the smell of the Ponderosa Pines was a huge selling point for staying, but we opted to have a relaxing lunch break and continue on our journey.

Our route took us by the Little Big Horn Battle Monument in Hardin, Montana on the way to Billings. This is where General George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Calvary met their end during that famous, historic event. I decided to pass on stoppping while pulling the fifth-wheel. We arrived in Billings and thought about spending the night at the Cracker-Barrel restaurant like we did in 2022. We choose to run some errands like grocery shopping at Walmart and stopped for dinner out at the Pizza Ranch. We ultimately decided to stay in the parking lot at the Cabela's Sporting Goods store. Both business allow RV's to overnight and we thought the Cabela's would be better. It was the better choice in the end as we were with four other RV's parked in a very large, designated RV parking area next to the back of the warehouse. It was quiet and felt safe.

Saturday, June 1 was our check-in day for the Hipcamp venue we booked just outside of town. Before scheduling our arrival, we stopped by Pierce RV in west Billings and dumped our gray and black water tanks, filled up our fresh water and made a Costco run for more Keurig coffee pods. We got to the Hipcamp venue around 11:30 AM where Alex, the son of the owner, met us at the ranch gate to let us in and guide us to our site. As we drove the dirt road, we spotted a female Pronghorn in the field where we were headed. Suddenly we observed two pronghorn fawns race out ahead of the truck Alex was driving in front of us. They ran parallel to the dirt road and eventually turned to the left as we followed the road in the same direction. Mama started running to meet up with the two fawns who eventually figured out we had no nefarious intentions towards the wildlife. What an awesome introduction to the property!

This Hipcamp is located 4 miles north of Billings, MT with multiple sites in trees, overlooking the lake, in the rocks, or above buttes. For security purposes they meet you at the gate and take you to your campsite upon arrival. After that you can come and go at your pleasure.

There is a common area with a BBQ, fire pit, and picnic tables. This not an RV park, but an undeveloped, remote, down a single lane dirt road to a grove of trees. This is a legitmate .boondocking experience. It is as natural as possible. They warn you that you are camping with cows, coyotes, eagles, owls, deer, and antelope. The large tree area where we are located is about 3 acres and can accommodate 7 campers at one time. There only appears to be one other small, A frame trailer on the site with us.

It is serenely quiet with the occasional sound of birdsongs and their chirping. Tonight, if the sky is clear, I'm hoping to get a real star studded show in the heavens There is even a chance to see the Aurora Borealis this evening.