Wild camping or dispersed camping is the act of camping in areas other than designated camping sites. Typically this means open countryside. This can form part of backpacking (hiking), or bikepacking, possibly along a long-distance trail.
Wild camping or dispersed camping is the act of camping in areas other than designated camping sites. Typically this means open countryside. This can form part of backpacking (hiking), or bikepacking, possibly along a long-distance trail.
In Australia, wild camping may be referred to as "bush camping". The regulations differ by state. In New South Wales, some national parks permit bush camping. [1] In Victoria, bush camping is permitted in many, but not all, of the parks managed by Parks Victoria. [2] Additionally, bush camping is permitted in assessed parts of the Victoria's Crown water frontages, which are strips of Crown land 20 metres or wider lining waterways in Victoria. [3]
Camping outside of designated campsites is generally not permitted in national parks, provincial parks and cities in Canada. However it is typically allowed on Crown land, which covers 89% of the country. [4] Regulations for camping on crown land vary by province, for example Ontario, [5] Quebec, [6] British Columbia. [7]
Wild camping is legal in Finland, even on private property, as long as it leaves no trace and does not impede the privacy or other rights of the landowner. In Finnish, this is known as Jokaisenoikeudet or 'the everyman's rights'. [8]
Relevant legislation in New Zealand includes the Freedom Camping Act 2011 and the subsequent updated guidance for local authorities [9] which states "freedom camping is permitted everywhere in a local authority area unless it is prohibited or restricted in accordance with a by-law".
Wild camping is legal throughout Oman; tents can be pitched on public land. [10]
In Sweden, a right of public access – allowing outdoor recreational activity on privately held wilderness – is enshrined in the constitution. [11]
Although land access for outdoor recreation was improved in England and Wales with the introduction of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, there is still no assumed right to camp in open countryside without the landowner's permission. There are certain areas where it has traditionally been tolerated, such as Dartmoor National Park, [12] however in 2023 landowners challenged this access in the courts. [13]
In Scotland, following the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, people may camp on most unenclosed land, whether state or privately owned, provided they adhere to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Dispersed camping is the term given to camping in the United States on public land other than in designated campsites. This type of camping is most common on national forest and Bureau of Land Management land.
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers 954 km2 (368 sq mi).
The national parks of Scotland are managed areas of outstanding landscape where some forms of development are restricted to preserve the landscape and natural environment. At present, Scotland has two national parks: Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, created in 2002, and the Cairngorms National Park, created in 2003.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species, controls the release of non-native species, enhances the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and builds upon the rights of way rules in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Act is split into 4 parts covering 74 sections; it also includes 17 schedules.
Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or tarp, or no shelter at all. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or in a form of educational experience. Spending the night away from home distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.
Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping. The usage differs between British English and American English.
Algonquin Provincial Park is an Ontario provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Additions since its creation have increased the park to its current size of about 7,653 km2 (2,955 sq mi). The park is contiguous with several smaller, administratively separate provincial parks that protect important rivers in the area, resulting in a larger total protected area.
The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness or the "right to roam".
In England and Wales, excluding the 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London, the right of way is a legally protected right of the public to pass and re-pass on specific paths. The law in England and Wales differs from Scots law in that rights of way exist only where they are so designated, whereas in Scotland any route that meets certain conditions is defined as a right of way, and in addition, there is a general presumption of access to the countryside. Private rights of way or easements also exist.
The mass trespass of Kinder Scout was a trespass protest at Kinder Scout in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, on 24 April 1932. The protest sought to highlight that walkers were denied access to areas of open countryside which had been fenced off by wealthy landowners who forbade public access. It was organised by communist leader and Jewish anti-fascist Benny Rothman, the secretary of the British Workers' Sports Federation and a member of the Young Communist League.
National parks of the United Kingdom are 15 areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape across the country. Despite their name, they are quite different from national parks in many other countries, which are usually owned and managed by governments as protected community resources, and which do not usually include permanent human communities. In the United Kingdom, an area designated as a national park may include substantial settlements and human land uses that are often integral parts of the landscape. Land within national parks remains largely in private ownership. These parks are therefore not "national parks" according to the internationally accepted standard of the IUCN but they are areas of outstanding landscape where planning controls are a little more restrictive than elsewhere.
Common land is collective land in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
The Countryside Code is a set of guidelines designed for use by both the public and land managers across England and Wales. It is titled as a guide for enjoying parks and waterways, coast and countryside. It was established in 2004 as a relaunch of The Country Code, which existed since the 1930s.
Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park located about two nautical miles east of Oak Bay on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is about one mile (1.6 km) long and one-half mile (0.80 km) wide and looks out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Joffre Lakes Provincial Park is a class A provincial park located 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Pemberton in British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1996, when Joffre Lakes Recreation Area was upgraded to park status.
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider range of users, including equestrians, hikers, and cyclists. Such paths are either impassable for motorized vehicles, or vehicles are banned. The laws relating to allowable uses vary from country to country.
Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultivated and unenclosed land has opened up since the enactment of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. In Scotland the ancient tradition of universal access to land was formally codified under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. In Northern Ireland, however, there are few rights of way, or other access to land.
Smith River State Recreational Waterway, popularly known as the Smith River State Park, is a protected river corridor and "virtual park" owned and operated by the state of Montana in the United States. The site is not officially a state park, but rather a State Recreational Waterway and managed River Corridor. The park consists of the state-owned Smith River; a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) put-in access point, Camp Baker; 27 FWP-owned and -leased boat camps on the shore of the river; and the FWP-owned Eden Bridge take-out point. Little of the area is owned by FWP. Much of the surrounding shoreline is owned by the United States Forest Service, United States Bureau of Land Management, and private owners. Through management agreements with other government agencies and private landowners, FWP manages the 58.9-mile (94.8 km) Smith River Corridor as a "virtual state park". The Smith River is the only river in the state of Montana where a permit is required to boat or float on the river.
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code provides detailed guidance on the exercise of the ancient tradition of universal access to land in Scotland, which was formally codified by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. Under Scots law everyone has the right to be on most land and inland water for recreation, education and going from place to place providing they act responsibly. The basis of access rights in Scotland is one of shared responsibilities, in that those exercising such rights have to act responsibly, whilst landowners and managers have a reciprocal responsibility to respect the interests of those who exercise their rights. The code provides detailed guidance on these responsibilities.
Alexander Frederick Clifford Darwall is a British landowner, hedge fund manager and millionaire. He is notable for having roles in several large investment companies, his donations to UKIP, the Leave Party, and for his continuing court case attempting to limit public access to Dartmoor.
The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that legislates for access to land within Dartmoor, an upland area in southern Devon, South West England.