The other thing he built

Ultimate Campgrounds

The Ultimate US Public Campground Project

One RVer came home from a trip in 2008 with an idea: a list of every public campground in America. He kept at it for fourteen years.

public campgrounds on the list by 2022

The 2013 app icon: his Lazy Daze parked above the Pacific at Kirk Creek, with a yellow sign reading The Ultimate U.S. Public Campground Project
The app icon. That's his Lazy Daze at Kirk Creek, CA.

Mile markers

How the list grew, by the counts the project gave at the time.

  1. perhaps 5,0002008

    A plain list of GPS points and names

  2. 13,850May 2011

    First map, on wxtoad.com

  3. 15,720Nov 2011

    Its own web address

  4. 19,000+2014

    Banner on the website

  5. 42,900+2020

    Now with Canada

  6. 46,500+2022

    Handed to Garmin

How it began

"I had no idea that the US Forest Service has over 5000 campgrounds"

In 2008 he and Liz made an eight-month circuit of the United States in the Lazy Daze. Along the way they kept finding campgrounds run by cities, counties and utilities, places no directory bothered with. Here is how he told it on his FAQ page:

"When we got home, I decided I wanted to build a list of public campgrounds, not only for my own use, but also to share with others."

He started by merging every campground list he could find on the internet. Then he found that many of the coordinates were wrong, so he checked them one by one in Google Earth and two GPS programs. Then came the printed camping guides, and hundreds of websites.

"In all, it's taken three years to build the list to its current 15,700-plus entries."

From his 2011 FAQ page

The Ultimate US Public Campgrounds Project

Welcome to the largest database of public campgrounds you'll find anywhere. It contains locations and other data on over 13,850 public campgrounds in the Continental US. It includes federal (COE, NP, BLM, USFS, USBR, TVA), state, county, municipal and utility-operated CG's.

The 2011 clickable map of the lower 48 states

Click on a State to see all Public Campgrounds in that State
This site is maintained by WxToad.

The first home of the project, rebuilt from the copy the Internet Archive saved in May 2011. See the saved original.

2008 - 2022

The road it took

  1. 2008

    The idea

    An eight-month loop of the country, and a plain list of GPS points that came home with them: perhaps 5,000 campgrounds.

    A GPS unit in front of a globe, from the project's website
  2. May 2011

    On the map

    The list got a clickable map, as a page on his own website, wxtoad.com. On 8 May 2011 a member of a motorhome owners' group passed it along: "Seems to be a nice map of public campgrounds." It is the earliest mention we could find anywhere.

    The 2011 map of the lower 48 states
  3. Nov 2011

    Its own address

    The project moved to ultimatecampgrounds.com, with 15,720 campgrounds, on a website built by Geoff. The map was free. The full list, ready to load into a GPS, was sold for a few dollars a year to cover the web hosting.

    The website banner: Over 19,000 POI's. Download now! Only $6.95. Locate on map for free!
  4. 2013

    There's an app for that

    With Bill writing the software, the list became an iPhone and iPad app, then a Mac app.

    The 2013 app icon
  5. 2015

    Android, Canada and the military

    Geoff built the Android apps, and along came a Canada edition and a U.S. Military edition for the base FamCamps. The free web map took in Canada too.

    The three app badges: US Public, US Military and Canada
  6. Later

    Inside Garmin's GPS units

    Garmin built the list into its RV and overland GPS units, under the name Ultimate Public Campgrounds. On the dashboard of many an RV, his list was the one doing the finding.

  7. 2020

    Seventeen books

    The list went into print: 17 paperback volumes with over 38,000 camping areas, state by state.

  8. 2022

    The end of the road

    After 14 years the website and apps closed, and the whole list, over 46,500 places, went to Garmin.

    The final app icon, 2022

The legend

Every kind of public campground had its own sign

Forest Service, Corps of Engineers, county parks, city parks, utility companies, even boat-in camps along the wild rivers. The apps drew each one with its own little icon. Here is part of the set, as it looked on the website's legend page.

The Android app's list of icons and abbreviations

On the road

What it looked like in your hand

The Android app searching around Lincoln, NH: Gale River Road dispersed camping in the White Mountain National Forest
Searching around Lincoln, NH, a few miles from the inn where he grew up
The free web map around Lake Erie, with a pop-up for Portage Lakes State Park, Ohio
The free web map, with the details for Portage Lakes State Park, Ohio
A how-to page for the iPhone app's filters
The filters people loved: free only, electric sites, dump stations and more

Letters from the road

What campers wrote in

From the testimonials pages of the project's own website, 2011 - 2020. Over the years, campers left page after page of them.

I bought a GPS and downloaded your file the day before heading to Maine in my RV... It was dark... In your file I found a campground (Winslow ME City Park) about 20 miles away... The next morning we found ourselves in a really beautiful park... What could have been a terrible night became a beautiful memory.
Howard, ME
I have found quite a few places on your list already that I know about that I have almost never found listed anywhere else.
Brian R
Your site is the only one where I could get exact directions to Standing Indian USFS CG.
Nik, NC
We stopped at the very small town of Exeter, NE... Exeter had a city park three blocks from us with two concrete RV sites with 50-amp electric for only $10/night! We were the only ones staying that night.
Mike, in a Lazy Daze, NE
Wow, thanks for creating that web site. It is awesome..... Totally awesome. I am blown away... Your site included all my "secret" places.
Mike
Ted doesn't know I'm about to advertise for him, but his App for public campgrounds is SO awesome that I gifted it to my RV'ing Dad... When you see the Lazy Daze on his app, select that app.
tessahill22
This year on the road total of close to 100 days alone, the app repeatedly saved my life by finding the best public camping. Greatest app out there.
Judi
It is a brilliant app. We are Brits traveling in our own RV 6 months a year and find it invaluable.
Graham, UK
Thank you sooooo much for your app! It was the best $4 I ever spent and have recommended it to others!
Katjo
As a full time RV-er, I just had to thank you... you make my day a little brighter each time I use you site. so here's a huge THANK YOU!
Doug
Ten years of looking at camping apps.....and Ultimate Campgrounds is the best!
RV Photog
Thank the HEAVENS for this app! ... This app has def saved me many times when I was in a pinch, and losing light! I almost don't want to share this app because it has the best sites on it.
Maurissa-Klaire
Perfect for my needs. It has the info I want and doesn't force me to suffer the info I don't want.
Anonymous
I think of this app as a "utility" more than an application. It isn't fancy or slick, but it is very good for finding PUBLIC campgrounds... Public campgrounds are great!
StudMuffinATX, TX
It is deceptively simple yet very useful, something few apps get right to such a degree.
Me-Pav
We are on a 11 state western tour in our 30 ft travel trailer and this is the only app I use.
Jim Bridges

Read them all in the saved testimonials pages

Time marches on.

We cannot always keep up, however, and sadly that applies to Ultimate Campgrounds. After 14 years we have come to the end of the road.

However, we are pleased to announce that our carefully-cultivated database of over 46,500 locations is being taken over by the folks at Garmin®. For several years Ultimate Campgrounds has been featured in a number of their GPS systems and is now being added to the Garmin® Tread® app.

Although our apps have been discontinued in the app stores, folks that already have the app can continue to use it for as long as they like. Just be aware that over time the data will slowly become less up-to-date.

Bill, Geoff and Ted all thank you for your continued support and contributions over the past 14 years and we hope we have helped you find some great places to pitch your tent or park your RV.

Bill, Geoff & Ted

The project's last home page, saved in June 2022

The send-off

When the news got around

Campers on the RV forums passed the word, and said thank you.

  • GREAT AP!!!! We have both the US and Canada versions...ALWAYS/EVERY trip we use it!ctb, Sportsmobile Forum, April 2022
  • This has been my go to app for finding public campgrounds over the years.routlaw, Oliver Owners Forum, July 2022
  • I always emailed them when I noted any inaccuracy and always got a timely response in appreciation of the input.Mike, Oliver Owners Forum, July 2022
  • Ultimate Campground's clean user interface always made it the most efficient trip and campground planning app I found.PeteM, Sportsmobile Forum, July 2022
  • I was happy to find Garmin had an interest in taking over the data, for it seemed a shame for it to just fade away.Ted, in a note shared on the forum, July 2022

Still on the road

Where it lives on

GarminLook for Ultimate Public Campgrounds in the search menu of Garmin RV and overland GPS units, and in the free Garmin Tread app.
17 booksThe Ultimate Public Campground Project, Volumes 1 - 17, from Roundabout Publications. Still recommended by RV writers in 2026.
2026Campers in Facebook groups and on the forums still name it as the one they miss, and the one with the best filters.
1Washington
2Oregon
3Idaho
4California
5Utah
6Arizona, Nevada
7Montana, North Dakota
8Wyoming
9Colorado
10New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
11Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota
12Minnesota
13Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
14Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri
15New England, New York, New Jersey
16Delaware to West Virginia
17Alabama, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas

The crew

Ted, the WxToad: the idea, the research and every one of the 46,500 entries, kept in his spreadsheets. Geoff: the website, the Android apps, and the scripts that read Ted's spreadsheets and made the files behind every app and map. Bill: the iPhone, iPad and Mac apps. Plus thousands of campers who sent in corrections and new places.

Design by Wistful World
Website design, from 2016
Site design by www.steamfolk.com
Website design, 2013
How the list got from Ted's desk to your screen
  1. Ted's spreadsheetsevery campground, checked by hand
  2. Geoff's scriptsread the sheets and built every file
    • The web map
    • GPS lists
    • iPhone, iPad & Mac
    • Android