Enjoy the Silence and Peacefulness of Boondocking

Sunrise as seen from my site.

This past summer while camping at Hahn in Spring Mountain, ID.  I had a very enlightening experience boondocking in total silence.

Waking up just before sunrise, I slipped out of the RV to await the sun rising over the distant mountain range. As I sat there, I realized there was only silence. There were no insects buzzing, no vehicle noise , no aircraft noise, or any sound coming from the RV. It was nothing but quiet. It seemed I was concentrating just to hear something, anything. Yet, no sound was present.

When I present my boondocking seminars, I have always touted the peaceful solitude of this type of camping. When you select a good site there is little, if anything, man-made to be seen from your campsite other than your RV. There are no buildings, no wires, no vehicles, no picnic tables, no fences, no trash, and no other RVs. Sometimes you can’t even spot an aircraft in the sky.

I like to tell my audience that when I am camped in places like this, I feel I am as close to God’s perfect creation as I will ever be. Experiencing total silence in a far removed solitude boondooking site as mentioned can really bring perspective to one’s life. I encourage RVers to seek out such a place at least once in their RVing experiences. Who knows, you may experience your own “aha” moment while your ears are straining.

To find a quite place to experience, without driving the two miles of rough dirt road to Hahn, here are a few suggestions:

• Visit forest service campsites (at the end or beginning of the camping season) during weekdays when
  you are likely to have the whole campground to yourself.
• Disperse camp at the end of a dead end forest service spur road far from the highway.
• Head to the desert southwest and find a dispersed camping site a couple miles off the
  freeway.
• Try winter camping at a sno-park location midweek when there is little likely hood of
  other RVs being present. The snow will help to muffle any manmade sounds and most
  animals will be snoozing the winter away, allowing you to experience total silence.

At total peace within your environment, one of the best adventures in RVing!

If you know of additional quite places to camp or have an outstanding quite experience of your own, please share.

Dave Helgeson

Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.