How to Receive Mail When Boondocking

Learn how boondockers receive packages and envelopes while living full time on public lands.

For starters, yes there are few different ways boondockers send and receive mail when living without a street address.

Dog Canyon, NM, Bureau of Land Management

How to Receive Mail When Boondocking

Here’s how most full time boondockers and digital nomads send and receive mail…

Move Your Mailing Address to a Friend or Relative

The majority of digital nomads and full-time wanderers find someone whom they can rely on to receive mail and packages. This person will open up mail that looks important, photograph it, and text them the photos. They will either tell them to throw it away or set it aside. Once a month, all mail that was set aside is gathered up and mailed to them at a post office, UPS store, or Fedex store somewhere.

The Effect of Changing Your Mailing Address - Keep in mind that when you establish your friend or relative’s address as your own, you become a resident of that city, county, and state. This means you are required to register your vehicle(s) in that state after existing registration expires. You will file your income taxes with that state (if any). Your health care plan will require you to see physicians in that state. You will register to vote in that county, and you may be called for jury duty in that county.

South Dakota, Tennessee, & Wyoming - Because of this, most people choose friends or relatives living in South Dakota, Tennessee, or Wyoming. These states have no state income taxes and do not require vehicle smog checks, safety inspections, or VIN inspections.

States with no state income tax: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.

States with no smog, safety, or VIN inspections: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming.

Subscribe to a Mail Service

This is very similar to the above, except you’re hiring a company to do it for you. Most of these places have a website where you can log in and view photographs of your mail. Then you check the ones you want to keep, and they’ll forward it to any address you give them.

The state where your mail is being sent to will become your “state of residence”.

Popular mail services include…

• Traveling Mailbox - offers addresses in any state.

• iPostal1 - offers addresses in any state.

• Anytime Mailbox - offers addresses in any state.

• St. Brendan’s Isle - offers addresses in Florida.

• DakotaPost - offers address in South Dakota.

• MyRVMail - offers addresses in Florida.

• Escapees Mail Service - offers addresses in Florida and South Dakota.

Where to Receive Packages from Amazon?

Most people find a US Post Office, UPS Store, Fedex Store, or other local shipping service, located close to where they are camping, and have their shipments sent there.

• These services will all happily receive your package.

• Most will charge you a fee ranging from $1.00 to $10.00 per package (a few do it for free)

• The US Postal Service will accept “General Delivery” for free, but only for a limited number of shipments per location. See below for more details.

• Make sure to review the shipping details before making an online purchase. Many online retailers will send all shipments through one provider. For example, Fedex Express will not hand off packages to a Post Office for PO Box delivery, but Fedex Ground and Fedex Home Delivery will.

General Delivery

The US Postal Service offers “General Delivery” specifically for nomads. You can receive your package for free at any US Post Office.

• You don’t have to register with the US Postal Service to receive General Delivery.

• The post office will hold your package anywhere from 10 to 15 days, after which they will return it to the sender.

• You will be required to show a photo identification to accept your package.

• Important: Make sure when buying something online, you provide the same name on your photo identification, otherwise the post office will not give you your package.

To have your package sent via General Delivery, specify your mailing address as…

Your Name
General Delivery
City, State, Zip Code

• Just make sure the store you’re buying from will also ship using US Postal Service.

• Amazon.com will automatically ship using US Postal Service for all addresses entered as General Delivery.

Get a PO Box

If you’re planning to boondock somewhere for a few months or more, it’s worth just getting a PO Box at the nearest US Post Office location. Prices for these boxes are very cheap…

• Most post offices offer their smallest PO Box between $50.00 to $80.00, one-time fee, for three months.

• If you receive something that is too large to fit in that box, the post office just sets it aside and places a note in your box. You just stand in line to get your package. There is no additional charge.

• You can sign up for a PO Box online.

• The US Postal Service now offers, “Informed Delivery” which is a free service that photographs the exterior of your mail, allowing you to look at it through their mobile app. This way you’ll know when you have something to pick up.

• The biggest disadvantage to a 3-month PO Box is that you will be signed up for automatic renewal after the term expires. Hence, you have to make sure to cancel the service. 6-month and 12-month PO Boxes are not automatically renewed.

• Learn more about PO Boxes here.

Make Online Purchases from Walmart.com

Walmart.com is unique in that they will ship their orders to any of their stores. This way, shipping is always free, receiving the package is free, and you can specify a store closest to you.

• Another advantage is that Walmart will allow you to refuse the order on the spot if the order is wrong, or if damaged, or if you don’t need it anymore. Walmart will handle the return for you. You can settle the refund at the same store.

• Walmart’s online store has thousands of independent retailers that offer just about everything that Amazon offers.

• Shipping to a Walmart generally takes longer than Amazon, often by three to five days more.

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Boondocking Sites of the Week

Joe Skeen Campground, El Malpais, NM

Joe Skeen Campground, El Malpais National Monument, Grants, NM, (GPS: 34.9441, -107.8209), Technically a free, developed campground, approached by a paved highway and a short gravel road. There are about 10 sites with picnic tables, fire rings, and vault toilets. El Malpais NM is known for its vistas of tall rock formations and dozens of trails. Verizon signal is fair to moderate at the campground but can go completely out in other parts of El Malpais. Read the full review.

Cieneguita Campground, Las Cienegas NCA, Sonoita, AZ

Cieneguita Campground, Las Cienegas NCA, Sonoita, AZ, (GPS: 31.7645, -110.6313), This is a designated dispersed camping area located on flat desert scrub. There are seven “official” campsites, each with a numbered sign. The road in is well-packed and suitable for any vehicle. Verizon signal comes in moderate to good in most sites. You’re also close to the town of Sonoita and the Arizona Wine Country. Watch the full review.

Sacramento Pass Campground, Ely, NV

Sacramento Pass Campground, Bureau of Land Management, Ely, NV, (GPS: 39.1204, -114.3057), Another free, developed campground, this one offered by the BLM is located close to Great Basin National Park along eastern side of Nevada. With picnic tables, grills, and vault toilets, you can stay here for 14 days as you explore the Park, with a 45-minute drive into Ely for supplies. Read the full review.

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The Six Federal Agencies That Manage Recreation Lands

Most people know about the top three of these agencies: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the National Park Service (NPS).

The other three are: Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Confederate Campground, US Bureau of Reclamation, Canyon Ferry Lake, MT

Here’s a look at these six…

• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - manages the most acreage available for camping. However, all of its lands are located in the western states. BLM lands are mostly concentrated in Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, with California, Oregon, and Idaho having significant portions. The BLM has the fewest rules for dispersed camping, offering the most freedom. They also operate numerous national monuments and recreation areas. (View the BLM’s National Map)

• U.S. Forest Service (USFS) - this is the agency that operates all of the United States’ national forests and national grasslands. While most of their lands are also located in the western states, they still have several forests east of the Mississippi. However, most of the boondocking opportunities are in the west. The USFS employ more forest rangers than the BLM, but they tend to enforce them more diligently than the BLM. (View the USFS’ National Map)

• National Park Service (NPS) - the NPS operates the most spectacular and breathtaking landscapes in the United States, but unfortunately offers little to no boondocking. 90% of their camping opportunities are developed campgrounds with reservations and nightly fees. They also operate well over a hundred “national recreation areas”, which offer more dispersed camping opportunities. The NPS also offers “backcountry camping” in its national parks for hikers who want to tent camp, but most of this is still limited to specific sites and locations. (View the NPS National Map)

• Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) - The Army Corps of Engineers builds dams and manages reservoirs throughout the United States. Each of these “project areas” have recreation opportunities including campgrounds. Even though the ACOE is a branch of the military, these recreation areas are open to the public. Most of the campgrounds require reservations and nightly fees. But they still have many that are free, including several areas where dispersed camping is allowed. (View the ACOE National Map)

• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) - the Bureau is similar to the ACOE in that they build dams and manage reservoirs, except their goal is to sell the resulting water supply and electrical generation. All of their properties are located in the western states, and each have recreational opportunities including camping. However, the USBR mostly outsources the recreation management to other federal, state, county, or city authorities. The USBR does operate a minority of their own campgrounds. (View the USBR National Map)

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - the USFWS operates all of the country’s National Wildlife Refuges. There are some 580+ refuges spanning 50 states. However, only about 10% of these refuges offer camping, and a smaller portion of those allow vehicle-based camping. Like the USBR, the USFWS outsources most of its camping and recreation to other agencies, though they do operate some of their own campgrounds. All of the campgrounds managed directly by USFWS are free. Those that require reservations and nightly fees are managed by other agencies. (View of list of all USFWS camping locations).