The Apps We Use and Why

UPDATED: 10/15/2025

We’ve been camping for a while now—not the RV park kind of camping, mind you. KOAs and full-service RV resorts have their place, but they’re just not our vibe. We prefer the quiet corners, the off-grid spots, and the kind of places where you can just chill, go for a hike, or sit around and read a book.

As a self-proclaimed techie, I love efficiency, planning, and—yes—apps. Whether it’s finding a hidden gem of a campsite or streamlining our setup, the right tools make all the difference. In this post, I’m sharing some of the apps that have become essential to our camping lifestyle.

What You'll Find Here

• The first section covers functional apps that help with logistics and planning.

• The second dives into discovery—how we find campsites when we’re not relying on First Come, First Served spots like those along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A Quick Note  Many of these apps are useful nationwide, though a few are specific to North Carolina. All are available on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. We’re not sponsored or endorsed by any of them—just sharing what’s worked for us in hopes it helps you too.

Functional:

RV Life - This is our go to app! As opposed to other apps, we did pay for the Pro subscription on this one because of the volume of features. From finding campsites and scheduling trips, locating gas on the road, checking reviews, to making it trips. You can even plug in the dimensions of your rig and it will plot a safe route and keep you away from low underpasses or tunnels. This app also has great detailed reviews of campgrounds including cellular coverage. Check it out! This will even give you Nav now on your vehicles HUD with Android Auto (Haven't tested an Apple).

Waze - Step one of camping, you have to get there right? Waze has been a great app for us, not just in driving to / from camping trips, but in our daily commutes and other trips. In our last trip there was heavy construction in our path. Waze actually changed courses and saved us time and gas from sitting in traffic.

BringFido - We have two pups, so when we are camping and want to go find a good coffee shop or somewhere local to eat when we venture out BringFido is a must have. We can quickly find canine friendly places.

GasBuddy - This free app shows the best fuel prices near you in real-time. We don’t use their Gas Buddy credit card, but the app does come in handy when we are checking fuel prices. It works in both the US and Canada.

CampSpots!

Recreation.gov - Our go-to app for booking sites when staying at federal government sites.

NCParks.gov - Because we live in NC and camp a lot in this great state, this is our primary site for state parks and other sites. Everything from boondocking to full hook-ups.

RV Parky - Overnight Dry Camping! Several businesses including casinos, Cracker Barrel, Camping World and even fraternal lodges allow overnight parking. The RV Parky app lists those that do.

North Carolina State Parks - Google My Maps - A great visual of all NC State Parks. We use this view a lot when we want to go to a certain area, or we are chasing to cooler / warmer temps. You can easily customize this kind of view for your area or wherever you want to camp.

Campspot - Great site for finding any type of campsite you want. You are able to search the items you require and find everything from quiet little campgrounds to RV Parks.

The Dyrt - Great site for looking up all kinds of campsites, good global map.

HipCamp - We absolutely LOVE HipCamp. A lot of these sites are on private land, great hosts, and near places that you want to visit without having to deal with campsites and RV parks. Some have hook ups but a lot that we have encountered are boondocking.

FreeRoam - FreeRoam is a 501(c)3 non-profit seeking to connect campers with nature in a sustainable way. It has a great list of sites and is constantly growing.

App - Tool Specific:

Because we boondock we use solar, and our Renogy apps are critical for us. We also have a back up camera that we use to back in as well as when driving (shows me anyone in that blind-spot. So we linked those below.

Renogy BT - Bluetooth connect app to monitor our solar panels, battery charging and charge controller.

Key Ring - Reward Cards - Key Ring keeps all your loyalty reward cards in one place. No need to attach those silly little cards to your key ring or fill up your wallet, just get this simple little app. It can alert you of sales and coupons, create shopping lists and help you find nearby deals. You can even store health insurance and library cards in here to cut down on clutter. The app is free and available for both iOS and Android.

AllTrails - This is THE GO TO if you like to hike. With both online and offline trail mapping, GPS tracking allows you to follow along on the trail, and you can even print trails.