The greatest freedom of traveling with your own vehicle is discovering wild, remote places and being able to set up camp there for a night… or longer, if it feels right! Being alone in the middle of nowhere. Turning a wild spot into your little “home.” Enjoying nature. Camping for free in the most beautiful places across the Americas. A road trip with your own vehicle means being free and self-sufficient. Having everything you need to camp out in the wild. And with that comes the incredible privilege of being able to stay where other tourists have to head back to their hotels at the end of the day. So, what are our most beautiful wild camps on the Pan-American Highway?
During our two-and-a-half-year road trip along the Pan-American Highway, we camped wild countless times. In every country we crossed, from Canada to Argentina, through El Salvador, Colombia, and Nicaragua. Between dreamy beaches, mountains, wind-swept plains, deserts, and tropical jungles, each country offered us incredible campsites. And every time, we felt incredibly lucky to call a little piece of the world “home,” even if just for a night, on the other side of the world.
And for the perfect wild campsites along the Pan-American Highway, what better than a rooftop tent? When nature is calm and silent, when the landscape is vast and stunning, when the weather is mild and the view takes your breath away, the rooftop tent is the ultimate choice. It allowed us to live in harmony with nature, to fully enjoy peaceful and gentle moments, to listen to the sounds of the night and feel the cool breeze softly rustling the canvas. What better feeling than sleeping with the windows open, soaking in the atmosphere of the place? And when the sun sets on the horizon, when the silence of night takes over, and you know there’s no one else for miles around, that’s when the magic truly happens.
So, after more than two years of road-tripping from Alaska to Patagonia (and from Patagonia back to Alaska), we’re excited to share with you the most beautiful wild camps on the Pan-American Highway!
Camping in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
Sleeping in the Salar de Uyuni, what an incredible experience! If we had to choose one of our most beautiful wild campsites along the Pan-American Highway, it would undoubtedly be our night in the Salar de Uyuni. On December 30th, after crossing part of the salt flats, we set up camp in the heart of the salt desert. Far from any civilization, so remote that we even took a shower at the back of the Jeep. The evening was warm, bathed in the glow of the setting sun. We spent the night in the profound silence of nature. A simply magical evening followed by a sun-drenched morning that we will always remember.
Camping at the edge of a canyon in the United States
The White Rim is the 4×4 trail that crosses the incredible Canyonlands National Park. It plunges into the heart of the American West, through landscapes straight out of a Western: deep canyons, whimsical rock formations, and arid desert. It’s long and technical, so we did it in two days. This way, we had the immense privilege of camping in Canyonlands Park (permit required!). Alone in the canyon, facing a breathtaking landscape, we spent a peaceful night in our rooftop tent, lulled by the profound silence of the place. As a bonus, we had an incredible starry sky.
Camping on a paradise beach in Costa Rica
Alright, let’s be honest, we’ve found many stunning wild camps on the Pan-American Highway, including paradise beaches in Central America 🌴. But to pick the most beautiful, let’s talk about Zapotillal Beach on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. A bumpy, flooded track leads to a deserted beach. Our Jeep allows us to drive on the sand and set up camp away from it all. With the wheels in the sand, the rooftop tent unfolded facing the Pacific Ocean. A stunning sunset as the backdrop, crabs running between our bare feet. Swimming at any time of the day -and night- and nights with all windows open, lulled by the waves. In short, an incredible campsite we stayed at… well, we lost track of how many nights we spent there! 😁
Wild campsite in the heart of the American West
The Moab region in Utah is an overlanding paradise. We’ve passed through several times, and each time, we’ve found dream campsites. That evening, a 4×4 trail led us to a breathtaking view with the Colorado River deep down in the canyon. We decided: tonight, we’ll camp in the heart of the American West! Utah, in the middle of July, 38°C (100°F) in the shade, a blazing sun. There, completely alone, we took a refreshing shower facing the view, then ate dinner facing the view, did the dishes facing the view, brushed our teeth facing the view, watched the stunning sunset, and spent the last moments of daylight outside… facing the view. In short, an incredible landscape, a warm evening, and a gentle night… facing the view.
Camping in a riverbed in Alaska
Riverbeds are always among the most beautiful campsites we’ve had. And in Alaska, there are plenty of them! Near the small fishing port of Seward, on the stunning Kenai Peninsula, lies one of our favorite camping spots in Alaska. However, it’s a very well-known place among travelers. You have to be willing to venture a bit further along the river to find a more secluded spot. We spent several nights there, both on the way up and again on our return, when we came back to Alaska two years later. Whether with friends around a campfire or just the two of us, we always had wonderful evenings.
Camping at the southernmost point in the world in Patagonia
Ah, there are wild campsites along the Pan-American Highway that stand out more than others. And this one is undoubtedly a memorable one. At the southernmost tip of Argentina, beyond Ushuaia, there’s a track that leads to the southernmost point in the world accessible by road. That’s where we camped, in the hostile and wild lands of Patagonia. And because it was such a memorable milestone on our Pan-American journey, we popped open the champagne and toasted, facing the ocean! Then, to celebrate, we plunged into the Antarctic Ocean for a freezing but unforgettable swim. A campsite in Patagonia that will remain etched in our memories… and in our hearts.
Wild campsite with flamingos in the Sud Lípez region of Bolivia
The Sud Lípez is, in our opinion, one of the most beautiful regions in the Americas. Full of colors, textures, colorful lagoons, vicuñas, and flamingos, we spent a week exploring its rugged and dusty tracks. Camping in the Sud Lípez with complete autonomy is an incredible privilege, knowing that most tourists come on organized tours and only pass through. For days, we strung together dream campsites where we were completely alone in the world. The most beautiful, however, was probably the one we spent facing the Cañapa Lagoon. The weather was pleasant, the wind had – somewhat – calmed down, everything was peaceful, and there was no one else around except for dozens of flamingos fishing in the lagoon. We spent the evening and night lulled by their clucking, and we loved it!
Wild campsite facing the Pacific Ocean in Chile
Watching dolphins from the campsite? A dream! Chiloé Island in Chile is a wild land at the end of the world, where camping in nature is easy to do. In fact, several times, we camped by the beach, facing the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. While cooking or freshening up, we spent the evening and then the morning watching for dolphins that come to fish near the coast, sometimes very close to the shore! What an immense privilege to be able to camp facing the ocean!
Camping facing the mountains of the Great North in the Yukon
Is there a more beautiful place on Earth than the Great North of the Americas? Not sure! We fell in love with the Yukon and Alaska, vast and wild territories where Nature still reigns supreme. Up there, where there are so few dwellings, so few humans, and so few towns and villages, it’s easy to find incredible places to camp. Just explore a bit, take that small track off the main road, do a little off-roading, avoid the bears and moose that inhabit the area, and bam: a dream campsite at the end of the trail! This time, it was in the beautiful Kluane National Park in the Yukon.
Bonus: Our Worst Campsite on the Pan-American Highway
The reality of a road trip lasting over two years is that not every night is magical. Sometimes, what seems like a perfect evening can quickly turn into a nightmare. We spent a very hot evening beneath the coconut trees, ending with a final swim in the warm Caribbean waters. As the sun set, night fell on our beach. Everything seemed perfect for a peaceful night by the waves. But we hadn’t counted on the black flies—tiny biting insects that attacked relentlessly and managed to sneak through the mosquito net. The result: dozens of bites and a sleepless, suffocating night in the Caribbean humidity.
We spent 847 nights on the road. So when it comes to wild camps on the Pan-American Highway, we could name dozens! And without a doubt, even if comfort in a Jeep is pretty basic, this kind of setup, with a rooftop tent, is in our opinion the best way to fully enjoy wild camping in the heart of nature.
