Private Land and Public Demand to Camp and Hunt

Written by HLRBO Staff| 11/25/2025

Public land is in high demand. Hiking, camping, and hunting are among the myriad activities Americans pursue on the nation’s 800+ million public acres. 

In many states, demand for public land now routinely overwhelms supply. Private land is becoming a release valve for some pursuits. 

A new law in California offers a template. AB 518 was signed last month, and it allows counties in the state to legalize private camping on rural land under a light regulatory framework. 

AB 518 was signed to expand camping supply and ease pressure on overbooked public campgrounds. In many states, hunting is at the center of a similar public-private land conversation.

Hunting Private Land

Unlike camping, hunting already operates on a simple, low-friction access model in most places. There is no permit bottleneck or costly compliance. Private hunting access is among the lowest-regulation outdoor recreation models in America.

Where camping can require zoning reviews, inspections, sanitation rules, and infrastructure mandates, hunting is largely free of constraints. Hunters must follow state licensing and season rules, but the landowner’s role is straightforward and largely unregulated.

A rural landowner almost anywhere in the U.S. can allow hunters on their property to pursue game. Marketplaces like HLRBO unlock private land opportunities, for landowners and hunters alike.

HLRBO is a national online marketplace that connects landowners who want to lease access with hunters looking for land. It standardizes listings, helps landowners set terms and pricing, and makes private access discoverable in a way that word-of-mouth never could.

“We are working to open up hunting opportunities in all 50 states,” said Heath Schubert, the founder of HLRBO.

Camping Access in High Demand

A recent article in Bay Nature, “New California Law Aims to Encourage Private Campgrounds,” cites surveys and data revealing crowding and frustration for camping in the state.

The article centers on the AB 518 law and looks at data from Hipcamp and The Dyrt, two popular camping marketplace apps, among other sources.

In some surveys, it was revealed that two-thirds of West Coast campers can’t book a site on public land because of high demand.

Public-land capacity is tapped out, and many government agencies are understaffed. States are scrambling to make private land part of the outdoor-access solution.

Fortunately for hunters, many of the cited issues in camping do not apply. Said Schubert, “Hunters don’t need to scramble if they know where to look.”

Schubert cited an open regulatory structure and a massive land base for hunters. But what’s missing is a connector between hunters and landowners to find each other. “That’s why we built HLRBO,” he said.

Private land marketplaces like HLRBO provide that missing link. They help landowners generate income that keeps habitat intact and divert pressure from crowded public lands.

As public land hits capacity, private land becomes a natural solution. Hunting has operated this way for decades, and now marketplaces like HLRBO can help make it work at a larger scale.