Can you claim land out in the wild?

[Damon]

This may be a dumb question, but could you go out into the wilderness and claim a piece of land and actually live there? Or would you need to buy the land somehow? I'm just curious, because I've always wondered about how some people lived out in the woods. Do they own the land? Can you claim land if it's now owned by anyone? 

[James]

It is all owned by someone. Public land though is how those people go out and live in the middle of nowhere. You do need to keep moving though otherwise the forest service will likely move you along. 

 

[Sophia]

Usually land that doesn't appear to be claimed is owned by the state or a local wildlife protection agency. If they were to catch wind of anyone trying to built a house on this kind of property, they would kick you out. 

[StanleyZEN]

Yeah I don't think it's easy to live out in the boonies. You could, but eventually some government stooge will find out and you'll be forced off that land. I don't think any state/government owns the lands, they just protect it. A lot of land out there is also protected land, so you can't just go in and build atop it. 

[Stacey]

If you are part Native American, you might have rights to some land but that is the only way I can think of. It is worth looking into. I think you have to be at least 20% Native in most states. 

[Quinten]

Yeah I don't think that sort of thing would work these days. I think it'd be cool to be able to claim any bit of land, but if that were to be possible, I bet we'd have tons claiming lands they have no right to. 

I agree with Stacey, maybe native Americans can pick and choose their land, but I doubt even that these days.