In the east, at least east of the Mississippi, there are few public lands that you can just stop and stay on, if you are referring to that kind of boondocking. There are many public campgrounds and of course private ones, so there is no shortage of places to stay, just not like the dispersed camping of the west.
City, county, and state campgrounds along with COE make up the vast majority of campgrounds. Florida has campgrounds many have never heard of, operated by the
Florida Water Managment Districts. Texas (well, not east as I defined above but still east of the Rockies) has campgrounds such as those operated by the
Trinty River Authority, and sometimes you will find even Federal campgrounds you really don't expect, such as
the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge campground which is a very nice, managed campground with hookups, restrooms and showers, etc, but is still first come, first serve (which is hopefully where you will find me a year from now for the solar eclipse, as it is on the center line of the
path of the eclipse). Who ever thought you could camp in a NWR?
In Georgia,
the Georgia Power Company operates many recreation areas around the lakes that they own, including some very nice, reasonably priced campgrounds, and guess what?, the most stable power of any campground you will ever stay in. (transformers for every four or five sites). In Tennessee, you will find a similar situation with the
Tennessee Valley Authority.
Charles