The Big Guide to Finding BLM And Forest Service Land for Free Camping

by Ryan Vagabundo

"BLM" took on a new meaning due to assorted protests and riots of the past decade, but prior to that it was understood to refer to the Bureau of Land Management (and is what the acronym means for the purposes of this article). 

Formed just after World War II, BLM's job is to maintain hundreds of millions of acres of federal land. A related agency, the Forest Service (USFS), maintains similarly large swathes of forest lands. Across much of this land, you are allowed to freely engage in "dispersed camping" for 14 to 16 days (at which point you generally have to move at least five miles, but can then camp for another 14 to 16). 

Some of these stretches of land are huge, but it can be tricky to actually get maps and directions to where exactly is legal and where the pockets of exceptions are, particularly when they border cities. Simple, detailed maps of local areas of BLM and Forest Service land are surprisingly tough to find. 

Thus this guide, which aims to clarify exactly where these "free camping" areas are and how to find them, and exactly what the rules are. 

A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF BLM & FOREST SERVICE LAND 

Let's start with a broad overview of where eligible land is, since it isn't present everywhere in the country.

On this map, yellow is BLM land and dark green is Forest Service. The smaller areas of more neon green are national park lands, which generally require you to pay for a pass to get in (if not also for a campsite). Red is Indian land, which you can generally drive through freely but aren't welcome to camp on (except for a few designated areas that you usually have to pay for). Blue is military land - steer clear!

As you can see from the map, BLM land almost entirely stops existing once you get east of Kansas. In the western states it's a lot of desert and mountain terrain that tends to be on the rough side (but can be quite peaceful, and also quite close to civilization). 

GENERAL RULES ABOUT BLM / FOREST SERVICE CAMPING

Each area has a local office that may have some additional special rules, but in general the agencies have similar rules and you can't really go wrong by following these guidelines:

* You have to move spots after 16 days, at least five miles away, and can return to a spot after 28 days have passed

* You have to be at least a mile outside of any designated (paid/developed) campgrounds the agencies might operate

* You need to be at least 100 feet from streams and water sources

* You can't dig trenches

* You may or may not need a permit for fires, check with the local office (though this is also often free and can be obtained online)

* Rangers may take property as abandoned if no one is around it for 72 hours, but it's definitely getting taken after 10 days

* Anticipate not being able to get a phone signal at a lot of these sites

* You're expected to pack out any trash when you leave a site

On that last note, most of these areas have no services whatsoever. Popular sites, like major trails through these lands, might have restrooms here and there. You might occasionally find a fire pit or table to sit at, but don't expect anything. There won't be any trash disposal, and you'll need a plan to handle water and food (likely hauling out your own). Every water source in these lands is considered potentially contaminated at this point (at least by Giardia if not worse stuff), so expect to have a good water filtration system with you if that's your hydration plan. 

Also, don't stress overmuch about your location - being in the "wrong spot" almost always just ends with a ranger asking you to move and pointing you to a better area (if any even notice). They only get hardcore with ecological destruction issues. 

FINDING YOUR WAY TO FREE BLM & FOREST SERVICE LANDS

Actually finding the boundaries of these lands is trickier than you might think. The agencies maintain maps, but they are NOT user-friendly, especially if you're looking for ways to drive in. It's hard to find a simple, clear map of areas colored to show exactly where the eligible land boundaries are down to the local street level (I would guess because private land or other agency use often intersects them a little here and there). It's so bad that an ecosystem of paid apps has popped up to make this easier, some popular examples are: OnX, Gaia GPS Pro, Avenza, Dyrt, and Overlander.

There are some free websites that approximate these features. The BLM site gives you at least a general idea of where their eligible land is. The Forest Service has a similarly broad map that marks and differentiates between "National Forest" (might have paid camping or restricted areas) and "Wilderness" (usually all free but no vehicles allowed) areas. Freecampsites.net won't necessarily show you BLM or Forest Service boundaries, but it does display wilderness areas with community notes on available camping and has a lot of otherwise helpful filters. Freeroam  is similar with a more general filter for public lands. 

You can also use the US Geographical Information Systems to see detailed land use information down to local streets and such, but it's really not friendly to beginners. The best thing to do with this is probably Google the name of the county you want information on followed by "open space maps", and hope they have a local interactive map or PDFs. 

DON'T OVERLOOK STATE AND COUNTY SYSTEMS

So far we've talked about the federal resources that span the nation's fed-owned lands, but some states have their own individual systems of public land that allow free camping. 

Look for "state forests" specifically, and "county parks" or "municipal parks." State parks are likely only going to have paid camping if any. One example of a state system that is good for this is the State Trust lands in Arizona, which just requires you to pay for one permit online that's good at all lands for the entire year ($15 for an adult or $20 for a family). 

County and local parks in smaller non-metro areas sometimes allow overnight camping but don't really advertise it online in any way. Freecampsites.net sometimes has notes from users on this aspect.

I WANT A PAPER MAP!

There aren't a lot of printer-friendly detailed local map options for printing out there, but if you want something that doesn't require internet access you might consider the Delorme Atlas & Gazetteer  for your state. These things are basically a super road atlas for each state aimed at providing outdoor trail and land information for hikers and campers along with the usual stuff for drivers. They generally cost around $25 per state for the latest edition but you can probably get away with using an older one (which seem to go for about $5-$15) since public land boundaries usually change little if any from year to year.