National Forest Camping, How Long Can You Stay?

Choose which forest to boondock in by looking at them all in one scroll and seeing their maximum lengths of stay.

14 days is the most common answer people give when asked how long you can boondock at a national forest. But some national forests give you as much as 30 days, while others give only 5 days. You can always visit each forest’s website to find out, but most USFS websites bury this information, making it tough to find.

So, I combed through each forest’s website and found its occupancy rules…

Boondocking at Flaming Gorge, Ashley National Forest, Wyoming

Below is just an overview of the maximum stay for each forest and grassland. On my website I have also published the actual text of the rule, including effective and expiration dates, and a link to the actual forest order declaring the rule [click to see the full table of details here]

30 Day Limit

Tongass NF (AK), Ouachita NF (AR/OK), Ozark NF (AR), St. Francis NF (AR), Kisatchie NF (LA), Bienville NF (MS), De Soto NF (MS), Delta NF (MS), Holly Springs NF (MS), Homochitto NF (MS), Tombigbee NF (MS)

21 Day Limit

Plumas NF (CA), Stanislaus NF (CA), Olympic NF (WA), Chequamegon NF (WI), Nicolet NF (WI)

18 Day Limit

Clearwater NF (ID), Idaho Panhandle NF (ID/WA), Nez Perce NF (ID)

16 Day Limit

Kootenai NF (ID), Hiawatha NF (MI), Huron NF (MI), Manistee NF (MI), Ottawa NF (MI), Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF (MT), Bitterroot NF (MT), Custer NF (MT), Flathead NF (MT), Gallatin NF (MT), Helena NF (MT), Kootenai NF (MT), Lewis & Clark NF (MT), Lolo NF (MT), Ashley NF (UT/WY), Dixie NF (UT), Fishlake NF (UT), Bridger-Teton NF (WY), Medicine Bow NF (WY), Shoshone NF (WY), Thunder Basin NG (WY)

14 Day Limit

Chugach NF (AK), Bankhead NF (AL), Conecuh NF (AL), Talladega NF (AL), Tuskegee NF (AL), Apache-Sitgreaves NF (AZ), Coconino NF (AZ), Coronado NF (AZ/NM), Kaibab NF (AZ), Tonto NF (AZ), Angeles NF (CA), Butte Valley NG (CA), Cleveland NF (CA), Humboldt-Toiyabe NF (CA/NV), Inyo NF (CA/NV), Klamath NF (CA), Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (CA/NV), Lassen NF (CA), Los Padres NF (CA), Mendocino NF (CA), Modoc NF (CA), Rogue River NF (CA/OR), San Bernardino NF (CA), Sequoia NF (CA), Shasta-Trinity NF (CA), Sierra NF (CA), Siskiyou NF (CA/OR), Six Rivers NF (CA), Tahoe NF (CA), Arapaho NF (CO), Comanche NG (CO), Grand Mesa NF (CO), Gunnison NF (CO), Pawnee NG (CO), Pike NF (CO), Rio Grande NF (CO), Roosevelt NF (CO), Routt NF (CO), San Isabel NF (CO), San Juan NF (CO), Uncompahgre NF (CO), White River NF (CO), Apalachicola NF (FL), Ocala NF (FL), Osceola NF (FL), Chattahoochie NF (GA), Oconee NF (GA), Boise NF (ID), Caribou NF (ID/WY), Payette NF (ID), Salmon-Challis NF (ID), Targhee NF (ID/WY), Shawnee NF (IL), Hoosier NF (IN), Cimarron NG (KS), Daniel Boone NF (KY), White Mountain NF (ME), Chippewa NF (MN), Superior NF (MN), Mark Twain NF (MO), Croatan NF (NC), Nantahala NF (NC), Pisgah NF (NC), Uwharrie NF (NC), Cedar River NG (ND), Little Missouri NG (ND), Sheyenne NG (ND), Nebraska NF (NE), Oglala NG (NE), Samuel R. McKelvie NF (NE), White Mountain NF (NH), Carson NF (NM), Cibola NF (NM), Gila NF (NM), Kiowa NG (NM), Lincoln NF (NM), Santa Fe NF (NM), Finger Lakes NF (NY), Wayne NF (OH), Black Kettle NG (OK), Rita Blanca NG (OK/TX), Columbia River Gorge NSA (OR/WA), Crooked River NG (OR), Deschutes NF (OR), Fremont NF (OR), Malheur NF (OR), Mount Hood NF (OR), Ochoco NF (OR), Siuslaw NF (OR), Umatilla NF (OR/WA), Umpqua NF (OR), Wallowa-Whitman NF (OR), Willamette NF (OR), Winema NF (OR), Allegheny NF (PA), Francis Marion NF (SC), Sumter NF (SC), Black Hills NF (SD/WY), Buffalo Gap NG (SD), Fort Pierre NG (SD), Grand River NG (SD), Cherokee NF (TN), Angelina NF (TX), Caddo NG (TX), Davy Crockett NF (TX), LBJ NG (TX), McLellan Creek NG (TX), Sabine NF (TX), Sam Houston NF (TX), Manti-La Sal NF (UT), Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF (UT), George Washington NF (VA), Jefferson NF (VA), Green Mountain NF (VT), Colville NF (WA), Gifford Pinchot NF (WA), Mount Baker-Snoqualmie NF (WA), Okanogan NF (WA), Wenatchee NF (WA), Monongahela NF (WV), Bighorn NF (WY)

10 Day Limit

Eldorado NF (CA), Sawtooth NF/NRA (ID)

7 Day Limit

Prescott NF (AZ)

5 Day Limit

Bridger-Teton NF, Blackrock Ranger District (WY), Bridger-Teton NF, Jackson Ranger District (WY)

Occupancy Rules Change Often

Some national forests change their occupancy rules often, some as frequently as every year based on visitor trends and abuse. The 5-day limit for Bridger-Teton NF, Blackrock and Jackson Ranger Districts, is located outside of Jackson (Hole), WY, where everyone seems to want to go every summer. It used to be that area had the same 16-day limit as the rest of Bridger-Teton.

Occupancy Rules on Return

Many forests also address the issue of campers returning to the same site. For example, Willamette NF in Oregon issues the following rule…

Camping, occupying, or otherwise leaving camping equipment and/or related supplies at any locations on the Willamette National Forest described in this order, overnight, for a period longer than 14 calendar days, in a 30-day period. Occupant must move off the Forest after 14 days; return to the Forest must not occur before 30 days have passed. Camping, occupying, or otherwise leaving camping equipment and/or related supplies at any locations on the Willamette National Forest described in this order, overnight, for more than 50 calendar days total within a 365-day period.

Other forests will state that you can still camp within their forest after 14 days, but you have to move your camp anywhere from 1 mile to 10 miles.

Enforcement is a Different Matter

Even though each forest and grassland have occupancy rules, enforcement of the rules tends to be lax. This is particularly true in forests with 14-day stays or longer. Meanwhile, forests with shorter maximum stays tend to enforce them more strictly.

If you’ve stayed past the maximum occupancy limit, it’s rare for a forest ranger to knock on your camper door. Most rangers are busy dealing with bigger issues like fires, OHV riders, tree cutting, even marijuana farms. Campers staying beyond their welcome is usually the least of their worries.

Still, 14 days is usually the longest most recreational boondockers care to remain settled in one place. Most campers tend to run low on water by then and are close to topping out on their sewage tanks.

For more discussion about national forest boondocking [click to see the entire archive of tutorials]

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Boondocking Sites of the Week

Schnebly Hill Road, Coconino NF, Munds Park, AZ, (GPS: 34.9079, -111.6442)

Schnebly Hill Road, Munds Park, AZ

Located right off I-17, about 30 minutes south of Flagstaff, this road is filled with dispersed camping sites, enough to accommodate a couple-dozen campers along a 5-mile stretch towards Schnebly Hill Overlook. The road itself actually continues down into Sedona, AZ. Most sites are shaded by tall pines. It’s also a popular place for OHV riders. Read review on FreeRoam.

Lower Portneuf River Sportsmans Access, Idaho Department of Fish & Game, Lava Hot Springs, ID, (GPS: 42.6432, -112.0052)

Lower Portneuf River Sportsmans Access, Lava Hot Springs, ID

The best place for free camping near Lava Hot Springs, ID, there’s enough room for a dozen or more RVs here, though it’s common to see 30 to 40 campers packing in on holiday weekends. You’re only 2 miles from downtown Lava Hot Springs where you can relax in naturally heated mineral spas. The biggest downside is the freight train running past the area every few hours. Read reviews on FreeRoam.

Stewart’s Point Dispersed Area, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Overton, NV, (GPS: 36.3765, -114.3962)

Stewart’s Point, Lake Mead, Overton, NV

Located on the banks of Lake Mead, this is a designated dispersed camping area, and is free with a generous 15-day camping limit. It’s a large area with enough room here for as many as 100 RVs, though there’s rarely that many there. The road in mostly paved with just a short strip of hard-packed gravel. The town of Overton is only 15 miles away. Read reviews on FreeRoam.

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Camping at an LTVA

Beginning every September 15, the Bureau of Land Management opens up its “Long Term Visitor Centers” (LTVAs) in Southern California and Arizona. These are effectively “designated dispersed camping areas” spread out across the desert.

What makes them so attractive is that you can stay for as long as 7 months at a time and move to other LTVAs during that period. It only costs $180.00 for a 7-month permit, which works out to about $0.85 per day.

Hot Springs LTVA near El Centro, CA

They are very popular with snowbirds from Canada and the northern states.

• Hot Springs LTVA (located by El Centro, CA) is the most unique in that it includes a free hot spring. Campers migrate their way into two concrete pools and soak in 90-100 degree F water through the night. There’s also a spigot to fill your jugs with mineral water straight out of the ground.

• La Posa LTVA (located in Quartzsite, AZ) is where the big boondocking shindig happens every January.

• There is a total of eight (8) LTVAs throughout California and Arizona.

All LTVAs are primitive, with no numbered sites. You pay at the entrance, and then pick out a plot of land somewhere. Most LTVAs have trash dumpsters, only one (Imperial Dam LTVA) has sewage dump.

[Click to read the full details about boondocking at an LTVA]

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