The BLM 14-28-25 Rule Explained
The Bureau of Land Management's rules on occupancy can be tricky to understand due to the nuances of the parameters.
Most boondocker’s understand that the Bureau of Land Management has a general occupancy rule of camping no more than 14-days. But there’s actually more to this rule.
Most BLM state offices and field offices apply the standard of…
“In undeveloped areas, you may camp for up to 14 days in a 28-day period before having to move at least 25 miles from your original spot.”
Translation: When you set up camp, a 28-day window starts. You’re allowed to camp up to 14 days within that window, anywhere within a 25-mile radius of that camp. You don’t have to use those 14-days consecutively, nor have to use them in the same campsite. Once you’ve exhausted those 14 days, you are not allowed to camp within that 25-mile radius until the 28-day window expires.
It sounds somewhat simple enough, but a lot of boondockers don’t camp for the full 14 days in a single place.
What Happens When You Move Your Campsite Around?
How many of you set up camp on BLM land, only to discover a few days later there is an even better place about a mile away, with better cell signal, more shade, and more privacy? You’d move your campsite, right?
So, what effect does this have on the 14-28-25 rule?
Well, if your move is within a 25-mile radius of your original campsite, then you are still bound to the 14-day max and the 28-day window of the original campsite. The only way to get a new 14-28 is to camp outside of the 25-mile radius, or wait for the 28-day window to expire.
Question: But what happens if you spent 10 days in one campsite, then moved to another campsite 40 miles away for 10 days, and then moved back to the original campsite? Do you still have 4 more days left on that original campsite, or does it reset because you moved beyond 25 miles?
Answer: The 14-28 of the original campsite continues to apply to that 25-mile radius. What happens when you set up camp on BLM land outside of the 25-mile radius is that you now have two sets of 14-28’s going. In the example above, you would still have 4 days remaining on the 14-28 of the first 25-mile radius, then after that 4-days exhausts, you still have 4 more days to wait until that 28-day window expires.
Question: If I set up camp somewhere for just one day, and the next day I moved to another site for the remaining 13 days. Is the 25-mile radius still based on the first campsite, or can it be based on the site where I spent the majority of my 14 days?
Answer: Technically it applies to the first campsite. But as long as a BLM officer or Sheriff’s deputy didn’t see you at the first campsite, you can easily count your second site as the main campsite.
Question: What if I set up camp at a site for 5 days, and then a friend of mine joins me. Does the 14-day rule apply to the campsite, or to each person separately?
Answer: The BLM has not addressed this yet. But it’s understood by most that the 14-28-25 rule applies to all persons together occupying the same vehicle, tent, or shelter. Thus, your friend would be limited to the remaining 9 days of your camp.
Question: But what if my friend camps in his own vehicle, would he be considered a separate campsite?
Answer: Yes. Again, the BLM hasn’t addressed the matter of individual persons moving in and out of a campsite on different days. But the best way to think of this is that the 14-28-25 rule applies to each separate vehicle or shelter.
Question: What if I set up camp on BLM land within 25-miles of another BLM state or field jurisdiction? Does the 14-28-25 rule still apply to entire 25-mile radius, or do I get a second 14-28-25 rule just for crossing boundary lines?
Answer: The BLM has not addressed this either. But it’s our understanding in that case, you get a second set of limits for crossing into another BLM jurisdiction, even if its within 25-miles of your original campsite. This is because each BLM jurisdiction can set its own occupancy rules, even though many jurisdictions adopt the same 14-28-25 rule.
For example, the BLM Tres Rios Field Office, which covers the south-western corner of Colorado, has a 14-30-30 rule (14 days max, 30-day window, 30-mile radius). The entire BLM Wyoming jurisdiction has a 14-28-5 rule (only a 5-mile radius).
Boondocking Sites of the Week
[See our Boondocking Map for more sites]
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Fritch, TX, (GPS: 35.6693, -101.6249), Located high in the Texas Panhandle is a large recreation area called Lake Meredith, operated by the National Park Service. There 13 free developed campgrounds there, with no reservations required, and 14 days of camping. But the entire NRA is open to boondocking, as long you’re within NRA boundaries. Read more about this site.
Crystal Forest Campground, Holbrook, AZ, (GPS: 34.7925, -109.8911), If you’d like to visit Petrified Forest National Park, there is a free campground located at the park entrance. It’s operated by Crystal Forest Gift Shop. The campground has eight (8) campsites, on level gravel pads and picnic tables, no hookups, and no reservations. Across the street is Petrified Forest RV Park, which costs $25.00 a night, if you want hookups. Watch a video about this site.
Leppy Pass Road, Bonneville Salt Flats, UT, (GPS: 40.7752, -113.9752), Yes, you can actually camp on Bonneville Salt Flats, on the lakebed itself, as long as they’re not racing there. But you’re better off camping from the surrounding roads simply because the salt crystals still stick to everything, and you’ll track it into your vehicle. There are dozens of spur roads leading off of Leppy Pass Road that you shouldn’t have a problem finding a site. Read more about this site.
Are e-Bikes Legal to Ride on Federal Lands?
In most cases, yes. But as with everything, it depends.
To make a few clarifications…
Federal land management agencies define e-bikes as those with electric motors intended assist pedaling, not to drive the bicycle itself.
Class 1 e-bike - One where the motor only activates during pedaling, and stops assisting when speed exceeds 20mph.
Class 2 e-bike - One where the motor can be activated by a throttle on the handlebars.
Class 3 e-bike - One where the motor only activates during pedaling, and stops assisting when speed exceeds 28mph.
The BLM, NPS, USBR, and USFWS
In 2019, the Department of the Interior issued an order (Order 3376) to four of its agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Fish & Wildlife Service, to amend their regulations allowing the public to use e-bikes in the same way that they can use non-motorized bicycles. This led to these four agencies to make the following rule changes…
Bureau of Land Management - The BLM amended its regulations for off-road vehicles by excluding e-bikes from the definition of an off-road vehicle [43 CFR 8340.0-5(5)], and specifically made an additional rule [43 CFR 8342.2(d)] that says users of e-bikes may be afforded all the rights and privileges of users of non-motorized bicycles.
National Park Service - NPS adopted a regulation [36 CFR 4.30(i)] that specifically allows e-bikes to be ridden in all the same places that non-motorized bicycles are allowed.
Bureau of Reclamation - The USBR amended its regulations for off-road vehicles [43 CFR 420.5(a)(7)] by excluding e-bikes from the definition of an off-road vehicle, and specifically made an exception allowing e-bikes to be treated the same as non-motorized bicycles.
US Fish & Wildlife Service - The FWS amended its regulation [50 CFR 27.31(m)] specifially allowing users of e-bikes to be afforded all the rights and privileges of riders of non-motorized bicycles.
Army Corps of Engineers
The ACOE has not made any rule amendments with respect to e-bikes.
Existing regulation [36 CFR 327.2(h)] states that “Vehicles shall be operated in accordance with applicable Federal, state and local laws.” As a result, many ACOE campground hosts have interpreted this to mean that e-bikes must be licensed and/or registered by the State since they constitute a “motorized vehicle”.
However, some ACOE Districts have issued rules that either ban or allow e-bikes, either across the whole district, or in specific areas. Read, “Are e-Bike Allowed on Army Corps of Engineers Campgrounds?” to see a list of these districts.
US Forest Service
The USFS has issued a statement saying that all three classes of e-bikes are legal to ride all on roads approved for street legal vehicles. However, they were careful not to say that e-bikes are legal on hiking trails and bicycle trails. It does not mean that e-bikes are illegal on trails, it just means there is no prohibition and no statement made. They have also left the matter to each forest and grassland to establish its own rules, and that the USFS will provide further details in the years to come. Read “Are e-Bikes Legal in National Forests?”
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