BLM Land
The biggest free-camping landlord in the west, and the one almost nobody has had explained to them.
The Bureau of Land Management administers hundreds of millions of acres, overwhelmingly in the western states, and most of it is open to dispersed camping for free. If you have seen a photo of a rig parked alone in open desert with a view and no neighbors, it was probably BLM land.
The rules are simple in outline and local in detail. The usual pattern is a stay limit measured in days per period, a requirement to camp on ground that is already disturbed rather than making a new spot, and a distance you have to move when your time is up. The specifics are set by the field office, not by the agency as a whole, which is why the answer to "how long can I stay" is genuinely different two valleys over.
The part that trips people is the boundary. BLM land is not a contiguous block. It is a checkerboard mixed with private parcels, state land, and other agencies, and there is frequently nothing on the ground telling you which is which. Knowing where the line is, is the actual skill.
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All guides →Everything on BLM Land
How much BLM land is near you?
It is not spread evenly. Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are largely federal land. Most of the east has essentially none, which is why free camping is a different game depending on which side of the country you are on. The state pages show what is actually there.
See the state data →Latest articles
Coming soon - Coming soonWhy public and private land alternate in square-mile blocks across much of the west.
What actually happens when tens of thousands of rigs park in the desert together.
The legal way to stay put for a whole winter on federal land.
Common questions
On most of it, yes. Dispersed camping on BLM land is generally free and needs no reservation, which is the single biggest reason free camping is easier in the west. The exceptions are developed campgrounds, which charge, long-term visitor areas, which charge a seasonal permit fee, and specific areas closed to camping. Check the field office page for the unit you are heading to.
Commonly 14 days within a 28-day period, after which you move a set distance. That is a pattern rather than a rule. Stay limits are set by the local field office and genuinely differ between units, and some are shorter in heavily used areas. We publish what we can verify per state and cite the source; where we have not confirmed it, we leave it blank rather than guess.
With a land ownership map layer, because the ground usually will not tell you. Much of the west is a checkerboard of federal, state, and private parcels with no fence or sign at the line, and camping on private land by accident is trespassing regardless of intent. The BLM publishes surface management maps, and the field office can tell you what is open.
An LTVA is a designated BLM area, mostly in Arizona and southern California, where you buy a seasonal permit and stay far longer than the usual dispersed limit. They are the legal answer to spending a whole winter in one place on federal land. They cost money, they have basic services, and they are busy, which is either the point or the problem depending on what you want.
Generally, with ordinary caution. The realistic risks are environmental and logistical rather than criminal: no water, no signal, roads that turn to clay when it rains, and a long way from help if something breaks. Tell someone where you are going, carry more water than you think you need, and know whether your vehicle can get back out of where you drove it in.