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Dispersed camping · New Mexico

Carson National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days in any 45 on this forest, with some corridors limited to marked sites. The card below is the whole rule set — every line links the order or page it came from, and all of it was checked on .

14 days in any 45

Occupancy and Use Order 03-02-00-2023-03 (in effect May 31, 2023 - December 31, 2027) prohibits "camping for more than 14 days, whether or not consecutive, within any 45-day period." The forest's dispersed-camping page states the same: "No matter where you're camping, stay limits are in effect, prohibiting, 'camping for more than 14 days, whether or not consecutive, within any 45-day period.'" No move-distance requirement is stated.

Where you can camp

Designated sites in some areas

"Most of the Carson National Forest is open to dispersed camping, which is when you camp away from developed facilities and associated amenities such as bathrooms, picnic tables, and fire rings." "Permits are currently not required for dispersed camping, including for backpacking or entering wilderness areas." In the Valle Vidal Unit, a standing order prohibits camping near roads and waters (camping allowed in Cimarron and McCrystal campgrounds when open) - see seasonalClosures. source

Keep your distance

  • Recommended: 100 ft — Forest dispersed-camping page, Leave No Trace section: "Preserve fragile watersheds by camping at least 100 feet from lakes, ponds, rivers and meadows." Presented as Leave No Trace best practice, not an order - rendered as guidance. source
  • 2,640 ft — Valle Vidal Unit only (Order 03-02-07-26-09): no "camping on or within a half-mile of Forest Service roads (camping is allowed in Cimarron and McCrystal campgrounds when open)" - a keep-away rule, half-mile = 2,640 ft. Does not apply outside the Valle Vidal Unit. source
  • 300 ft — Valle Vidal Unit only (Order 03-02-07-26-09): no "camping within 100 yards of natural waters or within 300 yards of constructed waters" (100 yards = 300 ft; 300 yards = 900 ft). Does not apply outside the Valle Vidal Unit. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

Dispersed-camping page: "If you're car camping, you can only drive off the road in certain locations and by certain distances, as listed on motor vehicle use maps." The forest's MVUM page adds that MVUMs show "what roads you can drive off - and how far you can go - for dispersed camping and/or big game retrieval."

Fires right now

We don't watch this forest's fire orders yet — check its own site before you light anything. Here's what stage 1 and stage 2 mean when an order is up.

Closures and special orders

  • Occupancy and Use - Order 03-02-00-2023-03 The stay-limit order itself: no camping more than 14 days, whether or not consecutive, in any 45-day period, forest-wide. In effect May 31, 2023 - December 31, 2027.
  • Valle Vidal Camping Restrictions - Order 03-02-07-26-09 In the Valle Vidal Unit, prohibits camping on or within a half-mile of Forest Service roads (Cimarron and McCrystal campgrounds allowed when open) and within 100 yards of natural waters / 300 yards of constructed waters, "to protect wildlife habitat and comply with the intent of the New Mexico Habitat Protection Act." In effect March 25, 2026 - December 31, 2030.
  • Valle Vidal Annual Closures - Order 03-02-07-26-10 Prohibits "entering or being upon the restricted area" seasonally: the east side (including Cimarron Campground, McCrystal Campground and Shuree Ponds) closes January 1 and reopens April 1 for wintering habitat; the west side closes May 1 and reopens July 1 for elk calving.

Rules checked against the pages linked above — the full list is below the card.

Rules change by forest order and posted signage — confirm with the Forest Supervisor's Office, Taos at (575) 758-6200 before you go.

How to read these rules

Dispersed camping means camping outside a developed campground — no fee, no table, no toilet, no water. You pick an already-used spot, pack out everything you brought, and the rules above are the whole deal you're agreeing to. The stay limit counts the way the card says it counts, not the way it counts on the forest next door: some places count per spot, some across the whole forest, some inside a radius, and moving a short distance often doesn't restart the clock.

Distance rules come in two shapes. Keep-away rules ("at least 100 feet from water") protect the thing you're camping near; stay-close rules ("within 300 feet of the road") keep vehicles on ground that can take them. A line marked recommended on the card is the office's guidance, not an order — the rest are enforceable rules, and a posted sign at the site beats everything on this page.

The motor vehicle use map is the legal answer to "can I drive in there to camp" — if a road isn't on it, that road is closed to your vehicle, and many forests only allow roadside camping along the roads the map marks for it. It's a free PDF; download it before you lose signal.

Fires are a separate rule with a separate clock. Nothing on this page says you can light one — the card's fire line says where that answer lives today. If a fire is allowed when you get there, buy your wood near camp — hauling firewood from home is how tree-killing pests reach new forests, and the BTU chart says what that local bundle is actually worth.

Where these rules come from

Every rule above was read on the forest's own pages and orders on the dates shown — nothing here is borrowed from another forest or an old guidebook. The managing agency is U.S. Forest Service, Southwestern Region (R3).

Before you go