BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office Dispersed Camping Rules

14 days in any 30

BLM Colorado statewide camping rules: "You must not camp longer than 14 days in any 30-day period, at any one location"; after 14 days "you must move at least 30 air miles away" (Colorado supplementary rules, 75 FR 32968, via the BLM Colorado camping fact sheet). On top of that, the 2024 Western Slope supplementary rule (effective Jan 18, 2025) caps any one location in this field office at 7 consecutive days from April 1-August 31 and 14 consecutive days from September 1-March 31, "unless otherwise authorized in writing by the BLM."

Where you can camp

Designated sites in some areas

"Most BLM lands allow dispersed camping unless an area is posted 'Closed to Camping' or has specific restrictions" (BLM camping program page). In this field office the 2024 supplementary rule restricts camping to "designated campsites and developed campgrounds" in listed areas - including within 1/4 mile of Prince Creek Road, the Thompson Creek area within 1/4 mile of USFS Road 305, Red Hill SRMA, Glenwood Canyon (Horseshoe Bend), South Canyon, East Glenwood Canyon Trailhead, Ute Trailhead, Eagle River ERMA, Silt Mesa ERMA, Garfield Creek river access, Fisher Creek Cemetery Road and Sutey Ranch. BLM notes "over 500,000 acres in the Colorado River Valley Field Office" remain open to dispersed camping. source

Keep your distance

100 ft — "Unless the campsite is marked and designated by the BLM, you must not camp within 100 feet from any spring, pond, lake, or perennial stream" (2024 Western Slope supplementary rule, CRVFO restrictions). source
300 ft — Vehicle corridor rule: in areas with limited travel designations, "mechanized and motorized travel up to 300 feet from designated motorized or mechanized routes is permitted for direct access to dispersed campsites" provided no resource damage occurs, no new routes are created, and access is not otherwise prohibited (e.g. in WSAs). source

Roads and vehicle access

Ask the district which roads allow camping

BLM travel-management equivalent of the MVUM rule: travel is limited to designated routes in limited-travel areas, with the 300-foot off-route allowance for direct access to dispersed campsites. Over-snow travel off designated routes requires 12+ inches of snow. Check the field office's travel maps before driving to a site.

Fires right now

We don't watch this office's fire orders yet — check its own site before you light anything, and the drive out runs on county rules — the Colorado burn ban page has those.

Closures and special orders

Final Supplementary Rule - Colorado River Valley, Grand Junction and Kremmling FOs and Dominguez-Escalante NCA (effective Jan 18, 2025) For CRVFO: designated-campsite-only areas (Table 2); day-use-only areas 10 PM-6 AM including BLM recreation sites without camping facilities, Deep Creek Canyon and Sutey Ranch (Table 5); winter/spring mechanized closures Dec 1-Apr 15 (Table 6); fires limited to 3 ft diameter; approved fire pan and portable toilet required for overnight river trips in the Upper Colorado SRMA; seasonal 7-day (Apr-Aug) / 14-day (Sep-Mar) consecutive stay caps.
BLM announcement - Notice of Final Supplementary Rule for Colorado Western Slope Areas The blm.gov notice linking the rule text; confirms scope (CRVFO, GJFO, Kremmling FO, D-E NCA).

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.

On BLM land the travel maps play the same role a national forest's motor vehicle use map plays: they show which routes are open to vehicles, and camping access usually means staying on those routes and pulling into already-used sites just off them.

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.