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Dispersed camping · Arizona

Coronado National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days in any 60 on this forest, anywhere that isn't posted closed. 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 60

"There is a 14-day stay limit per 60-day period" (forest dispersed-camping page) - note the 60-day window, not the 30 most forests use. Order 03-05-00-24-005 words the prohibition as "camping for more than 14 days within a 60-day period"; the alert lists its effective dates as May 17, 2024 - May 22, 2026, which appears lapsed while the alert remains posted and the camping page still states the limit - see gaps.

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

"Dispersed, primitive camping is allowed across most of the Coronado National Forest for free." "No camping anywhere designated as 'DAY USE ONLY' or with a 'NO CAMPING' sign." source

Keep your distance

  • 200 ft — "No camping within 200 feet of a water source, including water tanks." source
  • 5,280 ft — "No camping within 1 mile of a developed campground or administrative site unless posted otherwise." One mile converted: 5,280 ft. source
  • 300 ft — Stay-close corridor rule: "If roadside camping, vehicles must remain within 300 feet from the centerline of the road." The MVUM shows motor vehicle routes and dispersed camping corridors. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

"Download a Motor Vehicle Use Map to see motor vehicle routes and dispersed camping corridors or pick up a hard copy for free at the Supervisor's Office or at any one of our five ranger stations."

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

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, Tucson at (520) 388-8300 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