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Dispersed camping · New Mexico

BLM Farmington Field Office dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days in any 28 on this field office's land, 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 28

BLM New Mexico statewide statement: "Dispersed camping is generally allowed on public lands in New Mexico for no more than a period of 14 days within any period of 28 consecutive days. The 14-day limit may be reached either through a number of separate visits or through 14 days of continuous overnight occupation during the 28-day period. After this time period, you must relocate to another site at least 25 miles away." No Farmington-specific stay-limit rule was found - the Texas/New Mexico supplementary-rules compilation has no Farmington District section, so the statewide statement is the operative published limit.

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

"Most BLM lands allow dispersed camping unless an area is posted 'Closed to Camping' or has specific restrictions for land use or conservation" (BLM camping program page); "Dispersed camping is generally allowed on public lands in New Mexico" (BLM New Mexico recreation page). source

Keep your distance

  • 900 ft — BLM New Mexico statewide rule: "Camping is prohibited within 900 feet of any developed water source such as a guzzler or watering trough so that the water is accessible to wildlife and livestock." source
  • Recommended: 150 ft — BLM national camping guidance, stay-close corridor recommendation: "Camp within 150 feet of designated routes; avoid creating new tracks." Best practice, not an order. source
  • Recommended: 200 ft — BLM national camping guidance recommends: "Stay at least 200 feet from lakes, rivers, and streams to protect water quality." Recommendation only - the binding 900-ft statewide rule covers developed water sources, not rivers and lakes. source

Roads and vehicle access

Ask the district which roads allow camping

No Farmington-specific travel-management page tying vehicle access for dispersed camping to designated routes was found; BLM's national camping guidance recommends camping "within 150 feet of designated routes" and avoiding new tracks. Check with the field office for route designations under the Farmington RMP.

Fires right now

We don't watch this office'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.

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 Farmington Field Office, Farmington at (505) 564-7600 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.

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.

Where these rules come from

Every rule above was read on the office's own pages and orders on the dates shown — nothing here is borrowed from another forest or an old guidebook. The managing agency is Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico.

Before you go