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Dispersed camping · Colorado

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days 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 stay limit

Order GMUG-2017-08 (Jul 12, 2017 - Jul 12, 2027) prohibits "camping for more than 14 consecutive days in any one location," "camping for more than 28 days, on any one National Forest, within a 60 day period," and "camping within 3 road miles of a previous National Forest System camp location for more than 14 additional days" (miles measured along NFS roads or trails). The 28-day cap counts per proclaimed forest - Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison each count separately.

Where you can camp

Designated sites in some areas

General forest camping is regulated by Order GMUG-2017-08, which prohibits "camping outside of Forest Service developed campgrounds within the area known as Taylor River Canyon and Taylor Park Reservoir," camping within 500 yards of Mosca, Dinner Station and Big Creek campgrounds, and more than "7 consecutive days in a 30 day period within the Horse Ranch Park and Cliff Creek Trailhead areas." The order notes it "does not authorize camping in areas prohibited to camping by other regulations or special restrictions." source

Keep your distance

  • 100 ft — "Camping within 100 feet of the high water line of the Taylor River" is prohibited (Order GMUG-2017-08). Scope: the Taylor River - no forest-wide numeric water setback was found on official pages. source
  • 1,500 ft — No camping within 500 yards (1,500 ft) of Mosca, Dinner Station and Big Creek campgrounds (Order GMUG-2017-08). source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

The forest posts Motor Vehicle Use Maps on its maps page, but no forest statement tying dispersed-camping vehicle access to MVUM corridors was found on the pages reviewed. Confirm road rules on the MVUM and with the district office.

Fires right now

Stage 2 fire restrictions — since July 1 last checked August 18, 2026

Whether you can have a fire at your site runs on the forest's fire order, not on camping rules — see the live fire restrictions page for this forest and what each stage still allows before you light anything.

Closures and special orders

  • Order GMUG-2017-08 - General Occupancy and Use The forest's standing camping order: 14-consecutive-day/28-in-60 stay limits with the 3-road-mile spacing rule; Taylor River Canyon and Taylor Park Reservoir limited to developed campgrounds; 7-day limit at Horse Ranch Park and Cliff Creek Trailhead; Taylor River 100-ft water setback. Jul 12, 2017 - Jul 12, 2027.

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, Delta at (970) 874-6600 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. This forest's fire restrictions page carries the current stage with the date it took effect. 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, Rocky Mountain Region (R2).

Before you go