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Dispersed camping · Colorado

Rio Grande National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days in any 30 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 30

Special order 02-09-00-23-01 (May 16, 2023 - Apr 30, 2028) prohibits "camping in the same location for more than 14 days within any continuous 30-day period" - counted per location, anywhere on the forest (Conejos Peak, Divide and Saguache Ranger Districts). The forest's dispersed-camping page states the same rule in plain words: "Camping is limited to 14 days in any 30 day period on the Rio Grande National Forest."

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

"Dispersed camping is camping outside of developed campgrounds on the Rio Grande National Forest. There is no fee to dispersed camp." The forest asks campers to "camp at previously used dispersed camping sites." Exception corridor: along Road 250, camping is limited to the Trail Creek and Upper South Fork dispersed camping areas. source

Keep your distance

  • Recommended: 150 ft — Forest dispersed-camping page: "Camp at least 150 feet from water sources" (and dig toilet pits at least 150 feet from water). Stated as forest guidance on the official page; not tied to a numbered order on the pages reviewed. source
  • 300 ft — "All vehicles must stay within 300 feet of the center line of a designated road" - the vehicle corridor for reaching a dispersed site. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

The forest directs campers to Motor Vehicle Use Maps to determine where dispersed camping is permitted; vehicles must stay within 300 feet of the centerline of a designated road. MVUMs are available online and at district offices.

Fires right now

No fire restrictions 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

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, Del Norte at (719) 657-3321 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