Tahoe National Forest Dispersed Camping Rules

14 days stay limit

Order 17-26-05 (effective April 5, 2026 through April 5, 2028) prohibits "dispersed camping for more than 14 days in a calendar year per Ranger District" - counted per calendar year and per ranger district, not as a rolling window. The same order caps developed-campground camping at 14 days per calendar year per district.

Where you can camp

Designated sites in some areas

Forest FAQs: "Any dispersed camping must be outside of restricted use areas as shown on the Tahoe National Forest Visitor's Map and per Forest Order." Inside the Truckee and Sierraville districts' restricted use areas (Order 17-25-05), camping is allowed only "in campgrounds and designated dispersed campsites provided by the Forest Service," or within 300 feet of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail or Tahoe Rim Trail. source

Keep your distance

2,640 ft — Highway 20 area only (Order 17-25-01, through May 2, 2028): no camping within 1/2 mile (2,640 ft - converted from the order's 1/2 mile) of the centerline of California Highway 20 between Nevada County mileposts 23 and 26, or within 1/2 mile of Forest Road No. 20-003 from its Highway 20 junction west to Washington Ridge Camp. Fee-paying campers at White Cloud and Skillman campgrounds are exempt. source
1,320 ft — Highway 20 area only (Order 17-25-01): no camping within 1/4 mile (1,320 ft - converted from the order's 1/4 mile) of the centerline of California Highway 20 between Nevada County milepost 26 and the Interstate 80 junction. source
300 ft — Stay-close corridor rule inside the Truckee and Sierraville districts' Restricted Use Areas (Order 17-25-05, through June 30, 2028): within those areas camping is allowed only in campgrounds, at designated dispersed campsites, "within 300 feet of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail," or within 300 feet of the Tahoe Rim Trail. Outside the restricted areas this corridor rule does not apply. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

The forest's Motor Vehicle Use Map page: "It is your responsibility to reference the MVUM to stay on designated routes for motor vehicle use" - the MVUM identifies roads, trails, and areas designated for motor vehicle use under 36 CFR 212.51. No official page read today ties dispersed-camping vehicle access or an off-route parking distance to the MVUM specifically.

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

Order 17-26-05 - 14-day camping occupancy restrictions The stay-limit order: no dispersed or developed-campground camping beyond 14 days in a calendar year per ranger district. Effective April 5, 2026 through April 5, 2028.
Order 17-25-05 - Camping and campfire restrictions, Truckee and Sierraville districts In eight named Restricted Use Areas (Austin Meadow, Jackson Meadow, Little Truckee, Van Norden, Donner Summit PCT Trailhead, Truckee South, Highway 89 South and Alpine Meadows), camping and campfires are allowed only in campgrounds, at designated dispersed campsites, or within 300 feet of the PCT/Tahoe Rim Trail. Effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028 - read the order's area maps.
Order 17-25-01 - Highway 20 area camping restrictions No camping within 1/2 mile of Highway 20 (mileposts 23-26) or Forest Road 20-003, and within 1/4 mile of Highway 20 from milepost 26 to I-80, in Nevada County. Effective May 2, 2025 through May 2, 2028.

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.