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Dispersed camping · Colorado

White River National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days in any 30 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 in any 30

Order WRNF 2024-01 prohibits camping "for more than 14 days within any continuous 30-day period" forest-wide. The forest's camping page adds that the "maximum stay is 14 days within a 30-day period, for recreational use only" and that after 14 days campers must relocate outside a 20-mile radius. "Some locations allow dispersed camping at designated sites only, and some have shortened, 7 day stay limits."

Where you can camp

Designated sites in some areas

"Dispersed camping offers free, undeveloped camping" along forest roads shown on Motor Vehicle Use Maps; "choose a site that is already impacted, no more than 300' from the centerline of the road and at least 100' from any body of water." "Some locations allow dispersed camping at designated sites only, and some have shortened, 7 day stay limits" - observe site-specific regulations in high-visitation areas. source

Keep your distance

  • Recommended: 100 ft — Forest camping guidance: "choose a site that is already impacted... at least 100' from any body of water." Worded as forest guidance on the camping page rather than a numbered order; Order 2026-13 (camp location restrictions) separately protects wetlands and riparian areas - read its map. source
  • Recommended: 300 ft — Stay-close corridor guidance: pick an already-impacted site "no more than 300' from the centerline of the road." The MVUM shows which roads allow dispersed camping. source
  • 300 ft — Aspen Ranger District, Order WRNF 1996-08: no camping within 300 feet of a trailhead, with listed exceptions - read the order before camping near Aspen-area trailheads. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

"Motor Vehicle Use Maps show roads where dispersed camping is available." The forest links its MVUMs from the maps page below.

Fires right now

Stage 2 fire restrictions — since June 24 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, Glenwood Springs at (970) 945-2521 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