Guide · USA · Jul 20, 2026

Stay limits on US public land

The 14-in-28 pattern is the BLM's own general figure, not a national statute. The agency says limits vary by state and field office and that you must then move on, often 25 to 30 miles. What the number is, what varies, and where to get the one that applies to you.

FreeCampMaps Team Editorial team · 5 min read 6 sources cited

You will see “14 days” quoted everywhere as the American stay limit. It is a real figure with an official source behind it, and it is not a national rule. The difference matters, because the number that applies to you is set by the local office, not by the internet.

Here is what the agency actually says.

What the BLM says

The Bureau of Land Management’s camping page states that dispersed camping is “generally limited to 14 days within any 28-day period, though specific stay limits vary by state and field office.”

Then, on what happens next: after reaching the stay limit, visitors must move to a new location, “often at least 25 to 30 miles away.”

Read those two sentences slowly, because almost every retelling of them online flattens the qualifiers out. The BLM wrote “generally”. It wrote “vary by state and field office”. It wrote “often”. Those words are the agency telling you the number is a pattern rather than a statute, which means the figure that actually binds you comes from the office managing the ground you are parked on. Get it from them before you plan a stay near the limit.

The page closes with the instruction that governs everything else on it: “rules can vary by state or local area, so always comply with posted signs and verify specifics with your local BLM office.”

The pattern, in plain terms

Three components, all of which vary:

The stay. Commonly 14 days. This is the part people remember.

The window. Commonly 28 days, and it is a rolling window rather than a calendar month. Fourteen days inside any 28-day period is a different rule from “14 days then leave for a bit”, and it is written that way to stop long-term occupancy of a single site.

The move. You must go somewhere else, and somewhere else is described as often 25 to 30 miles, not the next pullout. This is the component visitors most often ignore and the one that turns a stay limit into an actual requirement to relocate.

How much it varies in practice

Two verified examples, both from the BLM’s own material.

BLM Utah publishes a dispersed camping sheet stating that “free dispersed camping is allowed throughout BLM Utah-managed lands except where posted” and that “there are no fees, permits or passes associated with dispersed camping.” Its stay rule as written on that sheet: “There is a 14-day camping limit while occupying any campsite on BLM-managed lands.” The same sheet asks you to “camp only in previously disturbed sites or areas,” to avoid dispersed camping in the vicinity of developed recreation sites such as picnic areas, campgrounds or trailheads, and to camp at least 300 feet from range improvements such as corrals, gates and livestock waters.

Imperial Dam Long Term Visitor Area, in Arizona, is the opposite case. It is one of a set of BLM areas in California and Arizona where a winter visitor can stay far longer than 14 days by buying a permit: $180 for the long-term permit covering September 15 to April 15, or $40 for a short-visit permit valid 14 consecutive days. Outside that long-term season the page states “the maximum stay is 14 days in a 28-day period,” with day-use and overnight fees.

An LTVA is not free camping. It is here because it is the cleanest demonstration that the number you have read is a default, not a law of the land.

The Forest Service sets its limits district by district

National forests are the other main venue for dispersed camping in the west, and their stay limits are written forest by forest and ranger district by ranger district. There is no national forest figure to carry with you.

So the only answer worth having is the one from the ranger district office for the forest you are driving into. Call before you go and get the stay limit, the road closures and the fire restrictions in force that week in the same conversation.

Numbers for national forests circulate widely online. What is usually circulating is one district’s rule repeated as if it applied everywhere.

National parks count differently

Park limits are written per park and they are usually about backcountry permits rather than dispersed camping, because dispersed camping is generally not the model in a national park.

At Shenandoah, “backcountry camping may not exceed 2 nights in one campsite location or 14 consecutive nights in the backcountry,” with a further cap of 30 total backcountry nights per calendar year on a permit.

At Lassen Volcanic, “overnight camping in the backcountry is limited to 30 days per calendar year.”

Two parks, two structures, neither of which resembles 14-in-28. If your trip includes a national park, get the number from that park.

The other landlords set their own

The US Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service and every state park system each write their own stay rules. Assume there is a limit and get the number from the agency that manages the ground before you plan a long stay on it. The BLM’s 14-in-28 pattern is a BLM rule, so do not carry it onto their land.

The sign wins

A stay limit is a local rule and the local office is the authority on it. The posted sign at the site and the current guidance from the field office or ranger district beat this page every time.

The same goes double for fire. The BLM says it “initiates restrictions or temporary public land closures to reduce the risk of wildfires and protect the public” and tells visitors to “check for regional fire restrictions before heading out.” Those change week to week, sometimes faster, and no page or app can be current on them. Check in the days before you travel, then read the sign at the entrance.

Start with free camping in the USA: how it actually works for the model, then BLM, Forest Service, NPS: who owns what for the agency differences. The country overview is at United States, and the stopovers are on the United States map. If you are arriving from Europe, free camping in Europe and wild camping vs free camping vs aires cover the system you already know.

Deep American RV practice, including how people actually manage a 14-day cycle with limited water and power, is our sibling site’s subject, not ours: Boondock Maps.

Sources

Where the original is not in English, the summary above is ours and the linked text is the authority.

Frequently asked

The questions people actually ask.

Is the 14-day limit a national law?

No, and treating it as one is the mistake to avoid. The figure comes from the BLM's own camping page, which states that dispersed camping is 'generally limited to 14 days within any 28-day period, though specific stay limits vary by state and field office.' Both hedges are the agency's. It is the common figure on BLM land, not a rule that binds every agency or every office. Verified against blm.gov on 2026-07-20.

How far do I have to move afterwards?

The BLM says that after reaching the stay limit, visitors must move to a new location, and gives the distance as often at least 25 to 30 miles. Note the word 'often'. It is a description of common practice across field offices, not a fixed number, and moving to the next pullout down the same road is clearly not what it describes. The office managing your area sets the actual distance.

What is the Forest Service limit?

Ask the ranger district office for the forest you are driving into, and treat that as the only answer. National forest stay limits are set forest by forest and district by district, so there is no single national figure, and a number you read for one forest does not carry to the next one. The same call gets you the road closures and fire restrictions in force that week.

Does the limit reset if I drive out and come back?

Do not assume so. The BLM frames the limit as 14 days within a rolling 28-day period, which is a window rather than a counter you reset by leaving, and it pairs the limit with a requirement to move to a new location. Local rules differ in how they are written and enforced. If your plan depends on the answer, ask the field office rather than a forum.

Are there places you can legally stay longer?

Yes, and they are the clearest proof that 14 days is not a national rule. The BLM runs Long-Term Visitor Areas in California and Arizona where winter visitors can stay for months on a paid permit. At Imperial Dam LTVA the long-term permit is $180 and the short-visit permit is $40 for 14 consecutive days, covering September 15 to April 15. Outside that season, the page states, 'the maximum stay is 14 days in a 28-day period.' These are permitted, paid areas, not free dispersed camping.

Who enforces a stay limit?

The local unit that manages the ground: a BLM field office, a ranger district, a park. There is no central register of how long you have been anywhere, which leads some visitors to treat the limit as advisory. It is not. It is an occupancy rule on federal land and the local office is the body that acts on it.

More · USA

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All in USA

Free camping in the USA: how it actually works In Europe someone has to designate a spot before you can use it. On much of America's federal land the default runs the other way: camping is allowed unless the agency has closed the area. What that inversion means for a visitor flying in, cited to the agencies. BLM, Forest Service, NPS: who owns what and what you may do there American public land is five or six agencies with different rules, not one system. Dispersed camping is normal on BLM land, generally not the model in National Parks, and set district by district in the national forests. The alphabet soup, decoded for a non-American.