Grey areas
Check these before you go.
The official source settles most of this. These are the parts it does not, so treat them as open and check locally.
- Work from the Supreme Court judgment of 21 May 2025, which the Authority records on its Byelaw Review FAQs page and which its visitor-facing camping pages match. Other pages on the site are older and will look like they contradict it: the byelaw review page still carries the January 2023 High Court text, and the camping map page still describes a Supreme Court hearing in October 2024 as forthcoming.
- Use the Authority's camping map to decide where to pitch rather than working from a list of exclusions. Byelaw 6.2(a) excludes camping in the areas listed in Schedule 2 to the byelaws, and the map is the practical answer to where you may pitch.
- Open the camping map itself before you go rather than any description of it, including this one. The shaded areas can be revised, the May 2025 judgment is recent enough that older descriptions may be stale, and the map is the only place the current shading exists.
Dartmoor is tents only. Backpack camping on the Dartmoor commons does not permit vans, motorhomes or campervans, and no reading of the rule makes it. If you are driving a vehicle you sleep in, this page tells you where you cannot stay.
The legal basis
Public access on foot and horseback to the Dartmoor commons was secured by the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985. Whether that Act also permits camping was litigated, and the Dartmoor National Park Authority records the outcome on its Byelaw Review FAQs page: a Supreme Court judgment issued on 21 May 2025 ruled that backpack camping was allowed on Dartmoor under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985.
That makes Dartmoor the exception in England. There is no general right to wild camp in England or Wales. Everywhere else, camping on someone’s land without their permission is trespass, and the answer is to ask or to use a campsite.
Where it is permitted
The Authority publishes an interactive camping map, and it is the operative document. It shades the parts of the commons where, in the Authority’s own words, you can and are encouraged to backpack camp without needing prior approval from the landowner. The Authority tells you to check it before you plan your trip.
Read the map, not a description of it. It gets revised, and it is the only place the current shading exists.
Part of the mapped area sits inside the military range danger areas. The boundaries are marked on the ground with red and white posts and warning notices, and public access applies except when the ranges are in use for live firing. The Authority points at the published Dartmoor firing times for the dates.
The conditions
From the Backpack Camping Code:
- A lightweight tent and equipment that fits into a backpack you can carry.
- One or two nights maximum, as part of a longer walk or expedition.
- Small tents that blend into the landscape, out of sight from roads and buildings.
- No more than 6 people in a group.
- No open fires or BBQs.
- Take all litter home. The Authority provides no bins.
- Bury poo and used toilet paper under at least 15cm of turf. You need to carry a trowel.
- Do not pollute streams or rivers.
- Avoid disturbing wildlife, particularly during lambing and ground nesting bird season, 1 March to 31 July.
From the byelaws, which are the enforceable version and are stricter in one respect the Code words softly:
- Byelaw 6.1: no using any vehicle, caravan, or structure other than a tent for camping on access land.
- Byelaw 6.2(b): no pitching a tent within 100 metres of any public road, or in any enclosure.
- Byelaw 6.3: no camping in a tent on the same site for more than two consecutive nights.
- Byelaw 8: no lighting a fire. A properly constructed camping stove or cooker is allowed, used so as not to cause danger of or damage by fire.
The Authority’s own summary of who this is not for is worth repeating: if you worry about carrying your rubbish out, need a bin or a toilet, or need more equipment and facilities, use a campsite instead.
What is excluded
Anything the map does not shade. Enclosed land. Anywhere within 100 metres of a public road. The areas listed in Schedule 2 to the byelaws, so check the camping map before you pitch. Large tents and large groups, which the Authority directs to campsites regardless of location.
And vehicles, in every form. Byelaw 6.1 draws the line at the tent.
Where vans and motorhomes go instead
Designated campsites and caravan parks. The Authority publishes a searchable list of sites on and around the National Park, split by area, and states that designated campsites are a must for large tents, campervans and motorhomes.
Its answer on whether this is a recent change is flat: no, you have never been able to stay overnight in motorhomes, camper vans or caravans in car parks and laybys.
Pulling into a layby to admire the view and have a cup of tea is fine. Sleeping there is not.
If you are driving a large vehicle, note the separate practical problem: some Dartmoor roads are off limits to a motorhome because of narrow lanes and small bridges, and the Authority tells you not to rely on satellite navigation to get you there. It publishes a coach driver and motorhome route guide as a PDF, linked from its camping and motorhomes page.
The sign wins
Byelaws change, the camping map is revised, and the Authority updates its pages at different times. A Ranger’s direction and the posted notice on the ground beat anything written here. If the map and the sign disagree, the sign wins.