National Forest Camping Stay Limits by Forest (2026): The 14-Day Rule, Annual Caps and New Orders

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We discovered boondocking a few months after starting our van life adventures in the Chevy Astro. I had never heard of free camping on public lands before, and this opened a whole new world of camping opportunities for us.

Many BLM and national forest land allow you to stay for up to two weeks, but now, those numbers are changing.

Each national forest sets its own stay limit in a signed forest order. The most common order still allows 14 days in a 30-day period. Newer orders also limit how many days you can camp in that forest in a calendar year. The Deschutes, Mt. Hood, Gifford Pinchot, Rogue River-Siskiyou and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie allow 28 days a year. The Angeles allows 21 days a year. The Stanislaus allows 21 days a year in each ranger district. The Willamette allows 50.

One of my favorite boondocking spots is near Mt. Hood. The Mt. Hood National Forest counts those 28 days across the whole forest, not one campsite.

The limits are in a PDF on each forest’s website, linked from its alerts page. We read the orders for 26 forests and put the numbers in the tables below, with the order number and its dates. Our running list of public lands closing to free camping and our guide to where you can camp in a national forest cover the rest.

Each national forest sets its own limit for camping

The federal rule is 36 CFR 261.58(a). It says a forest can prohibit “camping for a period longer than allowed by the order.” The forest supervisor signs the order. The order names the number of days, the period, the distance you have to move, and the fine.

The Bureau of Land Management uses a similar rule, 43 CFR 8365.1-2(a), which bans camping “longer than the period of time permitted by the authorized officer.” The BLM’s camping page says dispersed camping “is generally limited to 14 days within any 28-day period.” After 14 days you usually have to move 25 to 30 miles.

The limit changes at the forest boundary, so check which forest you’re in before you count on 14 days.

Three numbers to read

The consecutive limit is how many days you can stay in one spot. It is 14 days in most forests, 16 in much of Utah and Wyoming, 7 on the Angeles and the Utah front-range districts, and 5 near Jackson, Wyoming.
The window and the radius decide when you can come back. “14 days in a 30-day period” means you can’t leave for one night and return. The radius is usually 5 miles, sometimes 10 or 20. On the Willamette you leave the whole forest after 14 days and stay out for 30.
The annual cap is the total number of days you can camp in that forest in a calendar year. It is 28 days on the Deschutes, Mt. Hood, Gifford Pinchot, Rogue River-Siskiyou, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie, Inyo and Mendocino. It is 21 on the Angeles and 21 per ranger district on the Stanislaus. It is 30 on the Plumas and on the Arapaho and Roosevelt, and 50 on the Willamette. The annual cap was written for people who live in a forest all summer by moving between districts.

Here’s where you can camp and for how long, state by state

The tables list each order’s number and dates when the forest publishes them. “Listed” means the forest names the limit on its website but doesn’t post the order text. If your forest isn’t in the tables, the limit is probably 14 days, and the order is on the forest’s alerts page at fs.usda.gov.

Campervan boondocking in the Tahoe National Forest — Camping for free in the Tahoe National Forest. Photo Credit: The Wayward Home

California

Forest	Consecutive limit	Annual cap	Order and dates
Angeles	7 days outside developed campgrounds; 3 days within 300 feet of a road; 14 in a developed campground	21 days per calendar year	05-01-24-12, through Dec 15, 2026
Stanislaus	14 consecutive days in a developed campground within one ranger district per 30 days	21 total days per calendar year in undeveloped locations, per ranger district	STF-16-2026-09, July 31, 2026 to July 30, 2029 (the 2022 order carried the same 21-day cap)
Mendocino	14 days in any 30-day period, outside a one-mile radius of developed sites	28 days in any 12 months	08-25-16, Oct 7, 2025 to Oct 8, 2027
Plumas	14 days per calendar year in any dispersed site per ranger district	30 days per calendar year	05-11-25-01, June 24, 2025 to April 30, 2027
Inyo	14 consecutive days, then move at least 10 miles	28 days per calendar year	Listed on the forest camping page
Lake Tahoe Basin	Dispersed camping and vehicle overnighting banned outside 18 listed areas; 14 days per year in the listed campgrounds	14 per year (5 at Luther Pass and Watson Lake)	19-24-05, June 28, 2024 to Dec 1, 2027

Oregon and Washington

Forest	Consecutive limit	Annual cap	Order and dates
Rogue River-Siskiyou	14 consecutive days within a 5-mile radius	28 days per calendar year	06-10-01-26-08, June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2028
Deschutes	14 consecutive days in a single location	28 days per calendar year	06-01-25-01, Nov 14, 2024 to Nov 15, 2026
Mt. Hood, Gifford Pinchot and the Columbia River Gorge	14 consecutive days in a single location	28 days per calendar year	06-06-00-24-06, Sept 30, 2024 to Sept 30, 2027
Willamette	14 days in a 30-day period, then off the forest for 30 days	50 days in any 365 days	06-18-00-25-03, March 19, 2025 to March 19, 2027
Umpqua	14 days	Not stated	06-15-25-01 (listed)
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie	14 consecutive days at the same location	28 days per calendar year outside developed campgrounds	06-05-24-02, May 16, 2024 to May 16, 2026

Arizona

The Kaibab is the one forest on this list I can picture without trying. We woke up there one morning in the Astro to a front tire that was completely flat. Tom was able to repair the tire with a tire puncture repair kit and a 120-volt tire inflator connected to our inverter. The Kaibab’s order is the plain version: 14 days in 30, no annual cap.

Forest	Consecutive limit	Annual cap	Order and dates
Kaibab	14 days in any 30-day period, all three districts	None stated	03-07-26-01, May 6, 2026 to May 6, 2028
Coconino (West Sedona)	Camping only in eight designated areas, about 200 sites, 14 days	None stated	Closure order through Aug 31, 2026 (listed)
Apache-Sitgreaves	14 days in a 30-day period, then off the forest for at least 16 days	None stated	Listed on the dispersed-camping guidelines
Prescott	14 days in a 30-day period	None stated	Order 09-225 (listed)

Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming

Forest	Consecutive limit	Annual cap	Order and dates
Dixie	16 consecutive days or 16 in 60 days within 10 miles of the same spot; 14 in developed sites	None stated	0407-25-01, March 11, 2025 to March 11, 2030
Fishlake	16 consecutive days or 16 in 30 days within 5 miles	None stated	0408-25-01, Feb 5, 2025 to Feb 5, 2030
Manti-La Sal	14 days in any 28, then move 10 miles and stay away 14 days	None stated	04-010-013, since April 1, 2003
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache	7 consecutive days in developed sites on six front-range districts (14 on Evanston/Mt. View); 14 in 30 in undeveloped areas	None stated	04-19-22-533, Aug 19, 2022 to Aug 19, 2032
Humboldt-Toiyabe	14 days in any 30-day period, forest-wide	None stated	Listed
Caribou-Targhee	14 days in 30 within a 5-mile radius, then 30 days away	None stated	04-15-23-200, March 30, 2023 to March 30, 2028
Bridger-Teton	16 consecutive days, 7 days away before reoccupying within 5 miles; 5 days on the Jackson, Blackrock, Big Piney and Greys River districts	None stated	GYCC-6, since April 15, 2009, plus the district alert

Colorado and South Dakota

Forest	Consecutive limit	Annual cap	Order and dates
White River	14 days in any continuous 30-day period, counted from the first day	None stated; some districts run 7-day summer limits	WRNF 2024-01, Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2027
Arapaho and Roosevelt, Pawnee Grassland	14 days in a 30-day period	30 days in any 365 days	ARP-2024-02, May 24, 2024 to May 23, 2029
Black Hills	14 days in any 60-day period on the forest page; a new special order announced Aug 7, 2026 changes the count to 14 days in a 28-day period	None stated	Special order, announced Aug 7, 2026 (KOTA)

The East

Forest	Consecutive limit	Annual cap	Order and dates
George Washington and Jefferson (Virginia)	14 days in any 30-day period in one location	None stated	Listed on the camping page
Cherokee (Tennessee)	14-day camping restriction by closure order	None stated	Order posted as a scanned PDF; read it on the forest site before you rely on it

What changed for camping for free on National Forest land

Orders signed before 2022 usually have one number. Orders signed since 2024 usually have two. Mt. Hood, Gifford Pinchot and the Columbia River Gorge added the 28-day annual cap in September 2024. The Deschutes added it in November 2024. The Rogue River-Siskiyou added it in June 2026, and its order says the reason is to “reduce resource damage and sanitation issues associated with long-term camping.” The Angeles allows 7 days outside a campground and 21 days a year, through December 15, 2026. The Stanislaus renewed its 21-day annual cap in July 2026 through 2029. That cap has been in its orders since 2022.

The Black Hills loosened its rule in August 2026, from 14 days in 60 to 14 days in 28, “after considering public feedback, recreation trends and ongoing land management needs.” It is the only order in the tables that got looser.

Every order gives the same reasons: trash, human waste, and people who stay for months. Why can’t people respect our public lands even WITHOUT oversight?

The annual caps are aimed at people who live in a forest by moving between pullouts. Forests with a consecutive limit and no annual cap are the ones where that still works.

How to count your days

Read the order before you park. It’s on the forest’s alerts page, usually as a PDF.
Keep a count of your days in each forest for the year. Annual caps count from January 1.
Measure the radius. It’s 5 miles on most orders, 10 on the Inyo, Dixie and Manti-La Sal, and 20 in some White River districts. Moving one pullout down the road doesn’t reset the count.
Pack out your trash. We don’t have a toilet and rely on either public bathrooms or digging a hole when we are deep in nature.

If you’re new to boondocking, read how national forest camping works and how to find free campsites first. If a ranger has given you a number that isn’t in these tables, tell me in the comments with the forest and the date and I’ll update the list.

Has a stay limit changed on a spot you love?

Frequently asked questions

How long can you camp in a national forest?

Most national forests allow 14 days in a 30-day period at one location. Several forests now also cap your total at 21 to 28 days a year, so check your forest’s order on its fs.usda.gov alerts page.

What is the 14-day rule for dispersed camping?

It is the most common limit in forest orders: 14 days in a 30-day window at one spot, then you move a set distance, usually 5 miles. Each forest sets its own limit, so the number is not the same everywhere.

Which national forests have a 28-day annual limit?

The Deschutes, Mt. Hood, Gifford Pinchot, Rogue River-Siskiyou, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie, Inyo and Mendocino cap camping at 28 days a year. The Angeles caps it at 21, the Stanislaus at 21 per ranger district, the Plumas and Arapaho-Roosevelt at 30, and the Willamette at 50.

What is the BLM 14-day rule?

The BLM generally limits dispersed camping to 14 days in a 28-day period, after which you move, often 25 to 30 miles. Field offices can set stricter limits under 43 CFR 8365.1-2(a).

Sources

Rules checked September 2026; the links and the Stanislaus order re-checked November 2026. Forest orders change, so confirm the current version on the linked page before you rely on it.

How Long Can You Really Camp in a National Forest? Less Than You Think, and It Depends on the Forest.

Each national forest sets its own limit for camping

Three numbers to read