The BLM 14-day rule, explained without the legalese

The rule in one sentence

You can camp on most BLM dispersed camping land for 14 days within any 28-day period. Then you must move to a new location, typically at least 25 to 30 miles away. That is the whole rule. Everything below is the part that trips people up.

The 28-day window and what it actually means

The 14-day limit does not reset on a calendar month. It runs on a rolling 28-day window.

Say you arrive on June 1 and stay 14 nights. You must leave by June 15. You cannot return to that same location until 28 days after you first arrived, which means June 29 at the earliest.

The window follows you, not the calendar. If you stay 7 days, leave for a week, and come back to the same spot, those original 7 days still count against your 14. The clock does not reset because you went to town for groceries or drove to a trailhead.

This is the single most common misunderstanding rangers encounter at popular dispersed areas.

The 25-mile move and what counts as moving

After your 14 days, you need to move. But the regulation does not define "new location" with a precise distance. Most field offices use 25 to 30 miles as a working benchmark [1].

That benchmark matters in practice. Pulling off the same dirt road a quarter mile from your old camp does not count. Neither does crossing to the other side of a wash that puts you two miles away. Rangers know the area. They revisit popular pulls.

A few things that do count as moving:

• Driving to a different drainage or valley system
• Crossing into a different BLM field office boundary
• Putting at least 25 miles of road distance between your old site and your new one

If you are unsure whether a move is far enough, it probably is not. Use Motor Vehicle Use Maps to identify legal access routes before you commit to a new spot.

Also worth noting: unattended personal property left at a site for more than 10 days is a violation in most districts, even if you are not physically present [1]. Idaho and Alaska operate under different rules. Check the specific field office for those states.

Field-office variation

BLM manages roughly 245 million surface acres across 12 western states [4]. Each field office can set rules that are stricter than the national baseline. They cannot go looser, but they can go shorter.

Three examples worth knowing:

Arizona. The Sonoran Desert and lower Colorado River corridor see heavy winter use. Some Arizona field offices post 14-day limits with explicit distance requirements on signage at the site. Check the BLM camping in Arizona listings before you commit to a long stay near Quartzsite or Yuma.

California. The California Desert District covers a large area with variable rules. Some units near popular OHV areas post limits shorter than 14 days during peak season. Signage at the trailhead or access road is the controlling authority.

Utah. Moab and the surrounding canyon country field offices see year-round pressure. The Moab Field Office has historically enforced 14-day limits strictly and uses posted signage to define specific stay zones. See BLM camping in Utah for site-level detail.

The safest approach is to look up the specific field office page for the area you plan to camp. Do not assume the national baseline applies everywhere.

Long-term visitor areas: the legal way to stay 7 months

If you want to stay in one region all winter without moving every two weeks, Long-Term Visitor Areas are the answer. LTVAs are designated sites in Arizona and California where a permit lets you camp for up to 7 consecutive months, from mid-September through mid-April [1].

The named LTVAs are:

• Hot Spring
• Tamarisk
• Pilot Knob
• Mule Mountain
• Midland
• La Posa
• Imperial Dam

Two permit options exist. A full-season permit covers the entire 7-month window. A short-term pass covers a shorter stay within the season. Permit prices change, so check the current rates on the Yuma Field Office permits page before you budget. As of the last published rate, the full-season permit ran roughly $180 and the short-term pass roughly $40, but verify both before you pay [2].

LTVAs have basic amenities at some locations and a defined perimeter. You camp within the LTVA boundary. The 14-day dispersed rule does not apply inside a valid LTVA permit.

Enforcement: how rangers actually track you

Rangers do not sit at every pull-off. But they do return to the same popular areas on a regular rotation, and they pay attention.

Common enforcement methods include:

• Plate reads. Rangers log plates on each pass. A plate that appears on multiple visits over more than 14 days is a flag.
• Tire prints. At dusty or sandy sites, rangers photograph tire tread patterns and compare them across visits. Moving your rig 200 yards does not change the tread.
• Neighbor reports. Long-term campers in an area will sometimes report overstays, especially when someone is taking up a desirable spot.
• Aerial and remote observation. Some high-use areas are checked by air or with trail cameras near access points.

Enforcement is at field-office discretion. Some offices are understaffed and rarely issue citations. Others are active. You cannot predict which situation you are in, and the citation risk is real.

The four most common ways campers get cited

1. Returning to the same spot before the 28-day window closes. The trip to town does not reset the clock.
2. Moving less than 25 miles. A short hop down the road is not a new location.
3. Leaving gear at a site while traveling. Unattended property over 10 days is a separate violation in most districts [1].
4. Ignoring posted site-specific limits. A sign that says 7 days controls over the national 14-day baseline.

What happens if you overstay

Overstaying the limit is a federal violation under 43 CFR 8365.1-6. Rangers can issue a written citation. Fines vary by district and offense history. Repeat violations can result in a notice to vacate, and in some cases a ban from the specific area.

You will not go to jail for an extra night. But a federal citation is a real document with a real fine, and it follows you if you contest it in federal court.

Developed BLM campgrounds carry their own rules. You must pay the fee within 30 minutes of occupying a site [2]. Unattended property at a developed campground is limited to 72 hours, or as posted [1]. Eight federal fee-free days per year waive standard amenity fees at developed sites, including Veterans Day and Memorial Day [2].

For comparison, USFS dispersed camping rules use a similar 14-day limit but apply it differently across ranger districts. Do not assume BLM and USFS rules are interchangeable.

Quick reference

Situation	rule
Dispersed camping limit	14 days within any 28-day window
Move-on distance	25 to 30 miles (field office benchmark)
Return to same spot	not before day 29 from first arrival
Unattended gear, dispersed	10-day limit in most districts
Unattended gear, developed	72 hours or as posted
LTVA permit window	mid-September to mid-April
LTVA max stay	7 consecutive months
Developed campground fee	due within 30 minutes of arrival

The 14-day rule is straightforward once you understand the 28-day window and the move-on distance. The mistakes that generate citations are almost always about the clock, not the distance. Know when your 14 days started. Know where your 28-day window closes. Move far enough when you go.