Dispersed camping · Colorado
What the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) actually allows for dispersed camping — how far off a road you may drive, which roads that applies to, and the closure orders that override it. Every figure below is sourced; the primary documents are linked at the bottom.
| Rule | This forest | |
|---|---|---|
| How far off the road you may drive | 300 ft | from the road centerline |
| Where that applies | Varies by ranger district | |
| Distance to keep from water | — | unverified |
| Stay limit | 14 days | per the forest order |
Different districts of this forest run different rules, so the corridor cannot be stated forest-wide. Check the district your road is in.
Not uniform — varies by MVUM unit. Gunnison District (North map 2025, legend also governs South map 2025): blanket rule, motor vehicle use off designated roads for dispersed camping permitted up to 300 ft from road centerline on ALL NFS roads, EXCEPT listed areas (Long Branch, Middle Quartz Creek, Needle Creek, Quartz Creek, Spring Creek, Taylor River/Taylor Park) where an 'OFF-ROUTE TRAVEL FOR DISPERSED CAMPING' table limits it to 30 ft from edge of road; campground roads excluded. Grand Mesa NF (2016 MVUM): blanket 300 ft from centerline on all FS roads, sole exception 'Prohibited — All Campground Roads'. Paonia District (2023 MVUM): blanket 300 ft from centerline of road OR trail. Uncompahgre Mountain Division / Ouray-Norwood (2025 MVUM): 300 ft from centerline blanket statement (dot symbol keyed 'Dispersed Camping (See Blanket Statement)'). Uncompahgre Plateau Division (2016 MVUM): NO dispersed-camping corridor at all — the sheet's only blanket statement allows parking within one vehicle length of the road edge; the word 'camping' does not appear on the sheet, so driving off-road to camp is not authorized there.
On GMUG MVUMs 'Special Vehicle Designation' means the road/trail is open to vehicle classes other than the standard legend classes (e.g., Gunnison North 2025 Seasonal/Special Designation Table lists trails 619 and 633 as 'Trail Open to OHV Greater Than 50 inches'). It has nothing to do with camping. Dispersed camping uses a separate dot symbol tied to the blanket statement / dispersed camping table. No game-retrieval designation found on GMUG maps.
1) Crested Butte area: Forest Order GMUG-2022-10 (eff. 6/14/2022, expires 6/30/2027 — in effect summer 2026) prohibits camping in the 7 drainages near Crested Butte (Slate River, Washington Gulch, Cement Creek, Brush Creek, Gothic, Kebler Pass, Lake Irwin) except in Cement Creek/Lake Irwin/Gothic campgrounds or numbered post-marked designated campsites (14-day max, first-come). 2) Taylor Canyon: GMUGNF-2017-08 prohibits camping outside developed campgrounds in the Taylor River Canyon/Taylor Park Reservoir area, plus camping within 100 ft of the Taylor River high-water line (reservoir to Dorchester CG) and within 500 yds of Mosca, Dinner Station and Big Creek campgrounds. 3) Uncompahgre Wilderness: order GMUG-2026-06 (5/14/2026–5/14/2029) bans camping within 100 ft of any NFS trail or any water body (wilderness, non-motorized).
Stay limit verified from scanned order GMUGNF-2017-08 (signed 7/12/2017 by Forest Supervisor Scott Armentrout, in effect 10 years → expires 7/12/2027, so valid summer 2026; watch for reissue after that): 14 consecutive days per location + 28 days/60-day period per forest + no re-camping within 3 road miles for >14 additional days. Water setback: VERIFIED NO forest-wide water setback exists — full text of the general occupancy order was read and contains only the Taylor River 100-ft provision (order) plus wilderness-specific 100-ft orders; no forest-wide guidance figure found on GMUG web pages either ('unverified' here means no number applies forest-wide, not that checking failed). Uncompahgre Plateau Division is the outlier unit: no off-road camping corridor at all on its 2016 MVUM. All six MVUM sheets were downloaded from fs.usda.gov and legends read directly (Gunnison South sheet carries no legend; it pairs with the North sheet).
Open the map for Colorado — forest roads, boundaries and closures are on the map; scored campsite locations are built for Wyoming and Idaho so far.
Confidence in this summary: high. Forest orders change mid-season and districts differ — this is a research summary, not legal advice. Check the sources above before you drive out.