Dispersed camping · Colorado
What the San Juan National Forest 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 | 100 ft | guidance |
| 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 ranger district MVUM (all current maps dated 2026). Columbine RD (MVUM 5/1/2026): blanket rule — 'Dispersed Camping on National Forest Lands' box permits motor vehicle use up to 300 ft from road centerline on all FS roads with listed exceptions: PROHIBITED on all campground roads, Rd 171 (forest boundary to MP 10.9), Rds 71/71.B Durango Hills, 576 Lower Hermosa, 577 Upper Hermosa TH, 584.A Little Molas TH, 590/590.A Andrews Lake, 621 Lower Piedra, 772 Purgatory, 791 Chris Park, 815 Clear Lake; and RESTRICTED to designated camping areas/sites or one vehicle length off road on Rds 571.D1/F/F2/M/N/P (La Plata Canyon), 577.A/577.B, 578 Hermosa Park + spurs, 584 Little Molas, and Rd 585 South Mineral + spurs. Pagosa RD (2026 MVUM): 300 ft from centerline but ONLY on roads marked with the dispersed-camping dot symbol ('This applies to all the roads with the Dispersed Camping symbol unless otherwise posted'). Dolores RD (2026 MVUM): dot-marked routes only — 'limited cross-country motor vehicle use within 300' of that route' where dots are shown; no blanket all-roads statement on that sheet.
San Juan MVUMs use dot symbols labeled 'Dispersed Camping/Game Retrieval (DC/GR), Left/Right/Both Sides' — i.e., the special dot marking covers motorized dispersed camping and, where indicated, big-game retrieval. Dolores RD publishes a separate Hunting Season Game Retrieval MVUM: OHV <50 in. wide may travel cross-country to retrieve legally harvested big game only within 1 mile of a designated open road inside the mapped Game Retrieval Area, max two OHVs (one trip) or one OHV (two trips). 'Special Vehicle Designation' on the Dolores sheet separately means e.g. 'Trails open to Wheeled Vehicles 62 inches or less in width, Seasonally'.
1) South Mineral (Silverton): Rd 585 and its spurs are restricted to designated camping areas/sites per the Columbine RD MVUM dispersed-camping table (the corridor with Anvil etc. designated areas; South Mineral Campground itself is developed). 2) La Plata Canyon: Order 02-13-08-24-05 (eff. 9/4/2024, expires 12/31/2027) — camping only in designated camping areas (Darby, La Plata City, Bay City, Miners Cabin, Madden Creek) or Snowslide/Kroeger campgrounds; fires only in FS metal grates. 3) Williams Creek area (Pagosa RD): camping closure order 02-13-06-25-10 (9/4/2025–9/4/2030). 4) Mancos and Dolores area camping prohibitions (eff. 2/2/2025–12/1/2029) and Andrews Lake camping restrictions (02-13-08-24-06, exp. 12/31/2027).
Stay limit: Forest-Wide Camping Stay Limits Order 02-13-00-24-03 (signed/effective 8/1/2024, expires 12/31/2029 — in effect summer 2026): 14 consecutive days combined at any location or within 3 miles of a prior camp, plus 28 days max per continuous 60-day period. DISCREPANCY: the forest's dispersed-camping web page (last updated 5/2/2025) still says '16 days... move at least 5 road miles' — that reflects the pre-2024 rule; the signed order controls, so 14 days / 3 miles is reported. Water setback: 100 ft is official-page guidance only ('Please place your campsite at least 100 feet from any stream or other water source'); no forest-wide setback order exists on the SJNF forest-orders page. Enforceable 100-ft water setbacks exist only inside Weminuche/South San Juan Wilderness via order SJRG-99-05 (non-motorized terrain). Columbine table transcribed from a rendered image of the 2026 MVUM PDF.
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.