Free camping is changing at several popular public-land destinations in the West.
We found six areas where land managers have restricted dispersed camping, moved campers into designated sites, added permits or closed land to overnight use. In Colorado, one former free camping area began charging $20 per night this summer. Two more dispersed camping areas in Utah are now being developed into fee campgrounds.
Federal agencies cite heavy use, resource damage, trash, sanitation problems and growing management costs as reasons for many of the changes.
We reviewed the records behind these decisions to see where free camping has already changed, what is coming next and what RVers can do before similar restrictions are approved elsewhere.
Where Free Camping Has Already Changed
The changes vary widely from one location to another. Some areas still allow free camping but only at designated sites, while others have added permits, closed land to overnight use, or replaced free camping with fee campgrounds.
| Area | Status | What It Means for Campers |
|---|---|---|
| SR-9 Corridor near Zion, Utah | Approved / being implemented | Camping will be limited to designated areas in parts of the corridor. Designated dispersed sites will remain, while two new developed campgrounds are planned as fee areas. |
| Homestake Valley, Colorado | Changed in 2026 | Former free designated sites became a managed campground. Individual sites now cost $20 per night during the operating season. |
| West Sedona, Arizona | Restricted | Dispersed camping was prohibited across an additional 32,130 acres. About 200 designated sites remain free. |
| Alabama Hills, California | Restricted | Camping was moved to designated sites and a permit became mandatory. Camping and the permit remain free. |
| Sierra Front, Nevada | Restricted | BLM closed selected areas near Reno, Carson City, and nearby communities to dispersed camping. Other BLM land remains open. No new fee was added. |
| Crested Butte, Colorado | Restricted | Camping in seven popular drainages was limited to designated sites or established campgrounds. Designated dispersed sites remain free. |
| Coal Creek near Cedar City, Utah | Coming | BLM is developing a campground in an area used for dispersed camping and has temporarily closed about 196 acres to overnight camping. The campground is planned as a fee site. BLM’s current business plan lists $12 individual sites. |
| Beas Lewis Flat near Torrey, Utah | Coming | BLM approved up to 45 campsites in the first phase at an area experiencing concentrated dispersed camping. The environmental assessment says it will be a fee collection site. |
Here’s a closer look at a few examples that cover several states and two federal agencies.
Near Zion: Camping Is Being Concentrated Into Designated Areas
The change: BLM approved a new camping management plan along Utah State Route 9 in March 2026. The project includes designated dispersed campsites, two developed campgrounds, and areas where camping will be limited to designated locations. Previously used dispersed sites will also be restored.
Why: BLM says the project is responding to increasing camping demand and damage to public land along the corridor.
Status: The decision has been approved, but portions of the project still have to be built and implemented.
Homestake Valley: Free Sites Became a $20 Campground
The change: Homestake Valley in Colorado had already moved from traditional dispersed camping to designated sites. Beginning June 15, 2026, 44 individual sites became part of the managed Homestake Valley Campground and now cost $20 per night. Two group sites cost $80.
Camping there is free outside the campground’s operating season, but campers must still use designated sites.
Why: The Forest Service says the fees support staffing, cleaning, maintenance and trash collection.
West Sedona: More Than 32,000 Acres Were Restricted
The change: Coconino National Forest restricted dispersed camping across an additional 32,130 acres west of Sedona in 2022.
Campers were directed to eight designated areas that can accommodate about 200 campsites in total. Camping outside those areas is prohibited.
Why: Forest Service planning documents describe growing recreational use, unauthorized campsite creation, litter, sanitation problems, damage to vegetation and soils, wildfire risk, and conflicts with nearby landowners.
The designated sites remain free, so this was not an end to free camping. It did, however, sharply reduce where people could do it.
Two More Free Camping Areas Are Becoming Fee Campgrounds
Two more Utah areas currently used for dispersed camping are being developed into fee campgrounds.
Near Cedar City, BLM is developing the Coal Creek Campground about 2.5 miles east of town. The agency has temporarily closed about 196 acres to overnight camping while the project moves forward. BLM project documents say the new campground will be a fee area, although a final nightly rate has not been announced.
Near Torrey and Capitol Reef National Park, BLM has approved the Beas Lewis Flat Campground, with up to 45 RV, tent and group sites planned in the first phase. The area is already popular for dispersed camping, but the new campground will collect camping fees. BLM says the project is intended to address heavy use, waste and gray-water disposal, resource damage and user-created trails.
What We Found: Popular Areas Are Seeing the Biggest Changes
We found no federal policy aimed at eliminating dispersed camping nationwide. BLM still says most of its lands are available for dispersed camping, subject to local restrictions, and the Forest Service continues to allow dispersed camping across large parts of the National Forest System.
The restrictions we found are concentrated around heavily used recreation areas. Even there, free camping often remains available. Sedona still has free designated sites, Alabama Hills has free sites with a free permit, and the Zion-area plan includes designated dispersed camping along with new developed campgrounds.
In many of these places, the main change is where people can camp. Instead of choosing among existing dispersed sites across a larger area, campers are being directed to a smaller number of approved locations. Homestake Valley is a bigger change because its designated sites now cost $20 per night during the main camping season.
Recent changes have not all been more restrictive. A Black Hills National Forest order that took effect August 8, 2026, changed its camping limit from 14 days within a 60-day period to 14 days within a continuous 28-day period.
The pattern so far is local: popular areas facing heavy use or recurring problems are more likely to move toward designated sites, permits, fees or closures.
Why Land Managers Are Doing It
The same problems appear repeatedly in agency records.
More People Are Using the Same Areas
BLM cited increasing camping demand when it approved the SR-9 project near Zion. Coconino National Forest also reported a substantial increase in recreational use west of Sedona, including another jump during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More campers can create problems even when most people follow the rules. The same roadside sites get used repeatedly, vehicles travel over more ground, campsites gradually expand, and more trash and human waste have to be managed. In heavily visited areas, land managers may respond by limiting camping to designated sites.
Campsites Can Spread
Officials say high recreational use caused problems that included trampled vegetation, expanding campsite footprints and litter. Camping in seven major drainages was moved to designated sites or established campgrounds.
The Sedona planning documents describe similar problems, including loss of vegetation and creation of additional campsites and vehicle routes.
Trash, Waste and Fire Problems Add Pressure
BLM’s plan for a new campground near Torrey, Utah, cites the disposal of waste and gray water, along with user-created camping areas and trails, as reasons for the project.
Sedona officials reported litter, inappropriate sanitation and increased wildfire risk. The Sierra Front restrictions in Nevada were adopted after BLM cited resource damage along with public health and safety concerns from concentrated use.
Managing Busy Areas Costs Money
Homestake Valley shows the financial side. Its new campground fees help cover cleaning, staffing, maintenance and trash service.
That does not mean every designated camping area will eventually charge a fee. Sedona and Alabama Hills show that agencies can restrict camping locations while keeping the sites free.
Are a Few Campers Ruining It for Everyone?
There are documented cases where individual campers have caused serious problems.
One of the clearest recent examples comes from Coal Creek near Cedar City, Utah.
BLM announced in April 2026 that about 196.5 acres would temporarily close to overnight camping while a new campground is developed. The agency also released an unusually specific number: 95 law-enforcement incidents were recorded within six miles of the project area between 2019 and 2023.
Those incidents included illegal dumping, illegal burning, drug use and long-term dispersed occupancy.
That is strong evidence that bad behavior can contribute to restrictions in a particular location.
It does not show that a small group of irresponsible RVers is responsible for the broader changes across public lands.
Agency documents usually describe several problems at once. Heavy use, sanitation, expanding campsites, fire risk and resource damage often appear alongside rule violations.
An area can also suffer damage simply because far more people are using it than in the past.
What Campers Can Actually Do
Campers usually have more influence before a restriction is approved than after the signs go up.
- Watch projects while they are still being reviewed. BLM publishes proposals through its National NEPA Register. Forest Service projects and public-comment opportunities are generally posted by the national forest handling the proposal.
- Give specific comments. BLM’s own project guidance says comments are more useful when they identify incorrect information, add relevant facts, question an analysis with supporting reasons, or suggest reasonable alternatives. A comment that simply says someone supports or opposes a proposal may not be considered substantive.
- Suggest alternatives to closing an area. Depending on the problem, options could include retaining established dispersed sites, adding toilets or trash service, enforcing existing stay limits, imposing seasonal restrictions, or creating designated dispersed sites rather than a developed campground.
- Avoid adding to the problems agencies are documenting. Existing sites should be used where required, stay limits should be followed, and trash and waste should be removed. BLM’s national camping guidance also tells visitors to avoid creating new vehicle tracks and new disturbances.
Public comments cannot guarantee that a camping area stays open. Growing use alone can lead agencies to change how a popular area is managed.
Still, many of these decisions go through a public process before they become final.
By the time the new signs and numbered campsites appear, most of the decisions have already been made.
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