Arizona Public Lands

38.5% of Arizona is federal land: 27,961,796 of its 72,688,000 acres (2024 data). The Bureau of Land Management is Arizona's largest land manager, with 12,057,980 acres, 16.6% of the state. Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. This guide covers 22 state parks, 20 National Park Service units, 6 national forests, 9 BLM conservation areas and monuments, 90 wilderness areas, and 9 national wildlife refuges.

Explore Arizona public lands by type

Arizona public land map

  • BLM conservation areas and monuments
  • National forests
  • National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS)
  • National wildlife refuges (FWS)
  • State parks
  • Wilderness areas (dashed)
Land managed by (switch layers on or off)

Land ownership: USGS PAD-US 4.1, dissolved by manager and simplified (parcels under about 2 square km not shown). Unit boundaries simplified. Not for navigation or legal boundaries.

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List of all 156 places on this map22 state parks · 20 national parks, recreation areas and monuments (nps) · 6 national forests · 9 BLM conservation areas and monuments · 90 wilderness areas · 9 national wildlife refuges (fws)

State parks (22)

National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (20)

National forests (6)

BLM conservation areas and monuments (9)

Wilderness areas (90)

National wildlife refuges (FWS) (9)

Who manages Arizona's land

Agency Acres Share of Arizona
Bureau of Land Management 12,057,980 16.6%
U.S. Forest Service 11,183,887 15.4%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1,683,554 2.3%
National Park Service 2,658,489 3.7%
Department of Defense 377,886 0.5%
All federal land 27,961,796 38.5%

Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-28.

Camping on Arizona public land

BLM

Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. (BLM Arizona, checked 2026-09-28.) See Arizona BLM units for each area's own rule.

National parks

National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Chiricahua National Monument , Grand Canyon National Park , Lake Mead National Recreation Area , Navajo National Monument and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.

Wildlife refuges

Most national wildlife refuges ban camping, but Kofa National Wildlife Refuge allows it, each under its own rules and stay limit.

State parks

9 of Arizona's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the Arizona state parks table.

Common questions

38.5% of Arizona is federal land: 27,961,796 of its 72,688,000 acres (2024 data).
12,057,980 acres, 16.6% of the state (2024 data).
The Bureau of Land Management is Arizona's largest land manager, with 12,057,980 acres, 16.6% of the state.
Yes. Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. Individual conservation areas and monuments set their own rules; check each unit.
This guide lists 22 Arizona state parks and recreation areas, 9 of them with camping on record.