California Public Lands

45.3% of California is federal land: 45,391,499 of its 100,206,720 acres (2024 data). The Bureau of Land Management is California's largest land manager, with 14,989,808 acres, 15% 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 243 state parks, 24 National Park Service units, 20 national forests, 12 BLM conservation areas and monuments, 154 wilderness areas, and 36 national wildlife refuges.

Explore California public lands by type

California 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 489 places on this map243 state parks · 24 national parks, recreation areas and monuments (nps) · 20 national forests · 12 BLM conservation areas and monuments · 154 wilderness areas · 36 national wildlife refuges (fws)

State parks (243)

National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (24)

National forests (20)

BLM conservation areas and monuments (12)

Wilderness areas (154)

National wildlife refuges (FWS) (36)

Who manages California's land

Agency Acres Share of California
Bureau of Land Management 14,989,808 15%
U.S. Forest Service 20,838,146 20.8%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 311,107 0.3%
National Park Service 7,655,258 7.6%
Department of Defense 1,597,180 1.6%
All federal land 45,391,499 45.3%

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

Camping on California 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 California, checked 2026-09-28.) See California BLM units for each area's own rule.

National forest

Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest , Inyo National Forest .

National parks

National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Death Valley National Park , Joshua Tree National Park , Lassen Volcanic National Park , Lava Beds National Monument , Pinnacles National Park , Point Reyes National Seashore , Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area , Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and Yosemite National Park for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.

Wildlife refuges

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

State parks

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

Common questions

45.3% of California is federal land: 45,391,499 of its 100,206,720 acres (2024 data).
14,989,808 acres, 15% of the state (2024 data).
The Bureau of Land Management is California's largest land manager, with 14,989,808 acres, 15% 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 243 California state parks and recreation areas, 227 of them with camping on record.