Colorado Public Lands
36.3% of Colorado is federal land: 24,118,417 of its 66,485,760 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in Colorado is the U.S. Forest Service, with 14,490,250 acres, 21.8% 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 42 state parks, 12 National Park Service units, 8 national forests, 5 BLM conservation areas and monuments, 44 wilderness areas, and 8 national wildlife refuges.
Explore Colorado public lands by type
- Colorado state parks 42 parks, 33 with camping, 21 with swimming
- Colorado national parks 12 National Park Service units, 1 with developed campgrounds
- Colorado national forests Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, Pike and San Isabel National Forests, Rio Grande National Forest, San Juan National Forest, White River National Forest, Manti-La Sal National Forest
- Colorado BLM units 5 conservation areas and monuments, 1 with designated-site camping, 1 with dispersed camping
- Colorado wilderness areas 44 areas, 1 need a permit in part
- Colorado national wildlife refuges 8 national wildlife refuges
Colorado 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.
List of all 119 places on this map
State parks (42)
- Barr Lake State Park
- Boyd Lake State Park
- Castlewood Canyon State Park
- Chatfield State Park
- Cherry Creek State Park
- Cheyenne Mountain State Park
- Crawford State Park
- Eldorado Canyon State Park
- Eleven Mile State Park
- Elkhead Reservoir State Park
- Fishers Peak State Park
- Golden Gate Canyon State Park
- Harvey Gap State Park
- Highline Lake State Park
- Jackson Lake State Park
- James M. Robb - Colorado River State Park
- John Martin Reservoir State Park
- Lake Pueblo State Park
- Lathrop State Park
- Lone Mesa State Park
- Lory State Park
- Mancos State Park
- Mueller State Park
- Navajo State Park
- North Sterling State Park
- Paonia State Park
- Pearl Lake State Park
- Ridgway State Park
- Rifle Falls State Park
- Rifle Gap State Park
- Roxborough State Park
- Spinney Mountain State Park
- St. Vrain State Park
- Stagecoach State Park
- Staunton State Park
- Steamboat Lake State Park
- Sweetwater Lake State Park
- Sweitzer Lake State Park
- Sylvan Lake State Park
- Trinidad Lake State Park
- Vega State Park
- Yampa River State Park
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (12)
- Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
- Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park
- Colorado National Monument
- Curecanti National Recreation Area
- Dinosaur National Monument
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
- Hovenweep National Monument
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
- Yucca House National Monument
National forests (8)
BLM conservation areas and monuments (5)
Wilderness areas (44)
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness
- Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness
- Buffalo Peaks Wilderness
- Byers Peak Wilderness
- Cache La Poudre Wilderness
- Collegiate Peaks Wilderness
- Comanche Peak Wilderness
- Dominguez Canyon Wilderness
- Eagles Nest Wilderness
- Flat Tops Wilderness
- Fossil Ridge Wilderness
- Great Sand Dunes Wilderness
- Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness
- Gunnison Gorge Wilderness
- Hermosa Creek Wilderness
- Holy Cross Wilderness
- Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness
- Indian Peaks Wilderness
- James Peak Wilderness
- La Garita Wilderness
- Lizard Head Wilderness
- Lost Creek Wilderness
- Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness
- Mesa Verde Wilderness
- Mount Evans Wilderness
- Mount Massive Wilderness
- Mount Sneffels Wilderness
- Mount Zirkel Wilderness
- Neota Wilderness
- Never Summer Wilderness
- Platte River Wilderness
- Powderhorn Wilderness
- Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness
- Raggeds Wilderness
- Rawah Wilderness
- Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness
- Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
- Sarvis Creek Wilderness
- South San Juan Wilderness
- Spanish Peaks Wilderness
- Uncompahgre Wilderness
- Vasquez Peak Wilderness
- Weminuche Wilderness
- West Elk Wilderness
National wildlife refuges (FWS) (8)
Who manages Colorado's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 8,344,829 | 12.6% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 14,490,250 | 21.8% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 183,145 | 0.3% |
| National Park Service | 679,044 | 1% |
| Department of Defense | 421,149 | 0.6% |
| All federal land | 24,118,417 | 36.3% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.
Camping on Colorado public land
Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. (BLM Colorado, checked 2026-09-30.) See Colorado BLM units for each area's own rule.
Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests , Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests , Pike and San Isabel National Forests .
National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Rocky Mountain National Park for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.
33 of Colorado's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the Colorado state parks table.
Common questions
- 36.3% of Colorado is federal land: 24,118,417 of its 66,485,760 acres (2024 data).
- 8,344,829 acres, 12.6% of the state (2024 data).
- The largest federal land manager in Colorado is the U.S. Forest Service, with 14,490,250 acres, 21.8% 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 42 Colorado state parks and recreation areas, 33 of them with camping on record.
- congress.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
- blm.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
The sentences on this page are generated by software from the sourced records above, not written by hand. How this content is made.