Idaho Public Lands
61.9% of Idaho is federal land: 32,785,766 of its 52,933,120 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in Idaho is the U.S. Forest Service, with 20,451,561 acres, 38.6% 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 24 state parks, 6 National Park Service units, 10 national forests, 2 BLM conservation areas and monuments, 15 wilderness areas, and 6 national wildlife refuges.
Explore Idaho public lands by type
- Idaho state parks 24 parks, 11 with camping, 13 with swimming
- Idaho national parks 6 National Park Service units
- Idaho national forests Bitterroot National Forest, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai National Forest, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Boise National Forest, Payette National Forest, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Sawtooth National Forest, Caribou-Targhee National Forest
- Idaho BLM units 2 conservation areas and monuments, 2 with dispersed camping
- Idaho wilderness areas 15 areas
- Idaho national wildlife refuges 6 national wildlife refuges, 1 with camping
Idaho 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 63 places on this map
State parks (24)
- Bear Lake State Park (Idaho)
- Bruneau Dunes State Park
- Castle Rocks State Park
- Coeur d'Alene Parkway State Park
- Dworshak State Park
- Eagle Island State Park (Idaho)
- Farragut State Park
- Harriman State Park (Idaho)
- Hells Gate State Park
- Henrys Lake State Park
- Heyburn State Park
- Lake Cascade State Park
- Lake Walcott State Park
- Land of the Yankee Fork State Park
- Lucky Peak State Park
- Massacre Rocks State Park
- McCroskey State Park
- Old Mission State Park
- Ponderosa State Park
- Priest Lake State Park
- Round Lake State Park
- Thousand Springs State Park
- Three Island Crossing State Park
- Winchester Lake State Park
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (6)
National forests (10)
BLM conservation areas and monuments (2)
Wilderness areas (15)
- Big Jacks Creek Wilderness
- Bruneau-Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness
- Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness
- Craters of the Moon National Wilderness Area
- Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness
- Gospel-Hump Wilderness
- Hells Canyon Wilderness
- Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness
- Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness
- Little Jacks Creek Wilderness
- North Fork Owyhee Wilderness
- Owyhee River Wilderness
- Pole Creek Wilderness
- Sawtooth Wilderness
- Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness
Who manages Idaho's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of Idaho |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 11,768,027 | 22.2% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 20,451,561 | 38.6% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 51,002 | 0.1% |
| National Park Service | 512,086 | 1% |
| Department of Defense | 3,090 | 0% |
| All federal land | 32,785,766 | 61.9% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.
Camping on Idaho 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 Idaho, checked 2026-09-30.) See Idaho BLM units for each area's own rule.
Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest , Boise National Forest .
Most national wildlife refuges ban camping, but Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge allows it, each under its own rules and stay limit.
11 of Idaho's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the Idaho state parks table.
Common questions
- 61.9% of Idaho is federal land: 32,785,766 of its 52,933,120 acres (2024 data).
- 11,768,027 acres, 22.2% of the state (2024 data).
- The largest federal land manager in Idaho is the U.S. Forest Service, with 20,451,561 acres, 38.6% 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 24 Idaho state parks and recreation areas, 11 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.