New Mexico Public Lands
31.6% of New Mexico is federal land: 24,581,379 of its 77,766,400 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in New Mexico is the Bureau of Land Management, with 13,491,010 acres, 17.3% 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 31 state parks, 14 National Park Service units, 6 national forests, 6 BLM conservation areas and monuments, 39 wilderness areas, and 8 national wildlife refuges.
Explore New Mexico public lands by type
- New Mexico state parks 31 parks, 30 with camping, 16 with swimming
- New Mexico national parks 14 National Park Service units, 1 with developed campgrounds
- New Mexico national forests Gila National Forest, Santa Fe National Forest, Carson National Forest, Cibola National Forest, Coronado National Forest, Lincoln National Forest
- New Mexico BLM units 6 conservation areas and monuments, 3 with designated-site camping, 1 closed to camping
- New Mexico wilderness areas 39 areas, 1 need a permit in part
- New Mexico national wildlife refuges 8 national wildlife refuges
New Mexico 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 104 places on this map
State parks (31)
- Bluewater Lake State Park
- Bottomless Lakes State Park
- Brantley Lake State Park
- Caballo Lake State Park
- Cerrillos Hills State Park
- Cimarron Canyon State Park
- City of Rocks State Park
- Clayton Lake State Park
- Coyote Creek State Park
- Eagle Nest Lake State Park
- El Vado Lake State Park
- Elephant Butte Lake State Park
- Fenton Lake State Park
- Hyde Memorial State Park
- Leasburg Dam State Park
- Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park
- Manzano Mountains State Park
- Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park
- Morphy Lake State Park
- Oasis State Park
- Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
- Pancho Villa State Park
- Percha Dam State Park
- Rio Grande Nature Center State Park
- Rockhound State Park
- Santa Rosa Lake State Park
- Storrie Lake State Park
- Sugarite Canyon State Park
- Sumner Lake State Park
- Ute Lake State Park
- Villanueva State Park
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (14)
- Aztec Ruins National Monument
- Bandelier National Monument
- Capulin Volcano National Monument
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park
- El Malpais National Monument
- El Morro National Monument
- Fort Union National Monument
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
- Pecos National Historical Park
- Petroglyph National Monument
- Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
- Valles Caldera National Preserve
- White Sands National Park
National forests (6)
BLM conservation areas and monuments (6)
Wilderness areas (39)
- Aden Lava Flow Wilderness
- Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness
- Aldo Leopold Wilderness
- Apache Kid Wilderness
- Bandelier Wilderness
- Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness
- Blue Range Wilderness
- Bosque del Apache Wilderness
- Broad Canyon Wilderness
- Capitan Mountains Wilderness
- Carlsbad Caverns Wilderness
- Cebolla Wilderness
- Cerro del Yuta Wilderness
- Chama River Canyon Wilderness
- Cinder Cone Wilderness
- Columbine-Hondo Wilderness
- Cruces Basin Wilderness
- Dome Wilderness
- East Potrillo Mountains Wilderness
- Gila Wilderness
- Latir Peak Wilderness
- Manzano Mountain Wilderness
- Mount Riley Wilderness
- Ojito Wilderness
- Organ Mountains Wilderness
- Pecos Wilderness
- Potrillo Mountains Wilderness
- Rio San Antonio Wilderness
- Robledo Mountains Wilderness
- Sabinoso Wilderness
- Salt Creek Wilderness
- San Pedro Parks Wilderness
- Sandia Mountain Wilderness
- Sierra de las Uvas Wilderness
- West Malpais Wilderness
- Wheeler Peak Wilderness
- White Mountain Wilderness
- Whitethorn Wilderness
- Withington Wilderness
National wildlife refuges (FWS) (8)
Who manages New Mexico's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 13,491,010 | 17.3% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 9,229,797 | 11.9% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 332,058 | 0.4% |
| National Park Service | 472,925 | 0.6% |
| Department of Defense | 1,055,589 | 1.4% |
| All federal land | 24,581,379 | 31.6% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.
Camping on New Mexico 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 New Mexico, checked 2026-09-30.) See New Mexico BLM units for each area's own rule.
Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Gila National Forest , Lincoln National Forest .
National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Chaco Culture National Historical Park for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.
30 of New Mexico's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the New Mexico state parks table.
Common questions
- 31.6% of New Mexico is federal land: 24,581,379 of its 77,766,400 acres (2024 data).
- 13,491,010 acres, 17.3% of the state (2024 data).
- The largest federal land manager in New Mexico is the Bureau of Land Management, with 13,491,010 acres, 17.3% 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 31 New Mexico state parks and recreation areas, 30 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.