Nevada Public Lands
79.8% of Nevada is federal land: 56,081,005 of its 70,264,320 acres (2024 data). The Bureau of Land Management is Nevada's largest land manager, with 47,225,132 acres, 67.2% 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 27 state parks, 4 National Park Service units, 3 national forests, 8 BLM conservation areas and monuments, 73 wilderness areas, and 9 national wildlife refuges.
Explore Nevada public lands by type
- Nevada state parks 27 parks, 19 with camping, 10 with swimming
- Nevada national parks 4 National Park Service units, 3 with developed campgrounds
- Nevada national forests Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Inyo National Forest, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
- Nevada BLM units 8 conservation areas and monuments, 1 with designated-site camping, 4 with dispersed camping, 1 closed to camping
- Nevada wilderness areas 73 areas, 1 need a permit in part
- Nevada national wildlife refuges 9 national wildlife refuges, 5 with camping
Nevada 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 124 places on this map
State parks (27)
- Beaver Dam State Park
- Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park
- Big Bend of the Colorado State Recreation Area
- Cathedral Gorge State Park
- Cave Lake State Park
- Cave Rock - Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park
- Dayton State Park
- Echo Canyon State Park
- Elgin Schoolhouse State Historic Park
- Fort Churchill State Historic Park
- Ice Age Fossils State Park
- Kershaw-Ryan State Park
- Lahontan State Recreation Area
- Mormon Station State Historic Park
- Old Las Vegas State Historic Park
- Rye Patch State Recreation Area
- Sand Harbor - Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park
- South Fork State Recreation Area
- Spooner Lake - Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park
- Spring Mountain Ranch State Park
- Spring Valley State Park
- Valley of Fire State Park
- Van Sickle - Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park
- Walker River State Recreation Area
- Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park
- Washoe Lake State Park
- Wild Horse State Recreation Area
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (4)
National forests (3)
BLM conservation areas and monuments (8)
- Avi Kwa Ame National Monument
- Basin and Range National Monument
- Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area
- Gold Butte National Monument
- Numunaa Nobe National Conservation Area
- Pistone-Black Mountain National Conservation Area
- Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
- Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area
Wilderness areas (73)
- Alta Toquima Wilderness
- Arc Dome Wilderness
- Arrow Canyon Wilderness
- Bald Mountain Wilderness
- Becky Peak Wilderness
- Big Rocks Wilderness
- Black Canyon Wilderness
- Black Rock Desert Wilderness
- Boundary Peak Wilderness
- Bridge Canyon Wilderness
- Bristlecone Wilderness
- Cain Mountain Wilderness
- Calico Mountains Wilderness
- Clan Alpine Mountains Wilderness
- Clover Mountains Wilderness
- Currant Mountain Wilderness
- Death Valley Wilderness
- Delamar Mountains Wilderness
- Desatoya Mountains Wilderness
- East Fork High Rock Canyon Wilderness
- East Humboldts Wilderness
- Eldorado Wilderness
- Far South Egans Wilderness
- Fortification Range Wilderness
- Goshute Canyon Wilderness
- Government Peak Wilderness
- Grant Range Wilderness
- High Rock Canyon Wilderness
- High Rock Lake Wilderness
- High Schells Wilderness
- Highland Ridge Wilderness
- Ireteba Peaks Wilderness
- Jarbidge Wilderness
- Jimbilnan Wilderness
- Jumbo Springs Wilderness
- La Madre Mountain Wilderness
- Lime Canyon Wilderness
- Little High Rock Canyon Wilderness
- Meadow Valley Range Wilderness
- Mormon Mountains Wilderness
- Mount Grafton Wilderness
- Mt. Charleston Wilderness
- Mt. Irish Wilderness
- Mt. Moriah Wilderness
- Mt. Rose Wilderness
- Muddy Mountains Wilderness
- Nellis Wash Wilderness
- North Black Rock Range Wilderness
- North Jackson Mountains Wilderness
- North McCullough Wilderness
- Pahute Peak Wilderness
- Parsnip Peak Wilderness
- Pine Forest Range Wilderness
- Pinto Valley Wilderness
- Quinn Canyon Wilderness
- Rainbow Mountain Wilderness
- Red Mountain Wilderness
- Ruby Mountains Wilderness
- Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness
- Shellback Wilderness
- South Egan Range Wilderness
- South Jackson Mountains Wilderness
- South McCullough Wilderness
- South Pahroc Range Wilderness
- Spirit Mountain Wilderness
- Table Mountain Wilderness
- Tunnel Spring Wilderness
- Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness
- Weepah Spring Wilderness
- White Pine Range Wilderness
- White Rock Range Wilderness
- Worthington Mountains Wilderness
- Wovoka Wilderness
National wildlife refuges (FWS) (9)
- Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge
- Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
- Desert National Wildlife Refuge
- Fallon National Wildlife Refuge
- Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge
- Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge
- Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge
- Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
Who manages Nevada's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of Nevada |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 47,225,132 | 67.2% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 5,761,289 | 8.2% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2,225,565 | 3.2% |
| National Park Service | 797,690 | 1.1% |
| Department of Defense | 71,329 | 0.1% |
| All federal land | 56,081,005 | 79.8% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-25.
Camping on Nevada 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 Nevada, checked 2026-09-25.) See Nevada BLM units for each area's own rule.
Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Inyo National Forest , Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest .
National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Death Valley National Park , Great Basin National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.
Most national wildlife refuges ban camping, but Desert National Wildlife Refuge , Fallon National Wildlife Refuge , Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge , Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge allow it, each under its own rules and stay limit.
19 of Nevada's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the Nevada state parks table.
Fire restrictions in Nevada
Fire restrictions on Nevada's public lands are set by agency, fire zone, and stage, and change through the season. Before a campfire, a stove, or target shooting, check the current restrictions on Nevada Fire Info, the interagency fire information site for Nevada. Each unit's page here lists the orders on record for it.
Common questions
- 79.8% of Nevada is federal land: 56,081,005 of its 70,264,320 acres (2024 data).
- Nevada's statehood law, the Nevada Enabling Act of 1864 (13 Stat. 30, §4), required the new state to disclaim "all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within" its territory, so that land stayed under federal control. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 then declared that the remaining public domain lands would generally stay in federal ownership.
- 47,225,132 acres, 67.2% of the state (2024 data).
- The Bureau of Land Management is Nevada's largest land manager, with 47,225,132 acres, 67.2% 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. Don't leave property unattended for more than 10 days. Individual conservation areas and monuments set their own rules; check each unit.
- This guide lists 27 Nevada state parks and recreation areas, 19 of them with camping on record.
- https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R42346 (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42346.html (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/recreation-activities/nevada (accessed 2026-09-25)
- https://www.blm.gov/maps/frequently-requested/nevada (accessed 2026-09-25)