Washington Public Lands

28.6% of Washington is federal land: 12,227,674 of its 42,693,760 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in Washington is the U.S. Forest Service, with 9,356,329 acres, 21.9% 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 157 state parks, 10 National Park Service units, 8 national forests, 31 wilderness areas, and 20 national wildlife refuges.

Explore Washington public lands by type

Washington public land map

  • 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 226 places on this map157 state parks · 10 national parks, recreation areas and monuments (nps) · 8 national forests · 31 wilderness areas · 20 national wildlife refuges (fws)

State parks (157)

National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (10)

National forests (8)

Wilderness areas (31)

National wildlife refuges (FWS) (20)

Who manages Washington's land

Agency Acres Share of Washington
Bureau of Land Management 437,317 1%
U.S. Forest Service 9,356,329 21.9%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 171,935 0.4%
National Park Service 1,834,687 4.3%
Department of Defense 427,406 1%
All federal land 12,227,674 28.6%

Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.

Camping on Washington 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 Washington, checked 2026-09-30.)

National forest

Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area .

National parks

National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Olympic National Park for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.

Wildlife refuges

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

State parks

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

Common questions

28.6% of Washington is federal land: 12,227,674 of its 42,693,760 acres (2024 data).
437,317 acres, 1% of the state (2024 data).
The largest federal land manager in Washington is the U.S. Forest Service, with 9,356,329 acres, 21.9% 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 157 Washington state parks and recreation areas, 41 of them with camping on record.

The sentences on this page are generated by software from the sourced records above, not written by hand. How this content is made.