CIWILD original research
The Free Camping Accessibility Score: ranking the 7 best Western states for dispersed camping
Ask any dispersed camper which Western state is easiest to camp in for free, and you'll get a different answer every time. Nobody had actually measured it — so we built a scoring system, using public BLM and USFS data.
California is the most-searched state for camping content. It ranks last on accessibility.
The ranking
| Rank | State | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | ~67% of the state is BLM land, the highest share in the country, with virtually no permit requirements. | |
| 2 | Utah | 22.8 million BLM acres (about 42% of the state), free almost everywhere except a few Moab corridors. | |
| 3 | Arizona | Excellent year-round access, offset by paid Long-Term Visitor Area permits near Quartzsite. | |
| 4 | Oregon | Solid public land share, limited by wet-season road closures roughly October–May. | |
| 5 | Wyoming | High permit-free access, but a short summer window — many sites open June–September only. | |
| 6 | Colorado | The smallest BLM footprint of the seven states, plus a short high-country season. | |
| 7 | California | The most popular state for camping searches, but the most permit friction — Alabama Hills and other hotspots now require permits. |
Methodology
The score rates each state 0–10 across three weighted factors, using CIWILD's own analytical framework built on public BLM and USFS data:
- Permit friction (40%) — whether major, high-traffic dispersed camping zones require a special permit or fee beyond standard BLM/USFS rules.
- Seasonal accessibility (30%) — how many months per year dispersed camping is realistically open, accounting for snow closures and extreme summer heat.
- Public land abundance (30%) — the share of the state's total land area that is BLM-managed, based on the BLM's own published acreage figures.
This is not an official government ranking — it's CIWILD's own synthesis. The underlying facts (acreage figures, permit rules) are drawn from BLM and USFS public sources, linked below.
The takeaway
The state that shows up first in most people's camping daydreams actually ranks last on accessibility. Meanwhile Nevada, which rarely gets top billing in camping content, tops the list by a wide margin. California's growing permit requirements at flagship sites like Alabama Hills are a direct response to overcrowding — while Nevada's vast, lightly-regulated BLM acreage remains comparatively under-visited.