Overlanding
District of Columbia
RegionNortheast
- 25.1%
- of the District is federal land
- 9,807 of 39K acres
- 8,479
- acres of national park land
- Designated roads, and camping in campgrounds or by permit
Who manages District of Columbia
The agency on the sign decides where you can drive and where you can sleep. Choose one to see how much of the District it holds and what that means for a trip.
Each bar is the whole state. The filled part is federal land, divided by the agency that manages it. Choose an agency to see only its ground. Bureau of Land Management. The most open ground for vehicle travel and dispersed camping. Stays outside developed sites are generally limited to 14 days.Forest Service. Motor Vehicle Use Maps show which roads and trails are open to which vehicles. Dispersed camping is common, with limits set by each forest.National Park Service. Vehicles stay on designated roads, and camping is in campgrounds or by permit. Some parks have backcountry roads that need high clearance.Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildlife refuges. Travel is limited to designated roads, and many refuges do not allow camping.Department of Defense. Military land. Closed to the public unless posted otherwise.
- District of Columbia
25.1% 9,807 acres
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Table 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Federal land here means the five agencies shown; state, tribal and private land make up the rest of each bar.
The public land map of District of Columbia
Agency boundaries, the BLM and Forest Service roads and trails open to vehicles, wilderness, and BLM campgrounds. Select any point for who manages it.
Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.
Map layers
Legend
Federal land, by managing agency
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
State and local land (USGS PAD-US)
- State land
- County and city land
- Regional agency or district
- Land trust or conservancy
BLM roads and trails
Roads Managed for Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Roads Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Trails Managed for Public Motorized Use
Trail
Trails Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
- Trail
Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map
Roads
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal- Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
BLM Wilderness
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
BLM recreation sites
- Camping
- OHV area
- Trailhead
Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.
Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.
Select any point to see who manages the land.
The map could not start in this browser.
It needs WebGL, which is turned off or unavailable here. You can still browse public land by state, or use the BLM’s own maps.
Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.
Where you can camp in District of Columbia
Every federal campground, cabin and camping area a vehicle can reach, from the Recreation.gov record: . Each one has its own page with what the agency publishes about it.
- 01
0 places to camp
0 of them can be booked ahead on Recreation.gov. The rest are first come, first served, or not listed there at all.
See them on the map - 02
0 counties, 0 gateway towns
A town gets its own page when it has three or more of them within thirty miles, so you can plan a night around where the fuel is.
By county and by town - 03
The written District of Columbia guide
Seasons, the passes and roads worth driving, the towns to fuel in, and the rules each office sets. We publish it when every number in it has a source that we opened.
Being researched
Camping in District of Columbia
Builders, shops and help in District of Columbia
- Overland builders Shops that take a stock truck, SUV or van and turn it into a vehicle you can live out of for a week or a year. Free quotes
- Sprinter van builders Upfitters and conversion shops that turn an empty Mercedes-Benz Sprinter into a van you can live and travel in. Free quotes
- Fabricators Metal shops that design, cut and weld the parts you cannot buy off a shelf: bumpers, sliders, racks, skid plates, mounts and repairs. Free quotes
- Suspension Shops that set up springs, shocks and geometry for the weight you actually carry and the roads you actually drive. Free quotes
- Tires Tire and wheel shops that understand load ratings, airing down and what a loaded overland vehicle asks of its tires. Free quotes
- Overland mechanics Independent mechanics who know what dirt, weight and distance do to a vehicle, and who will look it over like someone about to drive it a long way from help. Free quotes
- Diesel specialists Shops that live in diesel, from Sprinter vans to heavy-duty pickups, with the diagnostic tools and the patience these engines require. Free quotes
- 4x4 shops The all-round off-road shop: lockers, gears, armor, winches, lights and the knowledge of how they work together on your platform. Free quotes
- RV and van service Service for the house as well as the vehicle: electrical systems, heaters, plumbing, appliances, roofs and seals. Free quotes
- Overland outfitters Stores where you can see the gear before you buy it, and talk to someone who has used it. Free quotes
- Recovery equipment Winches, traction boards, ropes, shackles and the mounting points that make them safe to use. Free quotes
- Roof tents Dealers and installers for rooftop tents and awnings, and the racks that have to carry them. Free quotes
- Camping equipment Fridges, stoves, water, furniture, sleep systems and lighting for camps that start at the tailgate. Free quotes
- Expedition vehicle dealers Dealers and brokers for finished vehicles: expedition trucks, truck campers, adventure vans and the used rigs that come up when someone's trip ends. Free quotes
- Campgrounds Established campgrounds that welcome vehicle-based travelers, from public campgrounds on the way to somewhere to private camps worth a stay of their own.
- Adventure lodging Lodges, cabins, motels and ranches near the dirt, for the night you want a shower, a bed and someone else's cooking.
- Guides Guided trips and local guides for the places where knowing the ground matters: remote deserts, high passes, long river corridors and borders.
- Training Driver training, recovery courses, field repair and wilderness first aid, taught by people who do it for a living.
Free build quotes