Overlanding
California
The Mojave and Death Valley, the Eastern Sierra and the forests of the far north.
- 45.3%
- of the region is federal land
- 45.4M of 100.2M acres
- 20.8M
- acres of national forest
- Forest roads and Motor Vehicle Use Maps
- 15.0M
- acres of BLM land
- The most open ground for dispersed camping
- 32,982
- miles of BLM routes open to vehicles
- Published for California
Who manages California
The agency on the sign decides where you can drive and where you can sleep. BLM and national forest land is where most dispersed camping and backcountry roads are.
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.
- California
45.3% 45,391,499 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
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.