Is a road on the map a permit to camp there?
A county or local road on our map records that a road exists — nothing more. Census TIGER and state road layers (like Utah's SGID) show where roads are; they do NOT say the land beside the road is public, or that camping there is allowed. An existence line is never a camping permit.
Check the land color along a road near you →A county or local road, drawn from the U.S. Census TIGER/Line files (and, in Utah, the state SGID road layer), records existence and road class only: it tells you a road is there and roughly what kind. It does NOT tell you the land on either side is public, and it never grants permission to camp. We draw these existence roads distinct from the Forest Service MVUM and BLM GTLF routes, which DO carry a legal motorized designation. A road can run dead through private ranch land; the line is silent about who owns the dirt beside it. So before you camp along a road, check the land color — gold/green public versus grey private — and verify locally. The road tells you how to get there; the land color tells you whether you can stay.
Common questions
- Does a road on the map mean you can camp there?
- No. A county or local road line (from Census TIGER or a state road layer) records only that a road exists. It says nothing about who owns the land beside it or whether camping is allowed. Check the land color and verify locally before you camp.
- What's the difference between an existence road and a designated road?
- An existence road (TIGER / state SGID) records that a road is there and its class — nothing more. A designated road (Forest Service MVUM or BLM GTLF) carries a legal motorized designation from the agency. We draw them differently; neither one is a camping permit.
- How do you know if you can camp next to a road?
- Look at the land color, not the road. Gold BLM and green national-forest land generally allows dispersed camping; grey private and terracotta state-park land does not. The road just tells you how to get there — the land color and a local check tell you whether you can stay.
Sources — verify before you camp
This page aggregates public data; the linked official pages are authoritative — verify before you camp. The color on our map is the disclaimer, never a permit.