What is an MVUM road, and what does it mean for camping?
An MVUM road is a designated motorized road — the U.S. Forest Service's legal decision that a motor vehicle may use it. That legal designation is the whole point: an MVUM line is not just a road that exists, it's a road you may legally drive, which is what makes it the right kind of road to look for a dispersed campsite along.
See the designated roads near you on the map →MVUM stands for Motor Vehicle Use Map — the U.S. Forest Service's official, legal map of which roads and trails on a national forest are open to motor vehicles. An MVUM road carries a legal motorized designation: the Forest Service has formally decided a vehicle (sometimes only certain types, or only in certain seasons) may use that route. A road that merely shows up on a base map because it physically exists carries no such decision. We draw MVUM roads (sourced from the Forest Service's EDW) and the BLM's GTLF routes as designated motorized roads for that legal weight — and because dispersed camping on national-forest land is generally tied to camping within a posted distance of a road open to motorized use, the MVUM tells you which roads you may legally drive in on. A county or TIGER line records existence only, never a designation or a permit.
Common questions
- What does MVUM stand for?
- Motor Vehicle Use Map — the U.S. Forest Service's official, legal map of which roads and trails on a national forest are open to motor vehicles, and to which vehicle types and seasons. It is the legal designation, not just a depiction of roads.
- Why does the MVUM matter for dispersed camping?
- Because dispersed camping on national-forest land is generally tied to camping within a posted distance of a road that's open to motorized use. The MVUM tells you which roads you may legally drive in on — so it governs where you can legally reach a dispersed site.
- Is every road on a map an MVUM road?
- No. An MVUM (or BLM GTLF) road carries a legal motorized designation. A county or TIGER road line records that a road exists, nothing more — it is never a legal designation or a camping permit. Our map draws the two differently for exactly that reason.
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.