Can you camp on military land?
Military installation — no public access or camping. A base, training range, or bombing range is closed federal land, and the ownership data can paint it as if it were the surrounding BLM or national forest — so the map shows it in the off-limits red, named for what it is: sovereign federal use, not public ground.
See the live map →A military installation is federal land set aside for the Department of Defense — a base, training range, depot, or bombing range. It is closed to the public, and there is no public camping. The Department of Energy runs a few federal restricted areas the same way. We carry both in the off-limits overlay's red because the ownership data routinely paints a closed range as the surrounding BLM or national forest — a gold blob that would read as open dispersed camping. The red overrides that. Active ranges also carry real hazards (live fire, unexploded ordnance), so the boundary is a hard line, not a rule to verify and bend. Stay out unless the installation publishes a sanctioned recreation program.
Common questions
- Can you camp on military land?
- No. A military installation is closed federal land with no public access or camping. A small number of bases run their own MWR campgrounds for service members, veterans, and authorized guests, but that is not public dispersed camping — and the range or installation must publish the program. Verify with the specific installation before assuming any access.
- Why is military land red on the map?
- We group private, tribal, and military land into one off-limits red because none of it is public and ownership data can hide it. A military range can sit inside a broad BLM management blob, so without the override it could read as 'BLM · dispersed OK' when the land is closed. The red keeps a closed range from reading as open camping.
- What about federal restricted areas that aren't a military base?
- The Department of Energy runs federal restricted areas the same way — closed to the public, no camping. We carry them in the same off-limits red as military land. Treat the boundary as a hard line and stay out; some ranges also carry live-fire or unexploded-ordnance hazards.
Sources — verify before you camp
- Land status: PAD-US (USGS, public domain) — Department of Defense and Department of Energy ownership (an installation or restricted-range boundary, not a permit). As accessed 2026-06.
- Access to any specific installation is set by that installation — there is no public-camping right on military land. Contact the base or range directly to confirm any sanctioned recreation program. As accessed 2026-06.
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.