Rules · Texas

Dispersed-camping rules in Texas

Texas sits at the intersection of federal public land, state trust land, and a patchwork of state-park, wildlife-area, and private land. The rules that govern free and dispersed camping vary substantially across those categories. Texas does not require a general state-trust recreation permit; see specifics below for any unit-by-unit exceptions. The federal stay limit applicable to Texas is generally Varies by site; most state parks limit to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles to a new general area. Some units within Texas apply tighter local stay limits in popular areas. Fire restrictions in Texas are issued by the Texas A&M Forest Service for state and private land, and by each federal land-management unit independently for federal land. Always check both before lighting anything. The notes below summarize the practical rules most dispersed campers in Texas need to keep in mind, with links to the authoritative agency pages — bookmark those, because the specifics change yearly.

State trust land in Texas

Texas has very little federal public land; most state land requires a Texas State Parks Pass. $70/year State Parks Pass; daily fees apply otherwise. The authoritative page is tpwd.texas.gov — read the actual rule before relying on a third-party summary, because state agencies update permit terms more often than federal land managers do.

Fire restrictions in Texas

Restrictions in Texas are issued by the Texas A&M Forest Service for state and private land, and by each federal land-management unit independently for federal land. The current statewide picture is published at tfsweb.tamu.edu. Always check both sources before lighting anything — even a propane stove can trigger enforcement under Stage II conditions.

Specific quirks worth knowing

Texas is overwhelmingly private land. Federal dispersed camping is essentially limited to the LBJ and Caddo National Grasslands and a handful of NPS backcountry zones at Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains. Big Bend Ranch State Park offers backcountry primitive sites that approximate dispersed camping.

Agencies you'll deal with

• USFS Caddo & LBJ National Grasslands
• NPS Big Bend NP
• NPS Guadalupe Mountains NP
• TPWD

How this page interacts with the rest of the directory

The rules above govern every campsite in our Texas directory. They also govern the regional zones we curate inside Texas — see the regions index for the named dispersed-camping corridors. None of these rules override unit-specific orders posted at the trailhead; if a sign says "no camping," that's the controlling instruction regardless of what this page says.