New Jersey Free Camping Rank and Rules
New Jersey ranks #32 of 50 for free camping
New Jersey ranks #32 of 50 for free camping, with 3.7 known dispersed sites per 1,000 sq mi.
Data as of
New Jersey free camping in numbers
New Jersey ranks #32 of 50 for free camping, with 3.7 known dispersed sites per 1,000 sq mi.
- Rank
- #32
- Known dispersed sites per 1,000 sq mi
- 3.7
- Known dispersed sites
- 27
- Land area
- 7,354 sq mi
- Developed campgrounds
- 152
- State-land rule
- Marked sites only
- Forest restrictions tracked
- 0
Dispersed camping in New Jersey
Can you camp on New Jersey state land?
Marked sites only. State law allows no dispersed or backcountry camping at all. Every campsite is marked and charges a fee, and wildlife management areas ban camping statewide. Every state, with the rule behind each answer: dispersed camping on state land, state by state.
Where is dispersed camping restricted in New Jersey?
New Jersey has no National Forest land, so no forest restriction applies here.
Each restriction, cited and dated: where dispersed camping is restricted.
How the rank works
We divide the known dispersed campsites in a state by its land area, in square miles, and multiply by 1,000. The rules above sit beside the rank but never change it. The count includes only sites that public sources map, so mapping effort affects the result. Roadside camping corridors and the points we place inside state wildlife and forest areas are not counted.
- See New Jersey in the full ranking (Free Camping by State: The 2026 Ranking), with the methodology and the limits.
- Campgrounds and camping rules in New Jersey, the state hub.
- Download the data for every state (CSV), licensed CC BY 4.0.