What is a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM)?
The short answer
A Motor Vehicle Use Map, or MVUM, is the free map each national forest publishes of the roads, trails and areas designated for motor vehicles, by vehicle type and season. Routes not shown on it are not open to public motor vehicle travel, so it is the map that says where you may drive to camp.
What it shows
Each MVUM marks the routes open to motor vehicles and what they are open to:
- Roads open to highway-legal vehicles only.
- Roads open to all vehicles, licensed and unlicensed.
- Trails for vehicles 50 inches wide or less, such as ATVs and motorcycles.
- Trails for full-size vehicles, and trails for motorcycles only.
- Seasonal dates when a route is open, distance allowances and other travel rules.
Why it matters for camping
Forest Service regulations limit motor vehicles to the routes on the map. The Forest Service warns that driving anywhere else will likely get you a citation.
The map also says how far off a road you may drive or park to camp. Forests can designate limited motor vehicle use within a set distance of certain routes solely for dispersed camping, and the MVUM marks those routes. Eldorado National Forest, for example, allows parking within one vehicle length of the road or trail edge.
Where to get one
MVUMs are free. Download them from each forest’s website under its visitor maps and guides, pick up a paper copy at a ranger station, or load the georeferenced PDF into the Avenza Maps app, which shows your location on it without a cell signal.
The BLM does not publish MVUMs; it designates routes through its own travel management plans. See national forest vs. BLM land.
Sources
- Maps, USDA Forest Service
- 36 CFR 212.51, Designation of roads, trails, and areas, Legal Information Institute
- 36 CFR 261.13, Motor vehicle use, Legal Information Institute