Right to Roam: Where You Can Walk and Wild Camp

The right to roam is a public right to walk, and sometimes camp, on land you do not own, provided you behave responsibly. How far it reaches depends entirely on where you are. In the Nordic countries it is broad and part of everyday culture; in Scotland it covers most land and inland water; in England and Wales it is limited to rights of way and certain mapped areas; and in the United States there is no general right at all, although huge areas of public land fill much of the gap.

What follows is general information for trip planning, not legal advice. Rules change and local restrictions apply, so always check official guidance for the place you are visiting.

What "right to roam" means

The phrase covers a family of ideas: freedom to roam, everyman's right, public access rights. They share a principle that open countryside can be enjoyed by everyone on foot without asking permission each time, in return for respecting the land, the people who live and work on it, and the wildlife. They rarely include a right to drive, hunt, fish or light fires, and they almost never extend to gardens or the ground right around someone's home.

The Nordic everyman's right

Sweden, Norway and Finland are the best-known examples, and similar traditions exist in places such as Iceland and Estonia. In Sweden it is called allemansrätten, in Norway allemannsretten and in Finland jokamiehenoikeudet. Broadly, these traditions let people walk, ski, pick wild berries and mushrooms, and pitch a tent for a short stay on uncultivated land, as long as they keep a respectful distance from homes and cause no damage.

Details differ. Norway's rules, for example, are commonly summarised as camping at least 150 metres from the nearest inhabited house or cabin and staying no more than two nights in one spot unless you are far from settlements in the mountains. Fire restrictions in dry months are taken seriously across the region, so a camping stove is often the only sensible way to cook.

Scotland

Scotland has one of the most generous access systems in Europe. Under its access legislation and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, people may be on most land and inland water for recreation, provided they act responsibly. Wild camping is included when it is lightweight, done in small numbers and limited to two or three nights in one place, away from buildings, roads and enclosed fields. Some busy lochside areas run seasonal permit or camping-zone schemes, so check before pitching close to popular roads.

England and Wales

Access here is narrower. Walkers have a dense web of public footpaths and bridleways, and legislation passed in 2000 opened mapped "open access land", mainly mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land, along with a growing coastal route. That access is on foot and does not include a general right to camp, so wild camping usually needs the landowner's permission. Dartmoor is the well-known exception, with mapped areas where backpack camping is allowed, a right that has been tested in the courts in recent years.

The United States and elsewhere

There is no general right to roam over private land in the US, and trespass rules vary by state. What the country does have is an enormous amount of public land. National forests and Bureau of Land Management areas often allow camping outside developed campgrounds, known as dispersed camping, within stay limits and local rules. National parks are stricter and usually require permits for overnight stays in the backcountry.

Across much of continental Europe the picture is patchwork. Walking in forests and on waymarked trails is widely accepted, but pitching a tent outside campsites is often restricted or banned, sometimes with exceptions such as overnight bivouacs in particular mountain areas. Assume it is not allowed until you have checked.

Access at a glance

How to wild camp responsibly

1. Pitch late, leave early. Set up in the evening, pack up in the morning and move on.
2. Stay small. One or two tents, never a crowd.
3. Keep your distance. Stay well away from houses, farm buildings, livestock, roads and busy paths.
4. Protect water. Camp and wash well back from lakes and streams, and use any soap sparingly and away from the water itself.
5. Cook on a stove. Open fires are often banned or unwise; where they are allowed, follow the steps for building a campfire safely.
6. Carry everything out. Litter, food scraps and toilet paper included. Bury human waste in a small hole far from water where that is permitted, or pack it out.
7. Leave no mark. No trenches, no moved rocks, no stone shelters left behind.

A low-profile tent pitched neatly sits more discreetly in the landscape, and the steps in how to pitch a tent apply just as well on a hillside as on a campground.

Questions people ask

Is wild camping legal?

It depends on the country and often the region. It is broadly permitted in Scotland and the Nordic countries, restricted in England and Wales outside Dartmoor's designated areas, and governed by public land rules in the US.

Does the right to roam include dogs?

Usually, but with tighter conditions: leads near livestock and during nesting and lambing seasons, and close control at all times.

Can you light a fire under these rights?

Rarely by right. Fire is usually treated separately and is often banned in dry spells, so a stove is the safer default.