{"id":16563,"date":"2026-08-19T17:46:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=16563"},"modified":"2026-08-19T17:46:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:46:51","slug":"the-campsite-i-reserved-is-occupied-do-i-tell-them-to-get-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=16563","title":{"rendered":"The Campsite I Reserved Is Occupied. Do I Tell Them to Get Lost?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>Our outdoor ethicist addresses the plight of a camper who bought a permit for a campsite on Tribal lands, only to find the site occupied by a big group <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"border-border-light border-t py-base-tight\">\n<div class=\"flex h-4 justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-x-base-tight\">\n<div class=\"\"><button class=\"inline-flex shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full cursor-default bg-bg-surface hover:bg-bg-light focus:bg-bg-dark text-primary border border-solid border-border-light aria-pressed:bg-brand-primary aria-pressed:text-text-surface py-very-tight px-base-tight gap-tight font-semibold font-utility-2 opacity-50\" aria-label=\"Loading audio\" aria-pressed=\"false\" id=\"article-listen-button\" disabled=\"\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 18\" fill=\"none\" class=\"\"><title>Listen to this article<\/title><path d=\"M12.5265 16.2C12.2326 16.2 12.0122 16.1265 11.7184 16.053C11.2775 15.9061 10.9102 15.6122 10.6898 15.2449C10.4694 14.8775 10.3959 14.4367 10.5428 13.9959L11.5714 10.3959C11.6449 10.1755 11.7184 9.95509 11.8653 9.80815C12.0122 9.66121 12.1592 9.51427 12.3796 9.36733C12.6 9.29386 12.8204 9.2204 13.0408 9.14693C13.2612 9.14693 13.4816 9.14693 13.702 9.2204H13.7755C14.2163 9.36733 14.5837 9.58774 14.951 9.95509C14.951 9.66121 14.951 9.29386 14.951 8.99999C14.951 7.38366 14.2898 5.8408 13.1877 4.73876C12.0122 3.56325 10.5428 2.9755 8.92652 2.9755C7.31019 2.9755 5.76733 3.63672 4.66529 4.73876C3.48978 5.8408 2.82856 7.38366 2.82856 8.99999C2.82856 9.29386 2.82856 9.66121 2.82856 9.95509C3.12244 9.66121 3.56325 9.36733 4.00407 9.2204H4.07754C4.29795 9.14693 4.51835 9.14693 4.73876 9.14693C4.95917 9.14693 5.17958 9.2204 5.39999 9.36733C5.6204 9.4408 5.76733 9.58774 5.91427 9.80815C6.06121 9.95509 6.13468 10.1755 6.20815 10.3959L7.23672 13.9959C7.38366 14.4367 7.31019 14.8775 7.08978 15.2449C6.86938 15.6122 6.50203 15.9061 6.13468 16.053C5.76733 16.2 5.39999 16.2 5.03264 16.2C4.66529 16.1265 4.29795 16.053 4.00407 15.9061C3.63672 15.6122 3.41631 15.3918 3.12244 15.0979C2.90203 14.8775 2.75509 14.5102 2.68162 14.1428L2.38774 13.0408L2.2408 12.6735C2.2408 12.6 2.16733 12.453 2.16733 12.3796C1.87346 11.2775 1.79999 10.1755 1.79999 8.99999C1.79999 7.08978 2.53468 5.25305 3.9306 3.9306C5.25305 2.60815 7.08978 1.79999 8.99999 1.79999C10.9102 1.79999 12.7469 2.53468 14.0694 3.9306C15.3918 5.25305 16.2 7.08978 16.2 8.99999C16.2 10.102 16.053 11.2775 15.8326 12.3796C15.8326 12.453 15.7592 12.6 15.7592 12.6735L15.6857 12.9673V13.0408L15.1714 14.1428C15.0979 14.5102 14.8775 14.8041 14.6571 15.0979C14.4367 15.3918 14.1428 15.6122 13.849 15.7592C13.5551 15.9061 13.1877 16.053 12.8204 16.053C12.7469 16.1265 12.6735 16.2 12.5265 16.2ZM3.71019 13.849C3.78366 14.0694 3.85713 14.2163 4.00407 14.4367C4.15101 14.6571 4.29795 14.7306 4.51835 14.8775C4.73876 14.951 4.8857 15.0245 5.10611 15.0979C5.32652 15.0979 5.54693 15.0979 5.76733 15.0245C5.98774 14.951 6.06121 14.8775 6.13468 14.7306C6.20815 14.5837 6.20815 14.4367 6.20815 14.2898L5.17958 10.6898C5.17958 10.6163 5.10611 10.5428 5.10611 10.4694C5.03264 10.4694 4.95917 10.3959 4.8857 10.3224C4.81223 10.3224 4.73876 10.249 4.66529 10.249C4.59182 10.249 4.51836 10.249 4.44489 10.249H4.37142C3.9306 10.3959 3.63672 10.6898 3.41631 11.0571C3.26938 11.351 3.19591 11.7184 3.26938 12.0857C3.34285 12.3061 3.34284 12.5265 3.41631 12.6735L3.71019 13.849ZM13.2612 10.3224C13.1877 10.3224 13.1877 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224C13.1143 10.3224 13.0408 10.3224 12.9673 10.3959C12.8939 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694C12.7469 10.5428 12.7469 10.6163 12.7469 10.6898L11.7184 14.2898C11.6449 14.4367 11.7184 14.5837 11.7918 14.7306C11.8653 14.8775 12.0122 14.951 12.0857 15.0245C12.3796 15.0979 12.5265 15.0979 12.7469 15.0979C12.9673 15.0979 13.1877 15.0245 13.3347 14.8775C13.5551 14.8041 13.702 14.6571 13.849 14.4367C13.9959 14.2898 14.0694 14.0694 14.1428 13.849L14.5102 12.6735C14.5837 12.5265 14.5837 12.3061 14.6571 12.1592C14.7306 11.7918 14.6571 11.4245 14.5102 11.1306C14.2898 10.7633 13.9959 10.4694 13.5551 10.3224H13.4816C13.3347 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"hidden sm:inline\">Listen<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">A campsite reservation doesn&#8217;t always keep people away<!-- --> (Photo: \tJessie Casson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published August 19, 2026 11:43AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Dear Sundog, <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Earlier this summer, I floated the San Juan River in Utah. In addition to buying the permit required by the BLM, we also paid to camp two nights in land owned by the Navajo Nation. We stayed there so we could explore the side canyons, rock art and cliff dwellings. There are no assigned camping spots on the Navajo side of the river, and there is very little enforcement of reservations. A rep from the tribe told us that he\u2019d issued permits to only 20 people those nights, and 12 were in our group. So, we knew that only 8 other people were allowed to camp at the site. But when we arrived at the campground that afternoon, both campsites were occupied by groups 10 people.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We decided to keep floating down the river in hopes of finding a different campsite. We were unable to use the permit we had purchased.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The same thing happened the following night. The campsites we paid for were poached by people who hadn\u2019t purchased permits from the Navajo. While I did not ask anyone to produce their tribal ID, none of the people camped on the reservation appeared to be Navajo.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>As an outsider, I felt weird trying to enforce the rules of the tribe. What should we have done?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014River runner Against Trespassing (RAT)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dear RAT,<\/p>\n<p>If we\u2019ve learned anything from the past 500 years, it\u2019s that white settlers illegally occupying Tribal land are extremely difficult to remove. Just look at America. Your query poses a very specific questions wrapped in a very broad one. Broadly, what to do if someone takes your campsite, and specifically, what if this happens on Tribal land?<\/p>\n<p>First, the specifics. The people you encountered were in the wrong. While it may seem benign to camp without permission or payment on public lands (National Parks, Forest Service, BLM), doing so on Tribal lands is different. These are not public lands. They belong to tribes, as codified in treaties signed by Congress and Tribal representatives.<\/p>\n<p>Most Tribal reservations were reduced by constitutionally-dubious laws such as the Allotment Act and Termination Act, as well as by more blatant theft that did not even pretend to be legal. Today, many of the West\u2019s iconic rivers pass through Tribal land: Arizona\u2019s Salt River on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, Utah\u2019s Desolation Canyon on the Ute Tribe\u2019s Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Montana\u2019s Flathead River through the lands of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the Grand Canyon through the Havasupai Tribe Reservation.<\/p>\n<p>Camping\u2014or merely walking\u2014on these lands without a permit is trespassing, plain and simple. It\u2019s a crime worsened by the long history of Europeans stealing Indigenous land.<\/p>\n<p>But you didn\u2019t ask for a history lesson, RAT, you asked advice on what you should have done. That\u2019s more tricky. If this occurred in the front country, where a campground host patrol marked sites on four-wheeler, you\u2019d simply rat them out and let the authorities dislodge them. Unpleasant but straightforward. If it were in a more tightly regulated backcountry setting with reserved campsites (Middle Fork of the Salmon, Gates of Lodore), you could flash your paperwork and demand what\u2019s yours. Most boaters who\u2019ve gone through the rigmarole of getting these permits know the etiquette\u2014and the rules.<\/p>\n<p>But in this situation you\u2019re sort of on your own. You\u2019re not the law, and you\u2019re definitely not the law of the Navajo Nation. You\u2019re right that it would be both awkward and ironic for a non-Navajo to dislodge a fellow non-Navajo person from land overseen by the Navajo Nation. Americans who grew up to believe that \u201cthis land is our land\u201d are often shocked and offended to learn that some of this land is, in fact, not ours. I doubt they are going to do what you ask, even though you are ethically and legally right.<\/p>\n<p>In this way, being on a Tribal reservation doesn\u2019t change the basic premise: someone is in your site and there\u2019s nobody but you to try to evict them. You can always ask the offending party to vacate the campsite they\u2019ve already established; unless you carry a badge and gun they are very unlikely to do it.<\/p>\n<p>Some might argue: if the Tribes are going to charge fees for these permits, then they should enforce the rules. Well, law enforcement is not a lucrative undertaking. Tribal leaders might simply ban outsiders from their land, rather than undertake an expensive bean-counting operation on the behalf of those visitors.<\/p>\n<p>I still haven\u2019t been able to tell you what to do. Turns out the ethics of this question are simple, while the implementation is messy. So let\u2019s recall: the primary purpose of an outdoor trip, perhaps, is not to get your intended campsite, it\u2019s to have a good time. Getting into a pissing match over permits with rule-breaking, belligerent, and possibly intoxicated yahoos is, in metaphysical terms, a total buzzkill. Despite being in the right, I think you\u2019d have better luck\u2014and better vibes\u2014if you pleaded desperation and asked to share the campsite. Of course, they might also refuse.<\/p>\n<p>I think it\u2019s also worthwhile to presume the squatter\u2019s innocence\u2014however difficult this may be. Let\u2019s face it, there are a lot of regulations, and not everyone reads the signs and the fine print. In your San Juan River scenario, you might assume the campsite squatters were blissfully unaware of whose land they were on, and that they merely saw a nice campsite and took it. As the sages of times past might put it, camping enforcement\u2014like vengeance\u2014is best left to higher powers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2752750\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1898\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2752750\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_0357-scaled.jpeg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_0357-scaled.jpeg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">The author<\/span> (Photo: Mark Sundeen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Mark Sundeen is the author of many books about the American West, most recently <\/em>Delusions + Grandeur<em>. His 2000 cult classic <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.unmpress.com\/9780826370839\/car-camping\/&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1787164752797794&amp;usg=AOvVaw0qrEZEspqSEFw9WHEDBwTP\">Car Camping<\/a><em> will be re-published in 2027 by the University of New Mexico Press. He lives in Missoula where he teaches at the University of Montana.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/hiking-and-backpacking\/campsite-reservation-tribal-lands\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our outdoor ethicist addresses the plight of a camper who bought a permit for a campsite on Tribal lands, only to find the site occupied by a big group Listen to this articleListen A campsite reservation doesn&#8217;t always keep people away (Photo: Jessie Casson\/Getty Images) Published August 19, 2026 11:43AM Dear Sundog, Earlier this summer,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}