# Building a Shelter/"cabin" In the deep mountain woods of Colorado Legal?



## IrishHound

My father and I are wondering if it is legal or no to builfd a small shelter/"cabin" in the deep woods of the Rocky Mt. The shelter/"cabin" would only be used for the purpose of camping and hunting. All that would be in the shelter/"cabin" would be two beds and a table. The shelter/"cabin" would be made from dead logs that we find in the woods! Just like the story "Alone in the Wilderness ", except not as extravagant. And we wouldn't live there. Here is a video to show you what I am talking about!






Just need to know some basic information on if it is legal or not and what we would need to watch out for. Not talking about weather or wildlife! If anyone should shed some light on this subject that would be awesome.


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## NaeKid

I am not positive on all the details of building a cabin in the deep-woods in the USA, but, here in Canada anyone can build a cabin on CrownLand as long as the cabin is not locked and it cannot be insured for damages (fire, theft, vandalism). Anything that is left in the cabin (cots, pots, food, utensils, etc) and the cabin itself is then considered the property of the Crown and anyone finding the cabin is allowed to use the cabin for any legal purposes.

Between myself and couple of Alpine-clubs, we have a dozen cabins linked via X-country ski-trails out in BritishColumbia that we maintain during the summer (via hiking, 4-wheeling, quading, etc) and visit through-out the winter via X-country skiis. Other cabins that we maintain can only be accessed in the winter via snow-shoes (snowmobiles cannot reach them due to the tight-nature of the trails).

You might want to contact your local BLM (if it is in your area) to see if they have any regulations regarding a hunting-cabin built on government lands.


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## mosquitomountainman

IrishHound said:


> My father and I are wondering if it is legal or no to builfd a small shelter/"cabin" in the deep woods of the Rocky Mt. The shelter/"cabin" would only be used for the purpose of camping and hunting. All that would be in the shelter/"cabin" would be two beds and a table. The shelter/"cabin" would be made from dead logs that we find in the woods! Just like the story "Alone in the Wilderness ", except not as extravagant. And we wouldn't live there. Here is a video to show you what I am talking about!
> 
> YouTube - Alone in the Wilderness
> 
> Just need to know some basic information on if it is legal or not and what we would need to watch out for. Not talking about weather or wildlife! If anyone should shed some light on this subject that would be awesome.


Not on public land. On private land building comes under local building codes and/or covenents. The Forest Service or BLM will destroy, disassemble, burn or otherwise obliterate it and probably fine you for doing it (and most likely charge you for its dismantling).

You might double check in the locations you'd like to build to see if they're the same everywhere.

I wish we had more liberal laws like those NaeKid has in Canada. I'd love build a few trapping cabins in certain sections of national forest here.


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## NaeKid

MtnMan,

If I remember correctly, you are just a hop-skip-n-jump from the Can/USA border with a fairly large lake nearby as well. Have you considered getting your papers for hunting on this side of the border and building a little hunting shack on CrownLand?


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## mosquitomountainman

NaeKid said:


> MtnMan,
> 
> If I remember correctly, you are just a hop-skip-n-jump from the Can/USA border with a fairly large lake nearby as well. Have you considered getting your papers for hunting on this side of the border and building a little hunting shack on CrownLand?


The thought never crossed my mind. It sounds like somethng I should look at. Where would I go to find out about such things? We're about 19 miles from the border as the crow flies and about 14 miles from Lake Koocanusa.


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## NaeKid

You might want to start with an Alberta-based forum for hunting: Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum - Powered by vBulletin

.. and because you are just south of the BC-border: Fish and Wildlife - Environment - Province of British Columbia


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## mosquitomountainman

Thanks. I'll check them out.


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## sailaway

mosquitomountainman said:


> Thanks. I'll check them out.


Another possible solution to a problem, I love this site!


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