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Dispersed camping · Wyoming

Bighorn National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days in any 28 on this forest, anywhere that isn't posted closed. The card below is the whole rule set — every line links the order or page it came from, and all of it was checked on .

14 days in any 28

Order 02-02-24-02 (Occupancy and Use Camping Regulations, effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027 unless rescinded) prohibits "Camping in the Bighorn National Forest for more than 14 days within a 28-day period without moving all equipment and personal property a minimum of 5 road miles." A 28-day window — not the common 30 — and the required move is 5 road miles, counted forest-wide.

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

Order 02-02-24-02 prohibits "Camping at locations posted with signs prohibiting camping" — the forest's standing formulation of allowed-unless-posted. The same order closes seasonal road corridors to camping June 1 – September 30 (within 1/2 mile of US Highways 14 and 14A and 1/4 mile of several numbered forest roads, Exhibit E) and sets area rules for Woodrock and the Cloud Peak Wilderness. source

Keep your distance

  • 100 ft — Woodrock Area only (Order 02-02-24-02, Exhibit A): no "camping within 100 feet of all lakes, streams, or other free flowing waters." source
  • 100 ft — Cloud Peak Wilderness only (Order 02-02-26-01, effective March 31, 2026 through December 31, 2030): no "camping within 100 feet of any lake, stream, pond, river, or similar body of water." Campfires are further prohibited above 9,200 feet and within 300 feet of water or trails. source
  • 2,640 ft — Seasonal highway-corridor camping bans, June 1 – September 30 (Order 02-02-24-02, Exhibit E): no camping within 1/2 mile (2,640 ft — converted from the order's 1/2 mile) of US Highways 14 and 14A, and within 1/4 mile (1,320 ft) of NFSR 26 (Big Goose Road), NFSR 16 (Black Mountain Road), NFSR 125 (Littlehorn Road), and NFSR 13/137 (Porcupine Creek Road) on the stretches described in the order. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

"The motor vehicle use map (MVUM) is the official map of open designated roads and trails available to motorized travel in the Bighorn National Forest"; "Routes not shown on the MVUM are not open to public motor vehicle travel." The MVUM "displays designation details, including vehicle class, time of year, and any motorized access for the purpose of dispersed camping (camping in locations other than campgrounds)" — check the MVUM for which routes carry the dispersed-camping designation; no blanket off-route distance is published.

Fires right now

We don't watch this forest's fire orders yet — check its own site before you light anything. Here's what stage 1 and stage 2 mean when an order is up.

Closures and special orders

  • Order 02-02-24-02 — Occupancy and Use Camping Regulations The forest's master camping order: the 14-days-in-28 stay limit with 5-road-mile move, posted-closure enforcement, bear food-storage requirements, the Woodrock 100-ft water setback, and June 1 – September 30 no-camping corridors along US 14/14A and listed forest roads. Effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027.
  • Order 02-02-26-01 — Cloud Peak Wilderness Regulations Wilderness order: free self-issued registration to enter, no camping within 100 feet of water, campfires banned above 9,200 feet and within 300 feet of water or trails (fire pan/blanket required below), groups capped at 10 people / 15 stock. Effective March 31, 2026 through December 31, 2030.
  • Order 02-02-01-25-02 — West Tensleep Corridor camping restrictions "Restrictions to camping and human waste management in West Tensleep Corridor, Forest System Road 27." Posted June 23, 2025 — read the order for the corridor rules.

Rules checked against the pages linked above — the full list is below the card.

Rules change by forest order and posted signage — confirm with the Forest Supervisor's Office, Sheridan, WY at (307) 674-2600 before you go.

How to read these rules

Dispersed camping means camping outside a developed campground — no fee, no table, no toilet, no water. You pick an already-used spot, pack out everything you brought, and the rules above are the whole deal you're agreeing to. The stay limit counts the way the card says it counts, not the way it counts on the forest next door: some places count per spot, some across the whole forest, some inside a radius, and moving a short distance often doesn't restart the clock.

Distance rules come in two shapes. Keep-away rules ("at least 100 feet from water") protect the thing you're camping near; stay-close rules ("within 300 feet of the road") keep vehicles on ground that can take them. A line marked recommended on the card is the office's guidance, not an order — the rest are enforceable rules, and a posted sign at the site beats everything on this page.

The motor vehicle use map is the legal answer to "can I drive in there to camp" — if a road isn't on it, that road is closed to your vehicle, and many forests only allow roadside camping along the roads the map marks for it. It's a free PDF; download it before you lose signal.

Fires are a separate rule with a separate clock. Nothing on this page says you can light one — the card's fire line says where that answer lives today. If a fire is allowed when you get there, buy your wood near camp — hauling firewood from home is how tree-killing pests reach new forests, and the BTU chart says what that local bundle is actually worth.

Where these rules come from

Every rule above was read on the forest's own pages and orders on the dates shown — nothing here is borrowed from another forest or an old guidebook. The managing agency is U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region (R2).

Before you go