Gifford Pinchot National Forest Dispersed Camping Rules

14 days stay limit

Order 06-03-00-24-03 (in effect September 30, 2024 - September 30, 2027, issued jointly for the Mt. Hood National Forest, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area) prohibits "camping in a single location for a period longer than 14 consecutive days" and "camping at any location for more than 28 days total during a calendar year." The forest's dispersed-camping page adds: "After 14 consecutive days, you are required to move off the Forest." The order does not define how far a move must be.

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

"Dispersed camping, or camping outside of campgrounds, is permitted throughout most of the Forest!" Standing orders close specific areas to camping (Drift Creek Cove on Swift Reservoir's south side; the Tatoosh Lakes Basin). source

Keep your distance

100 ft — Forest dispersed-camping page instruction: "Camp 100 feet away from lakes and streams." The forest's visitor-guidelines page words the same distance as stewardship guidance ("Camping at least 100 feet from the shoreline of lakes and streams will help protect plants and animals that use these areas"); no numbered setback order was found. source
150 ft — Stay-close corridor for vehicle access, not a keep-away: MVUM dispersed camping corridors - "Where designated, it is legal to drive 150 feet off designated roads on existing routes to reach dispersed campsites... Visitors may not drive beyond 150 feet from the main road." Applies only on roads showing the MVUM camping-corridor symbol; "Some roads do not allow motorized access to dispersed camps." source
Recommended: Visitor-guidelines page recommendation, no number: "Camp out of view from major roads and trails, where possible." source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

"The Motor Vehicle Use Map shows the roads, trails and areas where you can legally drive" (dispersed-camping page). The MVUM insert: dispersed-camping corridors allow driving up to 150 feet off designated roads on existing routes where the camping-corridor symbol is shown; "No symbols indicate motorized access to dispersed camps is NOT allowed"; and "Motor vehicle use off a forest road or trail for purposes of dispersed camping should be at least 100 feet from a stream, wetland, or other body of water."

Fires right now

Stage 2 fire restrictions — since July 1 last checked August 18, 2026

Whether you can have a fire at your site runs on the forest's fire order, not on camping rules — see the live fire restrictions page for this forest and what each stage still allows before you light anything.

Closures and special orders

Order 06-03-00-24-03 - Camping Restrictions (stay limit) The stay-limit order itself: 14 consecutive days per location, 28 days total per calendar year, across Mt. Hood NF, Gifford Pinchot NF and the Columbia River Gorge NSA. In effect September 30, 2024 - September 30, 2027.
Order 06-03-01-24-01 - Drift Creek Cove Camping Restrictions Camping prohibited on National Forest lands in Drift Creek Cove on the south side of Swift Reservoir. Effective April 1, 2024.
Order GP-99-016 - Tatoosh Lakes Basin Restrictions "Camping and bringing horses or other pack animals is not allowed in the Tatoosh Lakes Basin." Standing since June 15, 1999.

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. This forest's fire restrictions page carries the current stage with the date it took effect. 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.