Inyo National Forest Dispersed Camping Rules

14 days stay limit

Order 05-04-50-25-17 (effective July 3, 2025 through July 3, 2027) prohibits camping "within a 10-mile radius of any undeveloped campsite for a period longer than 14 consecutive days" and "anywhere within the Inyo National Forest for more than 28 total days during a calendar year" - the 10-mile radius is part of the count, and the 28-day cap runs per calendar year, not a rolling window. The forest camping page states it plainly: "After 14 days, you must move at least 10 miles away from that location." Developed campgrounds have their own limits per the order's Exhibit A.

Where you can camp

Designated sites in some areas

Forest FAQs: "Camping is allowed outside of designated campgrounds in some areas on the Inyo National Forest" - but in areas designated as Developed Recreation Areas camping is restricted to developed campgrounds only, including the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, Lundy Canyon, Lee Vining Canyon, June Lake Loop, Mammoth Lakes Basin, Reds Meadow Valley, Convict Lake, McGee Creek Canyon, Rock Creek Canyon, Bishop Creek Canyon, Big Pine Canyon, Onion Valley, Whitney Portal, Horseshoe Meadows, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and Research Natural Areas. The camping page: "Do not camp in the Restricted Recreation Area Boundary, typically where there are developed campgrounds and paved roadways" (violations citable under 36 CFR 261.58(e)). source

Keep your distance

Recommended: 200 ft — Forest camping page instruction, not a numbered-order provision: "Select a campsite at least 200 feet from water" and "camp on a cleared, durable surface with no vegetation." source
Area rule, no distance: "Do not camp in the Restricted Recreation Area Boundary, typically where there are developed campgrounds and paved roadways" - boundaries shown red-lined on the forest's interactive map and Avenza layers; violation citable under 36 CFR 261.58(e). source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

Forest camping page: "Stay on established roads, and do not drive off-road to camp." The MVUM "depicts National Forest System routes (roads and trails) or areas designated open to motorized travel" - 14 MVUMs cover the forest (Mammoth, Mono Lake, White Mountains, Southern Sierra and others), with an interactive MVUM finder. No off-route parking distance for camping access is stated.

Fires right now

Stage 1 fire restrictions — since June 22 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 05-04-50-25-17 - Stay Limits, Parking, and Developed Recreation Site Use The stay-limit order: 14 consecutive days within a 10-mile radius of any undeveloped campsite, 28 total days forest-wide per calendar year, plus developed-site rules (max six people and two vehicles per campsite). Effective July 3, 2025 through July 3, 2027.
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Area Closure Camping or having a campfire within the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is prohibited.
Wilderness Use Restrictions (John Muir, Ansel Adams, Hoover, Golden Trout) Standing restrictions on recreating within portions of the John Muir, Ansel Adams, Hoover, and Golden Trout Wildernesses - read the order before backpack camping there; separate standing orders prohibit campfires in specified portions of all four wildernesses.
Food and Refuse Storage Restrictions Food and refuse must be stored in bear-resistant containers in specified locations - applies to campers in the listed areas.

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.