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Dispersed camping · Oregon

Mt. Hood National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 14 days 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 stay limit

Order 06-06-00-24-06 (in effect September 30, 2024 - September 30, 2027, applying to "all National Forest System lands administered by 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 states it the same way: "You may camp in a single location on the Forest for only up to 14 consecutive days at a time and camp in any location on the Forest for no more than 28 days total during a calendar year." No move distance is stated.

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

The forest's dispersed-camping page treats dispersed camping ("camping outside of designated campgrounds") as generally available and warns: "Certain areas are closed to dispersed camping, such as within developed recreation sites, along certain roads, and particularly sensitive areas." Wilderness areas carry their own regulations. source

Keep your distance

  • 100 ft — Forest dispersed-camping page instruction: "Camp at least 100 ft. away from streams, rivers, and lakes." Stated as a rule on the official dispersed page; no numbered setback order was found. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

"Visitors may legally drive only on the roads and trails identified on the MVUM. Operation of unlicensed vehicles on Forest roads and motorized cross-country travel off of designated routes are prohibited" (forest Motor Vehicle Use Maps page). Whether the Mt. Hood MVUM designates roadside dispersed-camping corridors (and their widths) was not stated on the pages read - check the MVUM itself.

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

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, Sandy, OR at (503) 668-1700 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, Pacific Northwest Region (R6).

Before you go