Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Dispersed Camping Rules

14 days stay limit

Regional Order R1-2025-01 (signed July 17, 2025; effective August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2030) prohibits "camping or otherwise occupying a single site for over 14 consecutive days within a calendar year" and "camping or otherwise occupying any number of sites over 28 cumulative days within a calendar year" on Idaho national forests in the Northern Region, including the Nez Perce-Clearwater. A "site" is "the campsite or place that is occupied and all NFS lands within 1/2 mile radius." The forests' travel planner corroborates: "There are some length-of-stay regulations on both forests (14-day camping limit)."

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

The forests' travel planner frames camping outside developed campgrounds as generally available: "When camping outside developed campgrounds on national forest lands, please follow these guidelines: choose a site 200 feet from trails and water; use existing fire grates and fire rings...; pack out all trash...; leave no trace of your stay." Recreation-site pages likewise note first-come dispersed sites (e.g. "some dispersed camping is available on a first come first serve basis" at Horse Camp Trailhead). Standing closures (O'Hara Beach, Selway Falls, Knife Edge) carve out posted areas. source

Keep your distance

Recommended: 200 ft — Travel planner guidance for camping outside developed campgrounds: "Choose a site 200 feet from trails and water." Worded as a guideline ("please follow these guidelines"), not an order. source
Recommended: 200 ft — Same travel-planner guideline: choose a site 200 feet from trails and water. Guidance, not an order. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

"Motor Vehicle Use Maps are the official map for designating all roads and trails available for public motorized travel on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Routes not shown on the MVUMs are not open to public motor vehicle travel." The Clearwater MVUM FAQ adds: parking is allowed within one vehicle length or up to 30 feet from the road edge, and "the MVUM will indicate the distance from the route that motor vehicles may be driven for the purpose of dispersed camping" - the camping-corridor distance is printed on each map sheet.

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

Northern Region occupancy and use order - Order R1-2025-01 The stay-limit legal text: 14 consecutive days per site and 28 cumulative days per calendar year on Idaho forests; also prohibits pallet/hardware firewood and shooting at refuse targets. Effective August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2030.
O'Hara Beach Area Closure - Order 01-17-06-26-00 Area closure in effect since April 27, 2026 - read the order before planning to camp at O'Hara Beach on the Selway.
Selway Falls Campground Closure - Order 01-17-06-26-003 Selway Falls Campground closed by order since May 21, 2026 - read the order for scope and dates.
Knife Edge Camping Partial Closure - Order 01-17-55-26-002 "Sites 3, 4, and 5 at Knife Edge Campground will be closed during whitewater boating season" - in effect from April 15, 2026.

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.