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Dispersed camping · Washington

Olympic National Forest dispersed camping rules

You can camp up to 21 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 .

21 days stay limit

Order 06-09-26-08 (in effect June 5, 2026 - June 5, 2028) prohibits "camping for a total of 21 days per calendar year on National Forest System lands" and "camping for longer than 14 consecutive days at the same location within a developed recreation site." For dispersed campers the operative cap is 21 days per calendar year forest-wide; the 14-consecutive-day limit applies inside developed sites. The forest's dispersed-camping page still says "On the Olympic National Forest dispersed camping is allowed for 21 consecutive days" - the order is the legally operative text.

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

"Dispersed camping is allowed in a one-mile perimeter away from campgrounds and 200 feet from any stream." The same page: "A dispersed campsite must be at least 1/4 mile away [from] developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas, or trailheads." The Lake Cushman corridor is closed to camping by standing order. source

Keep your distance

  • 200 ft — Forest dispersed-camping page: "Do NOT camp within 200 feet of any water source." source
  • 1,320 ft — "A dispersed campsite must be at least 1/4 mile away [from] developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas, or trailheads" (1/4 mile = 1,320 ft). The same page elsewhere says dispersed camping is allowed "in a one-mile perimeter away from campgrounds" - see gaps for the inconsistency. source
  • Recommended: 150 ft — Stay-close corridor worded as a request, not an order: "To prevent resource damage please keep your campsite within 150 feet from a roadway." source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

The dispersed-camping page does not address Motor Vehicle Use Map rules or off-road vehicle-access allowances for reaching dispersed sites; the forest's maps page lists MVUMs. Check the MVUM for the road you plan to use.

Fires right now

Stage 2 fire restrictions — since August 7 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

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 at (360) 956-2402 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. 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.

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