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Dispersed camping · Oregon

Umpqua 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 06-15-25-01 (in effect March 12, 2025 - March 11, 2027) prohibits "camping in a single location for a period longer than 14 consecutive days" and "camping for more than 28 days total during a calendar year." The order defines location as "the occupied area and the National Forest System lands, roads, and trails within a 5-mile radius" - moving less than 5 miles does not reset the clock. The forest's camping page states it as: "Visitors to the Umpqua National Forest cannot camp at, occupy, or leave camping equipment in a single location for longer than 14 consecutive days."

Where you can camp

Allowed unless posted

The forest's camping page addresses dispersed camping directly: "Generally, you cannot camp within a mile of developed recreation areas such as trailheads or picnic areas," and "visitors cannot camp in, occupy, or leave camping equipment on the Umpqua National Forest for more than 28 days in a calendar year." It advises checking "any forest closures and fire restrictions before establishing a campsite." source

Keep your distance

  • 5,280 ft — "Generally, you cannot camp within a mile of developed recreation areas such as trailheads or picnic areas" (1 mile = 5,280 ft; the page's own "Generally" hedge kept - confirm locally). source
  • Recommended: 100 ft — Listed among Leave No Trace practices on the camping page: "camping 100 feet from water, and digging a 6 to 8-inch hole for human waste." Worded as Leave No Trace practice, not as an order - rendered as guidance. source

Roads and vehicle access

Check the motor vehicle use map

None of the official pages read for this entry state whether motorized access to dispersed sites is tied to MVUM-designated routes or camping corridors. Check the forest's Motor Vehicle Use Map for the road you plan to use.

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 at (541) 440-4930 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