Dispersed camping · Montana
What the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest actually allows for dispersed camping — how far off a road you may drive, which roads that applies to, and the closure orders that override it. Every figure below is sourced; the primary documents are linked at the bottom.
| Rule | This forest | |
|---|---|---|
| How far off the road you may drive | 300 ft | from the road centerline |
| Where that applies | Varies by ranger district | |
| Distance to keep from water | — | unverified |
| Stay limit | 16 days | per the forest order |
Different districts of this forest run different rules, so the corridor cannot be stated forest-wide. Check the district your road is in.
Forest guidance (BDNF's own June 2019 hunting/recreation flyer): 'You may drive up to 300 feet off a road or trail only to reach a temporary camping spot, but otherwise... keep your wheels on the road,' EXCEPT 'special rules in the Gravelly and Snowcrest ranges in Madison County allow driving off roads at designated spots only to reach a designated camping spot.' Consistent with the two published MVUMs: Tobacco Roots MVUM legend permits motor vehicle use off designated roads/trails 'for the purpose of dispersed camping... up to 300 feet from the centerline of the road and/or trail from the period (01/01 to 12/31)' (blanket); the Gravelly MVUMs have NO dispersed-camping corridor legend - instead they list named 'Dispersed Site Access' spur routes to signed sites, plus a blanket 'motor vehicles may be parked within one vehicle length from the edge of the road surface' statement. MVUMs exist only for the Gravelly and Tobacco Root ranges; the rest of the forest has no published MVUM (travel designations are on sale-copy travel maps).
No 'special designation' dot-symbol road class on the two published BDNF MVUMs. The Gravelly MVUM instead designates individual 'Dispersed Site Access' spur roads (e.g., Clover Dispersed Site) leading to signed campsites; off-route parking is limited to one vehicle length from the road edge.
Food storage: BDNF Order 02-00-22-02, in effect annually March 1-Dec. 1 (current implementation through Dec. 31, 2026), covering ALL BDNF lands except the Elkhorn Mountains portion of the Butte RD (that portion is covered instead by regional NCDE Order R1-2023-02) - so food storage effectively applies forest-wide in season. Gravelly/Snowcrest ranges: motorized dispersed camping only at designated signed spots (see corridor rule). Anaconda Pintler Wilderness restrictions order (camping/stock/campfire/group-size rules, since 1991). Lee Metcalf Wilderness is under GYA Order GYCC-7 (16-day/5-mile/7-day wilderness stay rule). No designated-site-only camping order for the Georgetown Lake area was found in the current forest order list.
The 300-ft general rule is verified from the forest's own June 2019 flyer (a guidance document, not an order) and the Tobacco Roots MVUM legend (both published MVUMs dated 2017); it likely derives from the 2009 Forest Plan travel decision, which was not independently read. Only 2 of the forest's ranges have published MVUMs, so the forest-wide 300-ft claim rests on the 2019 flyer. Stay limit: Regional Order R1-2025-01 = 16 consecutive/32 cumulative days in MT (effective Aug 1, 2025-Jul 31, 2030). Water setback: no enforceable camping-water-setback order found in the current order list or MVUM legends; a 'keep camp 200 ft from any lake or stream' statement was attributed to a now-retired BDNF fs.usda.gov page only via search snippets and could not be verified live - the 2019 flyer's 200-ft figure applies to tying stock near lakeshores/running water and 100 ft to burying human waste (guidance).
Open the map for Montana — forest roads, boundaries and closures are on the map; scored campsite locations are built for Wyoming and Idaho so far.
Confidence in this summary: medium. Forest orders change mid-season and districts differ — this is a research summary, not legal advice. Check the sources above before you drive out.