Dispersed camping · Wyoming
What the Bridger-Teton 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 | Only along roads marked on the MVUM | |
| Distance to keep from water | 200 ft | guidance |
| Stay limit | 14 days | per the forest order |
The corridor applies ONLY where the map carries the dispersed-camping symbol (usually dots beside the road line). An unmarked open road is not a camping corridor, and this is the rule most often misread.
MVUM legend note (2023 Kemmerer/Big Piney/Greys River MVUM): 'Motor vehicle use off of designated roads only for accessing dispersed campsites is permitted for up to 300 feet from the centerline of the road for the period of allowed use as shown on this map except in areas where there are Marked Designated Dispersed Sites.' The legend carries a distinct per-route symbol class 'Dispersed Camping Allowed', so the 300-ft corridor applies along routes carrying that marking as shown on the map, and is overridden in Marked Designated Dispersed Site areas where you must use designated sites. Corroborated by the Jackson RD official handout (2011): 'Motorized travel off designated routes is no longer permitted except to access dispersed campsites located within 300 feet of a designated road.'
'Dispersed Camping Allowed' is a route-line overlay symbol on BTNF MVUMs marking roads where driving off-route up to 300 ft from centerline for dispersed camping is permitted; no game-retrieval component on this forest. Separately, 'Marked Designated Dispersed Sites' areas (Shadow Mountain, Flat Creek, Curtis Canyon, Phillips Ridge, Mosquito Creek, Toppings Lake, Spread Creek, Pacific Creek, Colter Dump) restrict camping to numbered designated sites only (Order 04-03-24-204, Described Area D).
Order 04-03-24-204 (signed 2024-07-10, in effect to 2029-07-10): (1) 5-day/30-day stay limit May 1-Labor Day on ALL Jackson RD lands and at Toppings, Spread Creek, Pacific Creek, Colter Dump (Blackrock RD); (2) camping restricted to designated sites only at Shadow Mountain, Flat Creek, Curtis Canyon, Phillips Ridge, Mosquito Creek (Jackson RD) and Toppings Lake, Spread Creek, Pacific Creek, Colter Dump (Blackrock RD); (3) seasonal May 1-Labor Day no-camping corridors within 1/2 mi of Snake River (South Park-Sheep Gulch and Bailey Creek-Sheep Gulch), Hoback River, Game Creek Trail; (4) year-round no-camping zones incl. 1/4 mi of Curtis Canyon Campground, Cache Road corridor, Teton Village and Snow King sections, Granite Creek Rd north of the campground, Lower Slide Lake outlet, Trail Creek/Wilson. Forest-wide Order 04-03-328 (2020-07-07, to 2030-07-01): 14 days max per 5-mile radius in 30 days, then move 5 radius miles, no return 30 days. Food storage Order (Blackrock, Jackson, Pinedale, Greys River, Big Piney RDs). Designated sites are first-come, free; no camping-fee order found beyond the 1988 developed-campground fee order 04-00-014. Munger Mountain: NO designated-site or closure order found in current forest orders. Upper Green (Pinedale RD): NO designated-dispersed-site order found; Pinedale RD is not in either camping order.
MVUM legend text read directly from the 2023 Kemmerer/Big Piney/Greys River MVUM (official map copy hosted at wyoleg.gov; BTNF now distributes MVUMs only via an ArcGIS 'MVUM Finder', so per-district PDFs weren't directly linkable on fs.usda.gov). Corridor scope coded marked_routes_only because the legend defines a dedicated 'Dispersed Camping Allowed' route class; the note's wording ('as shown on this map') is ambiguous enough that routes-vs-all-routes nuance should be resolved per district sheet in the MVUM Finder. Stay limits: 14d/30d per 5-mi radius forest-wide (Order 04-03-328, signed 2020-07-07, expires 2030-07-01; re-occupancy barred for 30 days); overlay 5d/30d May 1-Labor Day in Jackson RD + 4 Blackrock areas (Order 04-03-24-204, signed 2024-07-10 by Forest Supervisor Chad E. Hudson, expires 2029-07-10; supersedes the 2019 Order 04-03-313 in those areas). Water setback: NO enforceable order found; R4 Intermountain Region official page (verified) says 'Please place your campsite at least 200 feet from any stream or other water source' (guidance); older BTNF pages indexed by search say 100 ft from streams but could not be verified live - treat as guidance either way. Designated undeveloped site areas listed on the forest camping page: Curtis Canyon, Shadow Mountain, Toppings Road, Spread Creek, Buffalo Valley, Pacific Creek, Mosquito Creek, Flat Creek, Phillips Ridge (+ RV-only Moran Vista, Blackrock Meadows).
Open the map with scored campsites in Wyoming
Confidence in this summary: high. Forest orders change mid-season and districts differ — this is a research summary, not legal advice. Check the sources above before you drive out.