Dispersed camping · Montana
What the Custer Gallatin 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.
No single forest-wide rule. On the Gallatin-side MVUM units (Gallatin/Madison/Henry's Lake, Hebgen Lake, Bridger-Bangtail, Crazy Mtns, Absaroka-Beartooth West and East), the MVUM legend states a dot symbol 'is used along with a designated road or trail to indicate that limited cross-country motor vehicle use is allowed within 300 feet of that route, solely for the purpose of dispersed camping' - i.e., 300 ft but ONLY on routes marked with the symbol; where motorized dispersed camping is not allowed, a small number of designated dispersed campsites are marked on the ground. On the Custer-side Beartooth Front (North) and Pryor Mountains MVUMs, a table grants it on 'All designated routes within the [unit] - 300 feet from centerline of route, both sides on National Forest Lands' (blanket within those units). Beartooth Front (South) uses a per-route dispersed camping table ('within a specified distance of that route'; distances not extractable from the PDF text layer). The Ashland and Sioux district MVUMs contain NO dispersed-camping provision at all - only standard parking along designated routes.
On CGNF MVUMs the dispersed-camping dot symbol means motorized dispersed camping only (no game-retrieval designation appears on any CGNF MVUM checked). The 'Seasonal and Special Designation Table' on these maps otherwise covers seasonal open dates and special vehicle definitions.
Hyalite Canyon: Order 12-11-06-04 (signed July 16, 2012, in effect until rescinded) - within 1/2 mile either side of Hyalite Rd #62, South Fork Hyalite #620 and East Fork Hyalite Rd #6280, camping is prohibited except in signed designated campsites, and campfires only in permanently installed metal fire rings. Gardiner area: FS Eagle Creek Campground page states dispersed camping is prohibited along Jardine Rd downhill of Eagle Creek Campground, Jardine Rd for 1.5 mi past the campground, and the first 3 mi of Eagle Creek Rd. Food storage: Order 01-11-00-23-02, in effect March 1-Dec. 1 annually (2026 season confirmed) on the Bozeman, Hebgen Lake, Gardiner, Yellowstone and Beartooth ranger districts (west side; Ashland/Sioux excluded). GYA Wilderness Order GYCC-7 (Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wildernesses): 16-day limit where 'location' = campsite + 5-mile radius, 7 days before reoccupying, plus stock tethering banned within 200 ft of lakes/100 ft of streams. 2026 campground closures: Pine Grove (01-11-82-26-04, May 26-Oct 30, 2026) and East Boulder (01-11-04-26-01, Jun 18-Oct 30, 2026).
MVUM legend text read directly from downloaded PDFs (Gallatin/Madison/Henry's MVUM 2025; Bridger-Bangtail 2026; Absaroka-Beartooth East 2026; Beartooth Front 2025; Hebgen 2024; Sioux 2026; Ashland current edition). Per-district variation is real: old-Gallatin units = 300 ft only on symbol-marked routes; old-Custer Beartooth Front (N) and Pryors = 300 ft on all designated routes in the unit; Beartooth Front (S) = per-route table; Ashland/Sioux = no motorized dispersed camping corridor shown. Stay limit: Regional Order R1-2025-01 (signed Jul 17, 2025; effective Aug 1, 2025-Jul 31, 2030): 16 consecutive days per site and 32 cumulative days per calendar year on all MT national forests (36 CFR 261.58(a)); the oft-quoted 'move 5 road miles / 7 days' rule for general (non-wilderness) dispersed camping appears only on secondary sites and is UNVERIFIED - the verified 5-mile/7-day rule is wilderness-only (GYCC-7). Water setback: no enforceable camping-water-setback order found in the current CGNF order list or MVUM legends; GYCC-7's 200-ft lake/100-ft stream prohibition applies to hitching livestock in wilderness, not tent placement.
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: 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.