Dispersed camping · Wyoming
What the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland 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 | 16 (Medicine Bow & Thunder Basin) / 14 (Routt) | 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.
Driving off designated roads to disperse camp is allowed only on road sections specially marked with a dot symbol on each district MVUM, up to 300 feet from the road centerline ('Motor vehicle use off of designated roads for the purpose of dispersed camping and/or game retrieval is permitted for up to 300 feet from the centerline of the road, allowing the same vehicles as the road allows and the same season as the road is open' - verbatim from Sierra Madre, Laramie Peak, and Snowy Range MVUM legends; each map has a Dispersed Camping/Game Retrieval table listing the eligible road segments). Elsewhere along open roads, the forest's official dispersed-camping handout describes parking 1-2 car lengths off the road edge.
The 300-ft dot corridors on MBR MVUMs cover dispersed camping AND game retrieval (combined 'Dispersed Camping/Game Retrieval Table'). Separately, the MVUM legends have 'Seasonal and Special Vehicle Designation' tables, which are seasonal/vehicle-class restrictions on specific roads - not camping-related.
Snowy Range Scenic Byway (WY-130): camping banned except in developed campgrounds within 500 ft of the byway, forest boundary to boundary (~mile 28.8-55.9), Order MBRTB-2024-339B, in effect 12/4/2024-4/30/2029. Vedauwoo/Pole Mountain: camping only in developed or FS-designated dispersed sites within 1/4 mile of Vedauwoo Rd NFSR 700 and spurs, Order MBRTB-2024-138 (2024-2029), tied to 2017 Pole Mountain travel decision. Mullen Fire (2020) area closures were terminated Nov 2020; no current Mullen-area closure order found on the forest-orders page. Colorado side summer 2026: Fishhook Fire area closure, Hahns Peak/Bears Ears RD, Order 02-06-03-26-195 (eff. 7/14/2026-12/31/2026) and Routt-wide Stage 1 fire restrictions Order 02-06-00-26-168 (from 6/18/2026). Food-storage (bear) order 2025-139 applies at all MB & Routt developed rec sites (6/16/2025-6/16/2030).
Forest spans WY (Medicine Bow, Thunder Basin) and CO (Routt). Stay limits are enforceable orders and differ across the forest: Medicine Bow NF Order MBNF-2013-29 (signed Laramie WY 9/13/2013, until rescinded; listed as eff. 9/5/2013) prohibits dispersed camping >16 days in any 30 consecutive days, requires moving >=3 miles after 16 days, bans returning to the same dispersed site within 30 days, and caps developed campgrounds at 14 days/30. Routt NF (Colorado) + Parks/Yampa-administered Arapaho portions: Order MBRTB-2024-158A (6/1/2024-6/1/2029) sets 14 days/30, plus 1/4-mile no-camping radius around listed developed sites, 200 ft from posted outfitter sites, 100 ft from posted no-camping signs. MVUM legend 300-ft text verified on WY-side maps: Sierra Madre (2021), Snowy Range (2021), Laramie Peak/Douglas RD (2022); Routt district MVUMs use the same dot/table system per the forest MVUM page but their legends were not individually read. Water setback: NO enforceable forest-wide water-setback order found. The official dispersed-camping handout (fs.usda.gov/media/243280, PDF authored May 2025) contains one ambiguously worded sentence: 'Dispersed camping is allowed, except where the area is posted closed, within 200 feet of any developed road, trail, picnic area, water source and trailhead, as well as 1/4 mile from campgrounds' - treat the 200-ft water figure as agency guidance, not a cited 261.58 order; the same handout separately advises washing/bathing 200 ft from water and campfires 100 ft from water.
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.