Wyoming Dispersed Camping on BLM Land

[AIM STR8]

Regarding dispersed camping in Wyoming, I have read posts that others have stated "You can camp anywhere on BLM land". From what I've discovered, that's not entirely true. I made a phone call to a Wyoming BLM office and was told you can only pull off no more than 300 ft from the road .... straight in and straight out.

 

[mtmiller]

Are you talking driving or camping?

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

You can camp anywhere on most BLM.


You can’t create a new road with your vehicle wherever you want.

 

[WyoDoug]

Regarding dispersed camping in Wyoming, I have read posts that others have stated "You can camp anywhere on BLM land". From what I've discovered, that's not entirely true. I made a phone call to a Wyoming BLM office and was told you can only pull off of a county road and no more than 200 yds from the road .... straight in and straight out. Two track trails not included. The road must be a county road. Also, in talking to a game warden on the phone he stated the same and you will be ticketed if you do not comply.

You may have contacted an office person who may or may not know what they are talking about. I would call the BLM field office where you plan to camp at for more accurate info since they will be the ones enforcing the regulations.

Here is an brief explanation direct from BLM's website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping#:~:text=Dispersed camping is allowed on,specific location on public lands.

It does NOT have to be a county road. That is false. It can be secondary roads. Again, call the BLM regional office and ask to talk to a ranger. The rangers are the ones who will be issuing you a ticket and enforcing dispersed camping regs. Keep in mind also that there are different restrictions from region to region so you really should be talking to a ranger from the regional office.

 

[3855WIN]

You basically can camp anywhere. Don’t make new roads. Have you ever been in Wyoming?

 

[AIM STR8]

You may have contacted an office person who may or may not know what they are talking about. I would call the BLM field office where you plan to camp at for more accurate info since they will be the ones enforcing the regulations.

Here is an brief explanation direct from BLM's website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping#:~:text=Dispersed camping is allowed on,specific location on public lands.

It does NOT have to be a county road. That is false. It can be secondary roads. Again, call the BLM regional office and ask to talk to a ranger. The rangers are the ones who will be issuing you a ticket and enforcing dispersed camping regs. Keep in mind also that there are different restrictions from region to region so you really should be talking to a ranger from the regional office.

What I was referring to and I thought I make it clear enough in my post was to pull off the road (drive off the road) and set-up camp, be it a wall tent, RV, etc. Not a hike in tent site.

"Dispersed camping is allowed on public land for a period not to exceed 14 days within a 28 consecutive day period. The 28 day period begins when a camper initially occupies a specific location on public lands."
That says nothing about how far off the road you can pull off with your vehicle which prompted me to call a field office to be more specific.

As far as the 300 ft goes. I'm only quoting the info given to me by field office person and the game warden I talked to. A search on the web does not provide that.

Yes, I've been to Wyoming many times.

 

[WyoDoug]

What I was referring to and I thought I make it clear enough in my post was to pull off the road (drive off the road) and set-up camp, be it a wall tent, RV, etc. Not a hike in tent site.

"Dispersed camping is allowed on public land for a period not to exceed 14 days within a 28 consecutive day period. The 28 day period begins when a camper initially occupies a specific location on public lands."
That says nothing about how far off the road you can pull off with your vehicle which prompted me to call a field office to be more specific.

As far as the 200 yards goes. I'm only quoting the info given to me by field office person and the game warden I talked to. I was told it needed to be a county road. A search on the web does not provide that.

Yes, I've been to Wyoming many times.

Like I said, contact the BLM regional field office for the area you want to camp. There is nothing in the BLM regs that I have seen requiring you to camp near a county road. The main restrictions is do not make new roads. They would "like" you to use existing campsites rather than destroying habitat to make a new one but that is not codified that I know of. Each region has certain restrictions you need to be aware of, so look up the regional office and give them a call. As to driving off the road a short distance, I would say yes. I have drove 100-200 yards off the road myself to get into a sheltered area but that was already an existing campsite I took.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

The last time I checked into it, you could not drive more than 300 feet from the road to camp regardless of whether it was a county road or a BLM two track. The 200 yards is a new one to me.

 

[Schaaf]

What is the purpose of this thread?

 

[mtmiller]

What is the purpose of this thread?

To complicate the uncomplicated.

 

[mtmuley]

To complicate the uncomplicated.

HaHa. Not the only thread that has ever done that. mtmuley

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and make some assumptions.

The county road aspect is you must ACCESS the BLM via county road

You do not have to camp directly off a county road. I think you are grossly confusing things. 300 feet off a county road or two track in as straight a route as possible. Yards vs feet is an important distinction here in avoiding a ticket.

 

[Jason73]

 

[Wildabeest]

I think we are confusing camping with driving/parking. You can pitch your tent any damn place you want. You just can’t drive your vehicle to it if it’s more than xxx ft from the road.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

HaHa. Not the only thread that has ever done that.

I heard it’s a sure fire ticket if you park in the barrow ditch along the highway and then hike in from there. Anyone know if this is true?

My work here is done for the night.

 

[AIM STR8]

Sorry for the incorrect info and thanks for the clarification. Didn't mean to cause all the confusion.

 

[AIM STR8]

You may have contacted an office person who may or may not know what they are talking about. I would call the BLM field office where you plan to camp at for more accurate info since they will be the ones enforcing the regulations.

Here is an brief explanation direct from BLM's website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping#:~:text=Dispersed camping is allowed on,specific location on public lands.

It does NOT have to be a county road. That is false. It can be secondary roads. Again, call the BLM regional office and ask to talk to a ranger. The rangers are the ones who will be issuing you a ticket and enforcing dispersed camping regs. Keep in mind also that there are different restrictions from region to region so you really should be talking to a ranger from the regional office

I called Casper BLM Office today to discuss my concern and you are correct. You may leave a Cnty RD or two-track road with your vehicle to set-up camp. The vehicle must be parked with-in 300 ft of the road. From there you can take your camp gear and set-up anywhere you want. But she said use discretion on the two-track road, it must be a well established road and not one where someone drove down a couple times.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction on this and clearing up what I originally posted.

-Aim str8

 

[WyoDoug]

I called Casper BLM Office today to discuss my concern and you are correct. You may leave a Cnty RD or two-track road with your vehicle to set-up camp. The vehicle must be parked with-in 300 ft of the road. From there you can take your camp gear and set-up anywhere you want. But she said use discretion on the two-track road, it must be a well established road and not one where someone drove down a couple times.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction on this and clearing up what I originally posted.

-Aimstr8

There are other restrictions too that vary from region to region so it's important to check in with the state, BLM and USFS regional offices when you go into a new area and ask about any special regional restrictions. Usually all of that is posted but not always.

 

[Wildabeest]

An interesting side note to that, the person I spoke to on the phone with the BLM Office said they got a report from a field officer that ticketed someone for using an E-Bike away from the road because it was motorized travel. So yeah, like you said, best to check in.

Oh boy...

 

[WyoDoug]

An interesting side note to that, the person I spoke to on the phone with the BLM Office said they got a report from a field officer that ticketed someone for using an E-Bike away from the road because it was motorized travel. So yeah, like you said, best to check in.

That's a whole nother story there. BLM regs allow for state laws to trump BLM regs. There was a bill in Wyoming that allowed it to go anywhere a bicycle can. Not sure what happened to it. As for federal lands, as of August 29th 2019 all eBikes up to 750 watt can now access Federal Lands and natural parks anywhere a regular bicycle can access. (Secretary of Interior Order #3376). BLM officers do not seem to be aware of all the orders at the federal level.