Public land: who holds it and how you reach it
Wyoming’s 29.7 million federal acres are split among five agencies: the BLM with 18,049,385 acres, the Forest Service with 9,226,016, the National Park Service with 2,345,726, the Fish and Wildlife Service with 74,517 and the Department of Defense with 14,547. BLM Wyoming works through three districts and ten field offices, at Buffalo, Casper, Cody, Kemmerer, Lander, Newcastle, Pinedale, Rawlins, Rock Springs and Worland.
BLM ground here is rarely one solid block. The agency’s recreation guide says its Wyoming land is intermingled with private, state and other federal land, and that visitors are responsible for knowing where they are. You may reach public land by a public road, trail or highway, by navigable water, from adjacent public or state land that is itself legally accessible, or across private land with the owner’s permission. A parcel you cannot reach by one of those is out of bounds in practice, whatever color it is on the map.
Yellowstone covers 2,221,766 acres, 96 percent of it in Wyoming, and has 392 miles of paved road. In the park the vehicle stays on the road: the Park Service lists traveling off-road by vehicle and camping outside designated areas among its prohibited acts, and allows no overnight parking in pullouts, parking areas or picnic grounds. State trust land is the other trap. Wyoming was granted about 4.2 million acres at statehood in 1890, and the Office of State Lands and Investments opens what is legally accessible to day use only.
The national forests are the Bridger-Teton, at more than 3.4 million acres; the Shoshone, at 2.4 million; the Bighorn; the Medicine Bow, run together with Colorado’s Routt and the Thunder Basin National Grassland; and the Wyoming side of the Black Hills, with parts of the Ashley, Caribou-Targhee and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache reaching over the state line. Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map data shows at least 6,890 miles of road and 875 miles of motorized trail inside Wyoming. About 1,730 of the road miles are open only part of the year, and about 119 miles of the trail mileage is open to full-size four-wheel-drive vehicles. The BLM’s national route layer adds about 576 miles managed for public motor use. All of these are floors, not full counts. By forest, inside Wyoming:
- 01Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest: 2,901 miles of road, 223 of motorized trail
- 02Bridger-Teton National Forest: 1,528 miles of road, 293 of motorized trail
- 03Bighorn National Forest: 939 miles of road, 206 of motorized trail
- 04Shoshone National Forest: 886 miles of road, 36 of motorized trail
- 05Black Hills National Forest: 287 miles of road, 73 of motorized trail
- 06Ashley National Forest: 200 miles of road, 3 of motorized trail
- 07Caribou-Targhee National Forest: 84 miles of road, 34 of motorized trail
- 08Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest: 71 miles of road, 12 of motorized trail
Source 1
Seasons: what closes, and when
Snow decides the calendar. The State Climate Office says snow falls frequently from November through May, that the higher ranges receive well over 200 inches a year, and that in the mountains and high valleys a freeze can come at any time in summer. The Wyoming Department of Transportation’s plowing plan ranks every highway for winter service, and lets a few close for the season as the snow builds.
The closures to plan around: the Beartooth Highway is open from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to mid-October. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway stays open, but the 9 miles of US 212 between Pilot Creek and Cooke City are closed to wheeled vehicles in winter and open from mid-May through early November. Snow usually closes the top of the Snowy Range Scenic Byway about mid-November, and plows traditionally reopen it in May before Memorial Day weekend. US 14A, the Medicine Wheel Passage across the northern Bighorns, closes for the winter, while US 14 and US 16 stay open all year.
Inside the parks, most Yellowstone roads are closed to regular vehicles from early November to late April; the only road generally open all year runs from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, through to Cooke City. In Grand Teton, the Teton Park Road is closed from November 1 to April 30 between Taggart Lake Trailhead and Signal Mountain Lodge, and the Moose-Wilson Road from November 1 until mid-May. Grassy Lake Road is left unplowed and opens in mid-June.
Dirt has its own season. The Forest Service says the Bighorn’s campgrounds open from late May to early June and that most of its high trails are free of snow by early July, and Backcountry Discovery Routes advises against trying its Wyoming route before July 1. Lower down, mud rather than snow is the limit: WYDOT does not recommend the Red Gulch/Alkali byway from November through April and says even light precipitation can make it impassable. Fire season, the BLM says, typically lasts from June to October.
Source 18
What Wyoming asks of a vehicle
Range comes first. No state has fewer people, and services are spread to match. WYDOT’s guide to the three back country byways says there are no towns, stores, gas stations or telephones along them, and tells drivers to check the spare tire and leave with a full tank. The BLM says the same of the 64 miles from Seminoe to Alcova: very few services and no gas. Backcountry Discovery Routes tells riders to fill up at Alcova because the next stretch is 140 miles.
Then the surface. Most of these are graded county and BLM roads, and what stops vehicles is weather. WYDOT says the South Bighorn/Red Wall route is passable for most high-clearance vehicles in summer and fall but turns muddy and very slick when wet, and is not suited to camper trailers, fifth-wheels or motorhomes. It says a high-clearance two-wheel drive can manage Red Gulch/Alkali when dry. The forests have rougher ground: the Bighorn National Forest says its Woodrock and Penrose area, reached by Forest Roads 16 and 26, is best traveled in a high-clearance four-wheel drive.
Wind loads anything tall. WYDOT has closed stretches of highway to light, high-profile vehicles since 2011 and has posted weight-based wind closures since 2023. It names recreational vehicles, camper trailers and enclosed trailers among those at risk, and advises anyone struggling for control to pull over somewhere safe and wait. The grades are real too: Teton Pass on WYO 22 is a 10 percent grade with a year-round 60,000-pound limit and a seasonal ban on all trailers, and WYDOT’s advice for every pass is a low gear and brakes you are not riding.
In the northwest the vehicle is also the food locker. Under the Shoshone National Forest’s order, in force from March 1 to December 1 each year, food and anything that smells like it must be attended, hung, kept in a certified bear-resistant container, or shut in a closed hard-sided vehicle with the windows up. At three campgrounds on the road between Wapiti and Yellowstone’s East Entrance the forest goes further and allows only hard-sided, self-contained units in that season.
Source 28
Passes and routes
-
Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour
24 miles
A self-guided loop from either Green River or Rock Springs, mostly on gravel, that the BLM says takes about an hour and a half. Between 1,100 and 1,600 wild horses live on the public land the Rock Springs Field Office manages, and this is the drive built to see them. It is the gentlest introduction to the Red Desert. 50
-
Woodrock and Big Goose roads, Bighorn National Forest
The forest calls this a rugged route best travelled in high-clearance four-wheel drive, reaching remote country with many opportunities for motorised recreation. The main routes through the region are the Black Mountain road, Forest System Road 16, and Big Goose or Red Grade Road, Forest System Road 26. Paintrock Road, Forest System Road 17, does the same job one region north. 16
- Vehicle
- Best travelled in high-clearance four-wheel drive
-
Beartooth Highway (US 212)Paved
10,947 ft 68.7 miles
Red Lodge, Montana, to Cooke City and Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance, across the northwest corner of Wyoming
The Forest Service says the highway, finished in 1936, climbs from Red Lodge to the state line, crosses Beartooth Pass at 10,947 feet inside the Shoshone National Forest and returns to Montana just before Cooke City. It is often windy, the drive takes at least two to three hours, and snow usually stays at the higher elevations until early to mid-July. The Federal Highway Administration lists the byway at 68.7 miles; WYDOT’s 2009 byways book says 63. 44
- Season
- Friday of Memorial Day weekend to mid-October, weather permitting
-
Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WYO 296)Paved
47 miles
Highway 120 north of Cody to US 212, the Beartooth Highway
The state highway commission designated the 47-mile WYO 296 in Park County as the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway in 1988. It leaves Highway 120 sixteen miles north of Cody and crosses the Shoshone National Forest to US 212. The Park Service says the 9 miles of US 212 from Pilot Creek to Cooke City are open to wheeled vehicles from mid-May through early November and are for oversnow travel only in winter. 30
- Season
- Open all year. Beyond it, US 212 from Pilot Creek to Cooke City is closed to wheeled vehicles in winter
-
Snowy Range Scenic Byway (WYO 130)Paved
10,847 ft 29 miles
Centennial to Saratoga, across the Medicine Bow Mountains
WYDOT calls it one of the shortest of Wyoming’s byways in both length and season, over the second-highest mountain pass in the state. The two-lane highway rises from about 8,000 feet on the valley floor to 10,847 feet at Snowy Range Pass, below 12,013-foot Medicine Bow Peak. WYDOT counts 29 miles between Centennial and Saratoga, 27 of them inside the Medicine Bow National Forest. The two ends of the road stay drivable in winter. 33
- Vehicle
- Passenger cars when open
- Season
- Closed by snow about mid-November. Plowed open in May before Memorial Day weekend
-
Cloud Peak Skyway (US 16)Paved
9,666 ft 47 miles
Buffalo to Ten Sleep, across the southern Bighorns
The southernmost of three paved byways over the Bighorn National Forest, and the most gradual climb. WYDOT says grades on US 16 and on US 14 to the north do not exceed 7 percent, while US 14A, the Medicine Wheel Passage, reaches about 10 percent and closes for the winter. The Skyway tops out above timberline at 9,666 feet on Powder River Pass. WYDOT notes that snow can fall in any month at these elevations. 34
- Season
- Open all year
-
Red Gulch/Alkali National Back Country Byway
32 miles
US 14 four miles west of Shell to Highway 31 north of Hyattville
A BLM byway on improved gravel and dirt through the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, past hoodoos and the edges of three wilderness study areas. Mileposts run from 0 near Shell to 32 near Hyattville. WYDOT says grades stay under seven percent, that even light precipitation can make the road impassable, and that large vehicles and trailers may want to avoid it. There are no services on the route. Greybull has them all. 46
- Vehicle
- High clearance. Two-wheel drive is enough when dry
- Season
- Not recommended November through April. Impassable when wet
-
South Bighorn/Red Wall Back Country Byway
102 miles
US 20/26 northwest of Casper to US 20/26 at Waltman
Old stock trails across open range that ranchers still work. From Natrona County Road 125, thirteen miles northwest of Casper, the BLM’s route follows the 33-mile Stock Driveway to Buffalo Creek and the Red Wall, climbs the southern spine of the Bighorns on County Road 109 and returns along the Red Wall on County Road 105 to Waltman. WYDOT puts the horseshoe at 102 miles, mostly gravel, topping out near 8,500 feet, slick when wet and without services. The BLM’s own recreation guide describes a 33-mile gravel road. 32
- Vehicle
- High clearance. Not suited to camper trailers, fifth-wheels or motorhomes
- Season
- Summer and fall
-
Seminoe to Alcova Back Country Byway
64 miles
Sinclair, at I-80 exit 219, to Alcova on Highway 220
The BLM’s byway follows Carbon County Road 351 and Natrona County Road 407 past Seminoe Reservoir, over the Seminoe Mountains and across the Miracle Mile of the North Platte. WYDOT describes it as part paved and part gravel, narrowing to a single lane with pullouts in the mountains and muddy north of the Miracle Mile, and allows about two and a half hours. The BLM warns of very few services and no gas. 48
- Vehicle
- Passenger car. Motorhomes and large trailers are advised against between the Miracle Mile and Seminoe State Park
- Season
- Usually May to December, depending on snow
-
Killpecker Sand Dunes Open Play Area
Tri-Territory Road, County Road 4-17, off US 191 north of Rock Springs
BLM dunes open to motor vehicle use inside the Greater Sand Dunes Area of Critical Environmental Concern, whose western part holds the Sand Dunes and Buffalo Hump wilderness study areas. Every vehicle needs a red or orange flag of 6 by 12 inches on a whip mast reaching at least eight feet above the ground. The limit is 15 miles per hour within 500 feet of access roads, glass containers are banned, and OHVs need the Wyoming sticker. A free BLM campground sits about 32 miles from Rock Springs. 49
- Vehicle
- Any vehicle carrying a whip mast and flag
-
Big Spring Scenic Backway
68 miles
Kemmerer to Cokeville, through the Bridger-Teton National Forest
The Forest Service describes an unimproved forest road on part of the Oregon Trail, where wagon ruts still show in places, and calls it very remote travel that requires excellent map navigation skills. It gives the length as 68 miles. WYDOT’s 2009 byways book lists 75 miles of paved and gravel road on WYO 233, Forest Road 10062 and WYO 232. 51
- Vehicle
- Four-wheel drive highly recommended
-
Greys River Road
Almost 60 miles
Alpine south to Tri Basin Divide
The Forest Service calls it one of the most popular forest roads on the Bridger-Teton, with fishing, camping, OHV riding and trails into the Wyoming and Salt River ranges. Campgrounds in the corridor have a 16-day stay limit and take no reservations. Another page on the same forest’s site describes a 27-mile stretch of the road; the corridor page’s figure is the one used here. 52
- Season
- Main season Memorial Day to Labor Day
-
Flagg Ranch, between Grand Teton and Yellowstone, west through the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway
The Park Service keeps 14 designated campsites in eight areas along the road: free, first come first served, with no water but with shared toilets, bear boxes and trash service. Camp only in the designated sites and store food properly. The road closes with the snow, and once there is enough cover it opens to snowmobiles, skis and snowshoes. 22
- Season
- Opens in mid-June. Unplowed in winter
-
Wyoming Backcountry Discovery Route
950 miles
Baggs to the Montana border, by the Sierra Madre, the Medicine Bow, the Wind River Range and the Bighorns
Backcountry Discovery Routes calls this its most remote route, in eight sections, with elevations between 9,000 and 11,000 feet in places. It says every road on it is open to vehicles, but that a driver will want a high-clearance 4x4 for the deep puddles, large rocks, ruts and steep loose grades. Fill up at Alcova: the next stretch is 140 miles. 53
- Vehicle
- Built for adventure motorcycles. A four-wheel drive needs high clearance
- Season
- Mid-July to mid-September. Not before July 1
Rules worth knowing
- Eighteen million acres of BLM, in three districts
- Wyoming’s public lands carry 18 million acres of BLM surface and nearly 43 million acres of federal mineral estate. The surface is organised into three districts and ten field offices: Wind River and Bighorn Basin from Worland, Cody and Lander; High Plains from Buffalo, Casper and Newcastle; High Desert from Kemmerer, Pinedale, Rawlins and Rock Springs. The field office is the authority on a road, a closure or a fire order. 7
- The route mileage this guide counts, and where it comes from
- Wyoming’s BLM route mileage in this guide is computed from the agency’s own Ground Transportation Linear Features layer, summing the miles of route managed for public or limited public motorised use by administrative state. It is a floor rather than a total: it counts what the BLM has mapped and attributed, not every two-track that exists. 9
- The first national forest in the country is here
- The Shoshone was created in 1891 as part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, about 1.2 million acres south and east of Yellowstone, and became the first national forest in the nation. It now runs to 2.4 million acres with more than 1.4 million of designated wilderness inside it, part of the ten-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Wapiti Ranger Station on US 14-16-20 about 30 miles west of Cody, built in 1903, was the first ranger station built at federal expense. 12
- On the Shoshone, sixteen days and a five-mile radius
- Forest Order 98-001 prohibits camping or otherwise occupying a single location for more than sixteen consecutive days, and defines location as the campsite plus the land within a five-mile radius of it. After leaving, seven days must pass before anyone re-occupies the original location. It is a stricter and more precisely drawn rule than the usual fourteen-day limit, and it is worth reading before planning a long stay in the Absarokas. 39
- Some Shoshone campgrounds require hard-sided camping
- Order SHO-24-002 prohibits camping from 1 March to 1 December in the Threemile, Eagle Creek and Newton Creek campgrounds of the Wapiti Ranger District, along US 14-16-20 between Yellowstone’s East Entrance and Wapiti, without a hard-sided, non-pliable, self-contained unit such as a trailer, camper or vehicle. The purpose is to minimise human-bear conflict. A roof tent and a ground tent are both excluded there, and the order runs through 31 December 2027. 40
- The Bridger-Teton is 3.4 million acres and 3,000 miles of road and trail
- The forest holds more than 3.4 million acres of public land with nearly 1.2 million acres of designated wilderness, over 3,000 miles of road and trail, and what it calls the largest intact ecosystem in the lower 48. It is the biggest single piece of drivable public land in this guide, and its rules vary by district rather than being uniform across it. 13
- Near Jackson, camping drops to five days
- The general limit on the Bridger-Teton is 14 days in any 30, after which you move at least five air miles and may not return to the same site for 30 days. In several heavily used dispersed areas across the Jackson, Blackrock, Big Piney and Greys River districts, the limit falls to five days within any 30 from 1 May through Labor Day, and some popular corridors allow no camping at all. All food, rubbish and scented items must be stored in bear-resistant containers, in a vehicle, or hung. 41
- The Jackson district is the busiest ground in the state
- The Jackson Ranger District carries the Teton approaches, the Gros Ventre and the corridors people arrive in first, which is why its camping limits are the tightest on the forest. Treat a summer plan there as a booking problem rather than a driving problem, and look at the Greys River or the Wind Rivers if you want space. 42
- On the Bighorn, fourteen days then five road miles
- Forest Special Order 02-02-24-02 prohibits camping in the Bighorn National Forest for more than 14 days in any 28 without moving all equipment and property a minimum of five road miles. Food storage rules apply across the whole forest, and camping within 100 feet of any lake, stream or free-flowing water in the Woodrock area is prohibited. 43
- The Bighorn answers the boondocking question directly
- The forest’s own FAQ says campgrounds open late May to early June, Medicine Wheel is typically accessible by late June or early July depending on snowpack, and most Cloud Peak Wilderness trails are clear by early July. On dispersed camping it is unusually plain: most forest roads have adjacent spots, camping outside developed campgrounds is permitted through much of the forest, and you may drive up to 300 feet off an open road to set up, provided it causes no damage and no sign or restriction says otherwise. 15
- Yellowstone: 2.2 million acres and 392 miles of pavement
- The park was established on 1 March 1872, the world’s first national park, covering 2,221,766 acres of which 96 percent is in Wyoming, 3 percent in Montana and 1 percent in Idaho, with 392 miles of paved road. Its record low is minus 66 degrees, set in 1933 at the Riverside Station near the West Entrance. The park notes that its own area figures have not been scientifically verified. 17
- In Yellowstone, off-road driving and undesignated camping are federal offences
- The park lists them among its prohibitions by regulation: camping outside designated areas under 36 CFR 2.10(b)(10), and travelling off-road by vehicle under 36 CFR 4.10(a). There is no dispersed camping, no pull-off sleeping and no two-tracking anywhere inside the boundary, which is the opposite of the forest ground on three sides of it. 19
- No sleeping in a Yellowstone pullout
- The park states that no car camping or overnight vehicle parking is allowed in pullouts, parking areas, picnic grounds or anywhere other than a designated campground. Arriving late without a booking is a drive back out of the park, so the gateway forests are the plan rather than the fallback. 20
- Grand Teton’s park roads close on fixed dates
- The Teton Park Road is closed from 1 November to 30 April between the Taggart Lake trailhead and Signal Mountain Lodge, and the Moose-Wilson Road from 1 November until mid-May depending on conditions. Grassy Lake Road in the Rockefeller Parkway closes on conditions and is unplowed in winter. The main highways, US 89/191 and US 26/287, are plowed from Jackson to Flagg Ranch, and the park asks that vehicles carry winter or all-season tires and chains over the passes. 21
- State trust land is day use, and no camping or fires
- The Board of Land Commissioners’ Chapter 13 rules extend a privilege, not a right, and they are specific. Casual recreational use means day uses such as riding, photography, wildlife watching, hiking and rock hunting, and expressly excludes camping and joy riding. Motor vehicles are confined to established roads. Open fires and overnight camping are prohibited except in camping areas the Board has established. The state granted about 4.2 million acres at statehood in 1890, and damaging trust land, driving off-road, charging fees, building fires or camping on it is a misdemeanour. 24
- Some highways are allowed to close for the winter
- The state’s snow plough priority plan puts roads in service levels, and the closed level covers the few that are allowed to shut seasonally as snow accumulates, because the cost of keeping them open outweighs the benefit to the few who use them. Low-volume service is provided only during daylight hours. A road being on the map, and being plowed, are different questions in Wyoming. 27
- The state’s own mountain driving advice
- The Department of Transportation publishes guidance for driving Wyoming’s mountain highways: watch for changing weather, manage grades and brakes, and treat wind as a constant rather than an event. Read it alongside the chain law rather than instead of it, because the chain levels are the part that is enforced. 29
- There are byways and there are backways
- The state’s byways programme book lists both: designated scenic byways on state highways, and backways, which are the unpaved routes. The Highway Commission designated the 47-mile WYO 296 in Park County as the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway in 1988, and the Forest Service has designated seven national forest scenic byways in the state covering about 387 miles of state highway inside forest boundaries. Knowing which list a route is on tells you what surface to expect. 31
- The Beartooth is an All-American Road with a short season
- The Beartooth Highway is a designated All-American Road, built between 1932 and its completion on 14 June 1936, climbing to Beartooth Pass at 10,947 feet. It is open from Memorial Day to 15 October, weather depending, with snow usually lying at higher elevations until early to mid-July and winter conditions possible in May, June, late September and October. The drive takes a minimum of two to three hours and is often windy. 45
- Fire restrictions are posted by county and by office
- The BLM issues its Wyoming fire restrictions as stage one prevention orders by district or field office and by county, and points to the Rocky Mountain Area interagency dashboard, which covers state, federal and tribal land across five states. The state forestry division maps the restrictions county commissioners set under the Board of Land Commissioners rules. Restrictions change rapidly, so the local office, fire district or sheriff is the current answer. 37
- The least populated state, by a margin
- The 2020 census counted 576,851 residents in Wyoming, the smallest of the fifty states, with Vermont next at 643,077. That number is the reason the distances between services are what they are, and the reason a breakdown on a back country byway is a different problem here than in a state with ten times the people. 4
- Dispersed camping: 14 days on BLM land, and every forest differs
- BLM Wyoming allows 14 days of camping in any 28-day period, in one stay or several, after which you must move outside a 5-mile radius. Property left unattended for more than 72 hours is not allowed and counts toward the limit. In most circumstances you may drive up to 300 feet off a route if it causes no damage and leaves no ruts. The Bridger-Teton allows 14 days in any 30 and then a move of at least 5 air miles, with 5-day limits in busy areas near Jackson from May 1 through Labor Day. The Shoshone allows 16 consecutive days within a 5-mile radius, then 7 days away before you return. The Bighorn allows 14 days in 28, then a move of at least 5 road miles. 6
- The Wyoming ORV permit
- Wyoming State Parks’ trails program requires a Wyoming ORV permit on every enrolled road, route and trail of 50 inches or less that is designated for ORV use. It lists the permit at $15, valid for a calendar year, the same for residents and visitors, with no reciprocity for other states’ stickers. It defines an ORV as an ATV 50 inches wide or less, an unlicensed motorcycle, or another multi-wheeled vehicle built for cross-country travel that the law does not require to be licensed. A plated truck is none of those, and a street-legal ORV needs the permit only on the 50-inch trails. The BLM adds that every OHV on public land in Wyoming must carry the state sticker. 25
- State trust land is day use only
- The Office of State Lands and Investments says the public may hunt, fish and make general recreational use of state trust land that is legally accessible. Off-road vehicle use, overnight camping and open fires are prohibited, cultivated cropland is closed, and the Board of Land Commissioners’ rules confine motor vehicles to established roads. Breaking them is a misdemeanor. Anything more needs a temporary use permit or a special use lease. 23
- Fire restrictions come from the county and the land office
- The Wyoming State Forestry Division maps the fire restrictions set by each county’s commissioners, and points to the federal agencies for theirs. BLM Wyoming issues fire prevention orders by district and field office, and they appear with other agencies’ on the Rocky Mountain Area interagency fire restrictions dashboard. The BLM says fire season typically lasts from June to October and that restrictions can change rapidly, so ask the local fire district, the sheriff’s office or the federal land office. 36
- The chain law has two levels
- WYDOT can apply the chain law to specific sections of highway when conditions warrant. Level 1, for hazardous conditions, limits travel to vehicles with tire chains, vehicles with adequate snow tires, or all-wheel-drive vehicles. Level 2, for extremely hazardous conditions, limits it to vehicles with chains or all-wheel-drive vehicles with adequate mud and snow or all-weather-rated tires. WYDOT lists the penalty at $250, or $750 if the violation closes the highway. 26
- Bear country: food storage and hard-sided camping
- On the Shoshone National Forest, from March 1 to December 1 each year, food, refuse and anything that smells of either must be attended by someone awake and within 100 feet, hung at least 10 feet up and 4 feet out from the tree, kept in a certified bear-resistant container, or shut in a closed vehicle or trailer of solid, non-pliable material with the windows closed. The Bridger-Teton and the Bighorn have food storage orders of their own. At Threemile, Eagle Creek and Newton Creek campgrounds, between Wapiti and Yellowstone’s East Entrance, camping in that season is allowed only in a hard-sided, self-contained unit. The food storage order now in force runs through 2026 and the hard-sided order through 2027, so check for their successors. 38
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Road
Primitive Road
Road
Primitive Road
Trail
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
