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There are many opportunities for dispersed camping on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Forest-wide stay limit: Camping in an area, campsite, or developed campground is limited to 16 accumulated days within any 30 day period.
People enjoy the solitude and primitive experience of camping away from developed campgrounds and other campers. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Dispersed camping means no services (such as trash removal), and little or no facilities (such as tables and fire pits) are provided.
Rules for dispersed camping Groups over 75 people are not allowed. Dispersed camping is NOT allowed at trailheads, picnic sites, and fishing areas and within close proximity of campgrounds. You need to be self-contained. No amenities are provided; such as water, restrooms or trash cans. Please pack out all your trash. For information on occupancy and use, camping stay limits, weed free forage, visit Region 1 - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov). Travel to campsites must not create resource damage. Travel to campsites must not create resource damage Contact local district office for information on fire restrictions. It is your responsibility to know if fire restrictions are in effect before camping. Be bear aware and know the food storage regulations before camping. These regulations are strictly enforced. Where can I disperse camp? Please refer to each district's Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). These maps will show which roadways allow disperse camping and it tells you the distance you are allowed to drive off the road to camp. Please note that some roads have more limitations and restrictions than others. Please consult the Motor Vehicle Use Map or call the district office for more details.
Many people enjoy the solitude and primitive experience of camping away from developed campgrounds and other campers. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Dispersed camping means no services (such as trash removal), and little or no facilities (such as tables and fire pits) are provided.
Rules for dispersed camping Groups over 75 people are not allowed. Dispersed camping is NOT allowed in the vicinity of developed recreation areas. You need to be self-contained. No amenities are provided; such as water, restrooms or trash cans. Please pack out all your trash. You may camp in a dispersed area for up to 16 days. After 16 days, you must move at least 5 road miles for camping in another dispersed area and you can not return to your original campsite for 7 days. Please use existing fire rings and avoid creating new fire rings. Contact your local district office for information on fire restrictions. It is your responsibility to know if fire restrictions are in effect before you go camping. Be bear aware and know the food storage regulations before camping. These regulations are strictly enforced. Where can I disperse camp? To find out where you are allowed to disperse camp, please refer to each district's Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). These maps will show which roadways allow disperse camping and it tells you the distance you are allowed to drive off the road to camp. Please note that some roads have more limitations and restrictions than others. Please consult the Motor Vehicle Use Map or call the district office for more details. To see our Motor Vehicle Use Maps, click here.
Can I have a campfire? Please use existing sites and fire rings. Firewood permits are not needed if wood is used on the forest. If wood is transported home for personal use, you will need to purchase a firewood permit at the closest district office. This permit should be obtained prior to you gathering or transporting any wood.
Before you leave your campfire make sure is it completely out. You should be able to put your whole hand into the ashes without being burned; it should be cool to the touch. Stir the ashes to make sure all embers have cooled. This is very important! Many forest fires are caused by abandoned campfires that were not completely out.
The National Forest has wildfires each year. Many of these are human caused from escaped campfires in dispersed sites. Campfires are allowed unless there are fire restrictions in effect due to high fire danger conditions. It is your responsibility to know if fire restrictions are in effect before you go camping. You can learn about any fire restrictions by contacting the nearest Forest Service office.
Dispersed camping means no bathrooms and no outhouses. That means extra care has to be taken in disposing of human waste. To dispose of feces, dig a hole six to eight (6-8) inches deep at least 200 feet away from any water source. When you are done, fill the hole with the dirt you dug up and take your toilet paper with you to dispose of in a proper waste container. Never defecate or leave toilet paper on top of the ground. Do not simply cover it with a rock. It could easily get into the local water source and contaminate it.
Guide
For a dispersed BLM camping area, this is lovely. Plenty of sites that each have a picnic table and long gravel spot to park an RV. There’s a cute little river and some interesting rock features. Close to the freeway so an excellent stop for a night spot.
GuideThis place looks like a paid campground, only free! All the spots have a picnic table, fire pit and bear box. The mountain views all all around you are gorgeous. Some other folks camping here went trout fishing - so that's an option. Only downside is that my dogs had some trouble walking on the gravel.
GPS: 45.702416, -112.736869
Scout
The road to this location is closed, the bridge is out. There is no access.
Traveler
We were looking for an easy dispersed site to stay at while visiting a friend in Bozeman. This was an easy option for us with a 20ft camper. We stayed at the first pull off a few minutes off the main road. This site was easily accessible, right off the main road, close to town and close to some hikes.
GuideBlm camping on the big hole river, montana, free up to 16 days. About 15 spots. Boat ramp, fishing hiking fire pits, no wood available.
Scout
Not to mention the single-lane cobblestone road, I have a truck and was bouncing up and down the whole way! I didn't find one area big enough to set up camp. I definitely would NOT recommend this spot
Guide
As a single female tent camping I felt very safe here. One morning a bunch of cows came through my site, which was amazing.
Guide
This is an amazing camp spot that is almost almost to the top of the trail to fairy Lake campground. There’s an established firing, and there’s room for multiple vehicles.
Traveler
We stayed here for a few days off one of the main trail head. There are not many sites off the main trail head and we’re all full when we arrived.
We have a 25ft off road travel trailer and attempted to go down two side trail heads. The further one was so bad we had to back all the way out. The closest side trail head was slightly better. We made down the road. However there wasn’t many sites here as well. There was maybe 3-4 sites along this whole trail head. We needed up stay in a pull in a valley early on in this trail head
RangerThis was an ok stay outside of Bozeman. The coordinates took me to a spot which was occupied but looked like the only spot on that stretch of road. It began to get extremely rutted and I didn’t want to push any farther after that spot. I camped in what looked to be a dispersed campsite that they closed off
GuideLots of open space and locations to pull out--beautiful views as well! To access this place we went towards Copper City Trail Head, and drove by the entrance onto BLM lands. Also, note that this place seems common for mountain bikers and trail bikers, so you'll likely run into a few of those. Also also, this place is DRY--so be sure to bring your own water (but on the plus side, no bugs!!)
RangerA bit confusing with all the no trespassing and no parking on/off the road signs. Felt more comfortable once we saw another van parked, and drove past the coordinate location a few minutes to use a tiny widened part of the road. No services.
ScoutGreat spot and easy to get to. Exactly where the coordinates are pull off was big enough for my sprinter 170 extended was even able to get it perfectly level a few dirt bikes on the road that stopped at sunset. It’s very quiet and beautiful views and 15° cooler than Bozeman.
TravelerGorgeous campsite only 20ish min from the outskirts of Bozeman. Stopped in for 1 night passing through on a bigger road trip and couldn’t be luckier with this location. Fire rings at all campsites. Very quite road. Level ground for car camping. Would 100% come back just for this gem.
ScoutPlenty of pull out sites with some scattered man made fire rings. Secluded quiet and great views
GuideGreat spot right on parts of the trial! It’s open and you can see miles in each direction. No shade, no bathrooms, but most have man made fire pits.
GuideBeautiful space with views and birdsongs aplenty. Spaces are small and right off the road, but for a free night not far from I-94 with solitude and nature, it’s fantastic. There are a few more pull-offs (again, no privacy and right off the Forest Road) if you drive on down toward Skunk Rd, but road gets rougher (high clearance and/or 4WD fine) from especially if it has recently rained. Those spots were also all taken. Went about a 1/2 mile beyond the GPS coordinates for spot with wee bit more space but the pull-off with these exact coordinates ended up getting claimed by an RV at some point in the night—this road gets solid use in the summer—saw at least a dozen vehicles in the 14 hours here.
ScoutFew sites, best suited for smaller campers. Beautiful area. OHV and horseback riding.
ScoutOnly 5 min from highway on a smooth road, spacious with vistas and private. Best yet
ScoutIt is easy to get to and very nice views. We did have a creepy experience. Three trucks drove by our spot and parked just staring at us and would leave. They did this 3 times before we decided to pack up and go elsewhere. Also saw a bunch of bear poop. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back.
ScoutThe gate was closed when we went. We were also in an RV that doesn't do great with snow so we were going out to turn around anyway. Found a spot in the town of Bozeman. Would be great to know when these gates are open or closed though.
ScoutThe spot was close to the highway - lots of potential spots - some “locals” who seem to live out there and run generators 24/7 - we had no problem and got a good night sleep to carry on our journey.
There are MTB OHV and walking trails nearby.
GuideMy partner and I stayed here in September. It wasn’t the easiest spot to find, but we stayed two nights and nothing happened to our tent set up while we took the car to go hiking for a whole day. Definitely busier than I expected, especially with the condition of the road; we had multiple cars coming down the road we were on and then they would turn around and come back but it wasn’t obnoxious. The sight we stayed at actually had been moved across the road from its original site so the car was a little further away than it normally is but it was still a quality site to stay at.
GuideEasy drive. I stayed in an early part of the trail but people were pulling trailers higher. Plenty of spots to camp. Fire pits and trails to hike. No service with Verizon which made it more incredible.
TravelerAbout 25 minutes from downtown Bozeman. There’s more spots available up this FS road and the FS roads off-shooting from it, like FS 3164, so explore your options. Quite and very pretty views, road is easily navigable.
TravelerSpent 3 nights here and aside from a few cars, main traffic coming through was a few dirt bikes and dune buggies and a few folks on bikes. Pullout is on a corner turn and very obvious. Decent tent spot over the hill and on top if needed. Spot is exactly where coordinates are and cell service is decent. Wildlife did start getting a bit too close by day 4, so make some noise every so often.
Legend
This campsite is right off the exit, but not very noisy. There were several other campers and RVs and trucks there. Even just parts of cars. Kinda a weird vibe, but down the various 2 tracks, there are hidden sites that afford some shade and privacy. I got 3-4 bars LTE of Verizon here! Plenty of fire pits and access to a couple lakes. And it’s only about 8 miles from Butte!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Harrison, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Harrison, MT is Copper City BLM with a 4-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Harrison, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 dispersed camping locations near Harrison, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
