On undeveloped BLM land in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota the camping limit is 16 days, not 14, and when your time is up you have to move outside a half-mile radius of the old site. The BLM’s Montana State Office wrote its own rule and it has been in force since July 2, 2010.
What the rule says
The final supplementary rules, published at 75 FR 30850 and checked August 16, 2026, run six numbered lines. The first three are the ones that decide your trip:
- “You must not camp longer than 16 consecutive days at any one location”;
- “No person or group may camp within a single location on public lands more than 16 days within any period of 30 consecutive days”;
- “After 16 days of camping in a single location, you must not camp at that location until at least 30 days have passed, and any camp relocation within that 30-day period shall not be within a one-half mile radius from the original site.”
The BLM’s current Montana-Dakotas recreation page, checked the same day, carries the same number in plainer words: “There are no designated long-term camping areas in Montana, North Dakota or South Dakota; the maximum stay is 16 days.”
Two details in the rule catch people. Rule 2 sets when the clock starts: “A 16-day interval begins when a person initially camps or leaves vehicles or property at a site on public lands.” Dropping a trailer on Thursday and arriving Saturday costs you two days. And rule 5 says time that property sits unattended counts toward the 16 days, which is a different question from whether you can legally leave it there at all.
Why the number you have heard is different
Because the national page is written loosely on purpose. BLM’s camping page, checked August 16, 2026, says dispersed camping “is generally limited to 14 days within any 28-day period, though specific stay limits vary by state and field office.” Montana is one of the states where it varies, and so is Colorado, which runs 14 days and then sends you 30 air miles away. Half a mile and 30 air miles are not the same trip.
None of this touches developed sites. The supplementary rules exclude locations with structures or capital improvements and name developed campgrounds, designated recreation areas and special recreation management areas. Those are governed by 43 CFR 8365.2-3 and by what is posted at the site.
The penalty section is worth reading once. Under FLPMA, a violation on public lands can be tried before a US Magistrate and fined up to $1,000 or 12 months, and within grazing districts the figure is $500.
What to do
If you are heading for eastern Montana or either Dakota, plan on 16 days and a short move, and mark the date you first left anything at the site rather than the date you arrived. The rules also allow the BLM to issue a written permit extending the 16 days “under special circumstances and upon request,” so if you have a real reason, ask the field office rather than assume.
Then read what is posted where you park. Site-specific rules stay in effect on top of these, and the sign and the local field office beat any website, this one included. Our Montana and North Dakota pages show what we have verified per state and where the gaps are.