Agency-listedWyoming Game & Fish CommissionFreeOpen today

Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area

Drive-up · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY · 41.17118, -106.06794
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Wyoming Game & Fish lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

FIRE BAN: WGFD flags this area as 'Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area' -- check before you plan on any open flame. SEASONAL CLOSURE -- READ THIS FIRST: Closed to all Human Presence Jan. 1 - April 30 Wyoming closes many of these areas in winter and spring to protect wintering big game, and a closure is not advisory. Confirm the current dates with Game and Fish before you drive out. This is a designated campground on the Forbes/Sheep Mountain Wildlife Habitat Management Area in Albany County, land acquired or administered by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The area runs about 1,579 acres. Camping here is genuinely free and first come, first served -- and unlike neighbouring states, Wyoming does NOT make you buy a license or a habitat/entrance pass simply to be on the land or to camp. (If you intend to hunt or fish while you are there, that is a different matter: you need the appropriate Wyoming license and a conservation stamp for that activity.) The rules that bind: you may only camp in the designated spots, no more than 14 consecutive days, and you cannot leave a camp unattended more than 48 hours. After you hit the limit you have to be off that same Game and Fish land for at least 72 hours before returning. Some areas post a limit shorter than 14 days on the sign at the entrance -- if the sign says less, the sign wins. Area-specific regulations from Game and Fish: Motor Vehicle Travel Restricted to Roads Marked By white arrow on the Wildlife Habitat Management Area. No Recreational shooting. Access road and parking are not plowed during winter. 14-day camping limit. ORV use is prohibited. Amenities listed by Game and Fish for the area: Handicap Accessible Comfort Stations These are working wildlife areas first and campgrounds second -- they exist for habitat, so expect gravel, expect stock, and leave it cleaner than you found it. We have not visited; confirm current conditions and closures with the Wyoming Game and Fish Laramie regional office before you go.

Can I go now? — Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY
Open today Season May 1 – Dec 31. Closes after Dec 31.
Wyoming Game & Fish record: “Closed to all Human Presence Jan. 1 - April 30” · also: “5/1 - 12/31 THIS AREA OPENS TO ALL HUMAN PRESENCE AT 8:00AM MAY1st.” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
🔥 Fire ban recorded in the agency listing when it was last read (“Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area”). That is a snapshot, not a live feed — check current restrictions before you light anything.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area
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Weather outlook — at Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,203 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping AreaNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.

Everything you need — measured from Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 27 miWDump · 26 miDFuel · 20 miFGrocery · 20 miGHebal Remedies · Pharmacy · 26 miRxBloedorn Lumber · Hardware · 27 miHImport Auto Repair · Mechanic · 25 miMSpic and Span Laundrette · Laundry · 27 miLShower · 41 miShAir-up · 27 miAAlbany County Chiropractic Center · Urgent care · 26 mi+Sportsman's Warehouse · Outfitter · 28 miOCentennial Post Office · Mail · 10 mi@Laramie, WY - Tesla Supercharger · EV fast charger · 26 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • @Mail10 mi
  • FFuel20 mi
  • GGrocery20 mi
  • MMechanic25 mi
  • DDump26 mi
  • EVEV fast charger26 mi
  • RxPharmacy26 mi
  • +Urgent care26 mi
  • HHardware27 mi
  • LLaundry27 mi
  • AAir-up27 mi
  • WWater27 mi
  • OOutfitter28 mi
  • ShShower41 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 27-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 20 mi out.

Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.

One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗

The site — Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area

Access
Drive-up
Land
Wyoming Game & Fish
Elevation
8,203 ft
State
WY
Coordinates
41.17118, -106.06794
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureStrain Creek (stream) · nearby
  • Nearest townAlbany · ~3.4 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~19.6 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~25.7 mi
  • GroceriesPilot · ~26.1 mi
  • PharmacyFamily care clinic · ~27.0 mi
  • Hospital / clinicAlbany County Public Health · ~26.3 mi
  • HardwareHomeBase · ~26.6 mi

EV charging — from Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area elsewhere

Other camps near Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

Snow, and when this opens

The nearest automatic snow station is Cinnabar Park at 9,670 ft, about 10 miles away. It sits about 1,467 ft higher than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.

How we know this — Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area

Seasonal closure
Closed to all Human Presence Jan. 1 - April 30
Fire ban
Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area
Open dates
5/1 - 12/31 THIS AREA OPENS TO ALL HUMAN PRESENCE AT 8:00AM MAY1st.
Stay limit
14 nights (14-day camping limit)
Area rules
Motor Vehicle Travel Restricted to Roads Marked By white arrow on the Wildlife Habitat Management Area. No Recreational shooting. Access road and parking are not plowed during winter. 14-day camping limit. ORV use is prohibited.
Amenities
Handicap Accessible Comfort Stations
Source
Wyoming Game & Fish (habitat management areas)
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
FREE, no permit required, per WGFC Chapter 23 Sec. 4(a)(iii): 'Camping shall only be allowed in areas designated by Department publication or sign. No person shall camp in excess of the posted camping limit, and in no case more than fourteen (14) consecutive days, or leave a camp unattended for more than forty-eight (48) hours.' The words 'fee' and 'stamp' do not appear anywhere in Chapter 23, and 'license' appears only for long-term special-use agreements -- there is NO license/pass precondition for camping (unlike SD GFP or OK ODWC). WGFD states directly: 'Camping on WHMAs and PAAs is free and on a first-come, first-served basis' and 'The statewide camping limit is 14 days'. DESIGNATION: this is not inferred -- it is a point in WGFD's own WHMA_Facilities feature service with FacilityType='Campground' and PublicView='Public' (FacilityName 'Forbes Camping Area', area 'Forbes/Sheep Mountain'), which is the 'Department publication' the rule requires. Coordinates are that feature's own WGS84 geometry, not a geocode. Area attributes (season, regulations, amenities) come from WGFD's WHMA_Locations layer joined on area name. Source: services6.arcgis.com/cWzdqIyxbijuhPLw (WHMA_Facilities / WHMA_Locations), WGFD open data. Ingested 2026-07-20 18:27:48. SCOPE OF THE RULE (checked 2026-07-21 against the Chapter 23 PDF itself, wgfd.wyo.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/24576_REGULATIONS-CH-23.pdf): the chapter is titled 'REGULATION GOVERNING USES OF LANDS AND WATERS ACQUIRED OR ADMINISTERED BY THE WYOMING GAME AND FISH COMMISSION', and Sec. 3 defines acquired land as taken by the Commission 'by purchase, deed, lease, agreement, gift or devise'. The rule therefore reaches land the Commission holds by lease/agreement/easement, not only land it owns, so the free-camping authority holds on easement areas too. Land status is stated as 'acquired or administered' rather than 'owned' for that reason. SeasonalClosure: 'Closed to all Human Presence Jan. 1 - April 30'. AccessDates: '5/1 - 12/31 THIS AREA OPENS TO ALL HUMAN PRESENCE AT 8:00AM MAY1st.'. AreaRegulations: 'Motor Vehicle Travel Restricted to Roads Marked By white arrow on the Wildlife Habitat Management Area. No Recreational shooting. Access road and parking are not plowed during winter. 14-day camping limit. ORV use is prohibited.'. Amenities: 'Handicap Accessible Comfort Stations'. FireBan: 'Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area'. NOTE REFRESHED 2026-07-21 01:39:46: this row's stay limit was recomputed after a parser fix -- WGFD states its posted camping limit in several different phrasings ('Camping limit: 5 days', 'Overnight camping (5-day limit)', '5 day camping on Commission Lands') and the original ingester matched only one of them, so some areas were described with Wyoming's 14-day statewide cap when the posted limit is shorter. Coordinates, source and provenance are unchanged.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.

What we don’t know about Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area

A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.

Before you go — Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area

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