Kerns WHMA — camping zone

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: Nov. 16 - May 31 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 Kerns Wildlife Habitat Management Area in Sheridan County, land acquired or administered by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The area runs about 4,943 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. WATCH THIS ONE CAREFULLY -- Game and Fish carves out a spot on this area where camping is NOT allowed: 'No camping or parking on TR Bench between gravel pit and 2'. Camping is permitted on the area, but not there. Note in particular that Wyoming STATE TRUST LAND parcels are often mixed in with wildlife areas, and camping on state trust land is prohibited statewide by the Board of Land Commissioners -- so a boundary you cannot see on the ground can matter. Read the sign and the map at the entrance. Area-specific regulations from Game and Fish: 14 day camping limit. No camping or parking on TR Bench between gravel pit and 2.5 miles up access road.Weed free certified hay only. Exceptions noted for this area: Closed to vehicles Nov. 1 - May 31 Amenities listed by Game and Fish for the area: Parking, Comfort Station, Horse Corrals 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 Sheridan regional office before you go.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

• Vault / pit toiletBurgess · ~11.0 mi S · USFS
• Vault / pit toiletNorth Tongue · ~11.1 mi S · USFS
• Flush restroomBurgess Junction Visitor Center · ~11.2 mi S · USFS
• Vault / pit toiletPine Island · ~12.2 mi SE · USFS

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Kerns WHMA — Broderick camping zone~2.3 mi
• Kerns WHMA — Gay Creek Campsite~3.1 mi
• Kerns WHMA — Kerns Lower Trail Bench Site~3.5 mi
• Amsden Creek WHMA — Amsden Meadows Campground~12.4 mi

How we know this

What we don’t know

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

• Road surface & last-mile access
• How many rigs actually fit
• Cell coverage by carrier
• Seasonal & winter access
• Current fire restrictions
• Whether any water here is drinkable
• Shade & wind exposure
• Noise and who else shows up

Before you go