Camping where wild horses and burros roam

You can sleep out in the same country as a wild herd, for free. They just need you to keep back, most of all from their water.

Published October 2026

Oatman is an old gold mining town on Route 66, in the hills southwest of Kingman, Arizona. Every day, wild burros walk down the main street. They nose up to the tourists, and the shops sell carrots and hay cubes for feeding them.

The burros come from pack animals the miners brought in from the 1860s. Their descendants live in the Black Mountains all around the town, and the free campsites of the Warm Springs Wilderness are right next door.

The burros that hang around town get fed so often that some grow fat. Their hooves get sore. The Bureau of Land Management looks after the herd, and it has asked the shops and the visitors to stop.

Most people who go looking for wild horses and burros love them. Most of the harm done to them comes from people like that. Here is how to camp near a herd and leave it wild.

1. Find out where the herds live

The Bureau of Land Management looks after most of the wild horses and burros in the West. The Forest Service looks after a few more. Each herd has its own stretch of land, called a herd management area. The Bureau’s website has a page and a map for each one.

Some of the campsites in this guide sit right in the middle of one. Mount Tipton Wilderness, north of Kingman, is home to the Cerbat herd. It’s small, about 70 horses, and some people believe they come from Spanish horses. Oregon Mine Campground in Oregon sits inside the Murderer’s Creek wild horse territory, set up in 1972.

In Oregon, the Bureau keeps a viewing area for the Kiger mustangs, near the little town of Diamond north of Steens Mountain. The dirt road in needs a high clearance vehicle and dry weather.

A herd can cover a lot of ground. You may camp a week and never see a horse. Ask the Bureau’s local office where they’ve been seen lately.

2. Camp well away from the water

From the trailhead at Mount Nutt Wilderness in Arizona, a trail of under a mile leads to Cave Spring. It’s a spring inside a natural cave. Wildlife drink there, and so do the wild burros.

Now picture a tent set up right beside it. In dry country, a horse or a burro may get only one chance a day to drink. If people are camped at the water, the animals may stay away, and go thirsty.

So set up camp well back from springs, ponds, troughs and water tanks. Don’t park beside them either. In Arizona it’s against the law to camp near a water hole if you keep wildlife or cattle from the only water around.

3. Stay at least 100 feet away

In most herd areas, the Bureau asks you to stay at least 100 feet from the horses and burros. That’s about the length of six cars parked in a row. Some areas ask for more. One office in Wyoming asks for 300 feet, the length of a football field.

Watch what the animal does. If a horse stops eating and turns to look at you, you’re too close. Back off slowly. If one walks toward you, move away. Never follow a mare that’s about to have a foal.

Bring binoculars, and a camera with a long lens. Move slowly and talk quietly. Don’t whistle or shout to make them lift their heads for a photo.

They are wild animals, big and quick, and a kick can do real harm. Chasing, herding or roping one is also a federal crime.

4. Don’t feed them

Back in Oatman, a carrot from every visitor adds up. Human food and horse treats can make wild horses and burros very sick. Animals that get handouts also stop being afraid of people. They start hanging around roads and camps, looking for more.

Near Phoenix, burros have been coming onto busy roads, and some have been hit and killed. The Bureau says people feeding them is part of the reason.

So keep your food packed away at camp, and don’t leave scraps behind. If a burro comes asking, walk away.

5. Drive slowly at dusk and after dark

Wild burros often move at night, looking for water. Many are dark brown. Their eyes don’t shine in your headlights the way a deer’s do, so you see them late.

Where you see a burro or horse crossing sign, slow down. Don’t stop on a highway to take photos or hand out food. On a dirt road at night, drive slowly enough to stop for something you can’t see yet.

6. Check for a roundup before you go

Many herds grow faster than the land can feed them. So from time to time the Bureau rounds some up, often with a helicopter. While that goes on, the land around the traps is closed to everyone.

West of Delta, Utah, the Bureau rounded up the Confusion herd in late August 2026. It caught about 300 horses in nine days and put up signs closing the area. The range runs past King Top, the highest point in the Confusion Range.

The Bureau posts its roundups on its website before they start, with a map of the closed area. Check it, or call the local office, before you drive out.

Campsites in this guide where wild horses or burros live

• Mount Tipton Wilderness, Arizona. The Cerbat herd, about 70 wild horses, lives in these mountains.
• Mount Nutt Wilderness, Arizona. Wild burros drink at Cave Spring. Camp well away from it.
• Warm Springs Wilderness, Arizona. Next to Oatman, in burro country.
• Oregon Mine Campground, Oregon. Inside the Murderer’s Creek wild horse territory.
• Billy Fields Campground, Oregon. A base for hunting, fishing and looking for wild horses.
• Steens Mountain, Oregon. Wild horse country. The Kiger mustangs live near Diamond, north of the mountain.
• King Top, Utah. Home of the Confusion herd. Many were rounded up in 2026.
• Conger Mountain, Utah. Mule deer, antelope and a herd of wild horses.
• Swasey Mountain, Utah. A herd of wild horses roams the House Range.
• White Rock Range, Utah. Wild horses live here, with elk and mule deer.
• Cedar Mountains, Utah. Springs here water a herd of wild horses.

Important: herds move, roundups close land, and rules change from one herd area to the next. Before you go, check with the Bureau of Land Management office for that area.