Off-Grid Living in Park County, Wyoming

Park County, Wyoming is a bit of an outlier in the state: while a lot of Wyoming counties skip zoning altogether, Park County has adopted countywide zoning through its Planning & Zoning Department, along with a 2025 Development Standards and Regulations document and a 2024 Land Use Plan. If you're picturing "unzoned Wyoming freedom," temper that a bit here, at least for unincorporated county land outside Cody, Powell, and Meeteetse.

Zoning: The county's Planning & Zoning Commission regulates how land is divided, used, and built on, per the county's own regulations page. There are 12 planning areas, and Meeteetse even has its own separate plan. You can't just occupy or alter land here without checking in against these rules first.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: Living in an RV or camper outside a town is allowed, but only for up to 90 days a year without a building permit, according to the county. RV/camping parks also go through site plan review for things like electrical safety and fire access. Towns set their own separate rules I haven't dug into here.

Building permits: Here's a nuance worth knowing: unincorporated Park County has never adopted a building code (no IBC, IRC, etc. as enforceable law), and the county doesn't issue certificates of occupancy. That said, you still need a building/zoning permit to build, enlarge, or reconstruct a structure, especially in a floodplain. Separately, the state of Wyoming has adopted newer fire, electrical, and building codes, but those apply mainly to state fire-safety plan review, not general county permitting.

Septic: Park County holds delegated authority from Wyoming DEQ to administer its own small wastewater program directly. Any new septic system, or repair/replacement, needs a Septic Permit Application through the county's Small Wastewater Administrator. If the county doesn't act within its review window, you can go straight to DEQ. Composting toilets: the state requires a permit for permanently installed or non-self-contained units, but portable, fully self-contained ones don't need one.

Greywater and rainwater: I found no Park County-specific rules for either. Both inherit the state baseline, meaning DEQ's wastewater reuse permitting framework governs greywater, and rainwater harvesting appears unregulated at both state and county level.

Wells: Well permitting runs through the Wyoming State Engineer's Office, not the county. DEQ also runs a "Know Your Well" program for water quality questions, but that's advisory, not permitting.

Utilities: I found no county mandate requiring you to hook up to electric, gas, or municipal water. Off-grid power setups seem to fall under the standard building/electrical permit and fire-safety plan review triggers noted above, nothing more specific found.

Bottom line: Park County is more hands-on than a typical unzoned Wyoming county, especially on zoning and septic, so budget time to work with the Planning & Zoning office directly.