Found · unverifiedMunicipalFree

Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)

Drive-up · public land · KS · 38.37577, -96.53996

We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on public land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.

TENT CAMPERS ONLY, and bring everything with you. Bates Grove Park in Cottonwood Falls offers free tent camping, but the chamber is blunt that utilities are limited to portable restrooms -- no hookups, no potable water, no dump. Do not confuse it with Swope Park a half-mile away, which has 5 sites with water and electric for $15 a night. If you are in an RV, Bates Grove is not your spot. Cottonwood Falls itself is a lovely Flint Hills county-seat town. The deal these towns offer is simple: camp free, and they hope you buy fuel, groceries or dinner in town. Be a good guest and it stays free for the next traveler. Town rules change often and we have not visited -- confirm current rules with the town before you go.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,174 ft.

Fire & smokeNIFC · 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 camp

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

FFuel0 mi
GGrocery1 mi
@Mail1 mi
HHardware1 mi
RxPharmacy18 mi
+Urgent care19 mi
MMechanic20 mi
LLaundry20 mi
WWater26 mi
ShShower37 mi
DDump37 mi
AAir-up49 mi
OOutfitter49 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 26-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 0 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

public land

Elevation

1,174 ft

State

Coordinates

38.37577, -96.53996

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Resupply lookup unavailable — try the map links below.

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

RestroomBottomland Nature Trail Vault Toilet · ~1.9 mi N · NPS
RestroomTAPR Visitor Center Headquarters · ~4.0 mi N · NPS
RestroomHS-122 Metal Shed Restrooms · ~4.1 mi N · NPS
Highway rest areaEmporia Service Area · ~20.3 mi E

Open this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

Chase State Fishing Lake~2.5 mi
Lyon State Fishing Lake~28.4 mi

How we know this

Source

municipal park records

Confidence

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

How it was placed

Coordinates: OSM node 8534223418 'Bates Grove Park' (leisure=park). Camping rules: Chase County Chamber, https://www.heartoftheflinthills.com/living-in-cottonwood-falls , fetched 2026-07-20, quote: 'Tent camping is free; utilities are limited to portable restrooms only.' Same page prices Swope Park at '$15 a night' -- kept as a separate, non-free place and NOT ingested. The City of Cottonwood Falls page (cwfks.org) returned HTTP 403 and could not corroborate. No stay limit or season is stated by any source found. Verified 2026-07-20.

Field check

Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Likely until someone does.

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

Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →Power off-grid →All field notes →

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →