Agency-listedMunicipalFree
Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
Drive-up · public land · KS · 38.37577, -96.53996
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →The land manager 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.
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
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,174 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)NIFC · 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 Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls) · public land · KS
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel0 mi
- GGrocery1 mi
- @Mail1 mi
- HHardware1 mi
- EVEV fast charger17 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); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
1,174 ft
State
KS
Coordinates
38.37577, -96.53996
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls) · public land · KS (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~0.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesStrong City Grocery · ~1.3 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~17.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicCentral Care Cancer Center · ~18.7 mi
- HardwareClark Farm and Home Store · ~1.4 mi
EV charging — from Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls) · public land · KS — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger16.6 mi straight-line E — Flying J 658, Emporia, KS · eVgo Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 5 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach4 within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 49 within 100 · 130 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)17.7 mi — Emporia, KS - Tesla Supercharger, Emporia
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)19.5 mi — KS Turnpike – Matfield Green · FCN · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 389043 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls) · public land · KS — 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 Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls) elsewhere
Other camps near Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Chase State Fishing Lake~2.5 mi
How we know this — Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
Stay limit
None published
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.
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 Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
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.
- 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
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Bates Grove Park (Cottonwood Falls)
Water on public land →Dumping grey & black →Fire rules & restrictions →Off-grid communication →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 →