American Adventurer
Found · unverifiedMDC · dispersedFree

Ben Branch Lake Conservation Area

Drive-up · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO · 38.57392, -91.78872
We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on Missouri Dept. of Conservation land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.

Missouri Dept. of Conservation area — 563 acres, Osage County. Designated camping is currently FREE (no camping fee), limited to 14 days in any 30 and 30 camping-days per year. IMPORTANT: MDC has PROPOSED a $5/night camping fee at some conservation areas (decision expected around September 2026) — verify current fees before you rely on 'free.' Camping is allowed only where posted; some areas require a free special-use permit, and dispersed sites must be 100+ yards from roads/parking. Confirm this area's regulations before you go.

Missouri wants to charge for this. The Missouri Dept. of Conservation has proposed a $5/night camping permit at its conservation areas, with a final vote set for Sept. 11, 2026. We believe camping on public land should stay free — it keeps people healthy and the outdoors within everyone's reach. Public comment is open through Aug. 14, 2026: tell the Missouri Conservation Commission you oppose it →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Ben Branch Lake Conservation Area
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Ben Branch Lake Conservation Area
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Weather outlook
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 868 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

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 19 miWDump · 26 miDBreakTime · Propane · 40 miPBreak Time · Fuel · 7 miFThriftway · Grocery · 7 miGWalmart Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 18 miRxHarbor Freight Tools · Hardware · 22 miHWalmart Auto Care Center · Mechanic · 18 miMB-Clean Coin Laundromat · Laundry · 22 miLShower · 8 miShAir-up · 42 miAJCMG Elm Court · Urgent care · 20 mi+Bass Pro Shops · Outfitter · 39 miOMokane Post Office · Mail · 8 mi@
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • GGrocery7 mi
  • FFuel7 mi
  • ShShower8 mi
  • @Mail8 mi
  • RxPharmacy18 mi
  • MMechanic18 mi
  • WWater19 mi
  • +Urgent care20 mi
  • LLaundry22 mi
  • HHardware22 mi
  • DDump26 mi
  • OOutfitter39 mi
  • PPropane40 mi
  • AAir-up42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 mi out.

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
Missouri Dept. of Conservation · dispersed
Elevation
868 ft
State
MO
Coordinates
38.57392, -91.78872
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureWater · nearby
  • Nearest townCrook · ~1.7 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~18.2 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump stationDump station · ~26.1 mi
  • GroceriesThriftway · ~6.7 mi
  • PharmacyWalmart Pharmacy · ~18.0 mi
  • Hospital / clinicHearnes Forensic Center · ~20.0 mi
  • HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~22.4 mi

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

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.

How we know this

Source
Missouri Dept. of Conservation (conservation areas)
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
MDC Discover_Nature camping-point layer joined by Area_ID to the area layer (county/acreage/official name); 8 camp point(s), types=['Designated Camping Area', 'Primitive Camping Area']. Currently free; $5/night fee proposed (~Sept 2026). Broad-scope ingest 2026-07-19 14:49:09.
Field check
Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Researched 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.

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 →