Agency-listedMDC · dispersedFree
Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
Drive-up · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO · 40.33925, -95.17808
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 →Missouri Dept. of Conservation 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.
Missouri Dept. of Conservation area — 5,110 acres, Nodaway County. Primitive 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
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,151 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation AreaNIFC · 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 Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- @Mail6 mi
- FFuel11 mi
- GGrocery11 mi
- OOutfitter11 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- WWater16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- AAir-up16 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- ShShower20 mi
- LLaundry38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 11 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Dump, 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 — Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
Missouri Dept. of Conservation · dispersed
Elevation
1,151 ft
Ground slope
3.5% · gentle
State
MO
Coordinates
40.33925, -95.17808
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMinnesota Valley Creek · ~0.3 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelPhillips 66 · ~10.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesCity Star Gas & Convenience · ~10.9 mi
- PharmacyStoner Drug · ~18.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicMosaic Medical Center - Maryville · ~15.9 mi
- HardwareSutherlands · ~15.9 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
EV charging — from Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.5 mi straight-line NW — Hy-Vee - Tarkio · FCN · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 10 within 50 · 111 within 100 · 199 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)40.3 mi — Sapp Bros Travel Center - Tesla Supercharger, Percival
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.5 mi — Hy-Vee - Tarkio · 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 227712 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaMound City SB (TPF) · ~16.4 mi S
- Highway rest areaMound City NB (TPF) · ~16.6 mi S
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~18.8 mi S · FWS
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~18.9 mi S · FWS
Coming out here — Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Minnesota Valley Creek as an intermittent stream, ~0.3 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 3.5% — gentle. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Tarkio Prairie Conservation Area~11.8 mi
- Possum Walk Access~13.1 mi
- Corning Conservation Area~16.5 mi
- Nodaway County Community Lake~18.2 mi
Who holds the land at Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area, for which PAD-US names no manager; it records the owner as a state department of conservation. That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
Fee note
Currently free; $5/night fee proposed (~Sept 2026)
Source
Missouri Dept. of Conservation (conservation areas)
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
MDC Discover_Nature camping-point layer joined by Area_ID to the area layer (county/acreage/official name); 5 camp point(s), types=['Primitive Camping Area']. Currently free; $5/night fee proposed (~Sept 2026). Broad-scope ingest 2026-07-19 14:49:09.
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 Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
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 — Bilby Ranch Lake Conservation Area
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →Dumping grey & black →Gear & rig loadout →All field notes →