Agency-listedNPS · dispersedFree
Cedar Canyon Camping Area
Drive-up · National Park Service · TX · 35.69500, -101.57209
Inside a national park unit
Cedar Canyon Camping Area sits inside Lake Meredith National Recreation Area — a national recreation area run by the National Park Service.
Park rules apply, and they are stricter than dispersed camping: inside a National Park Service unit you camp in a designated campground or on a backcountry permit, not wherever you find a flat spot. Check the park before you go: nps.gov/lamr ↗
This page calls it a dispersed camp because that is what the source record says. Inside a park unit that word does not mean camp anywhere.
Placed by point-in-polygon against the National Park Service’s own boundary layer (NPS Land Resources Division, 442 units, fetched 18 Sep 2026; this unit’s polygon edited 2019-11-25). Nothing about the price or the legal status on this page was changed by it.
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 →National Park Service 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.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Cedar Canyon Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,931 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cedar Canyon Camping 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 Cedar Canyon Camping Area · National Park Service · TX
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- ShShower2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- GGrocery4 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- +Urgent care10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- AAir-up26 mi
- OOutfitter31 mi
- EVEV fast charger33 mi
- PPropane34 mi
- WWater36 mi
- DDump50 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 36-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 33-mi run (and back).
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 — Cedar Canyon Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
National Park Service · dispersed
Elevation
2,931 ft
Ground slope
3.9% · gentle
Nearest rail line
~7.1 mi · other track
State
TX
Coordinates
35.69500, -101.57209
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cedar Canyon Camping Area · National Park Service · TX (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLake Meredith · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Also mapped (OSM)Canadian River (river) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townSanford · ~2.2 mi
- Nearest rail line~7.1 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelValero · ~3.6 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~26.6 mi
- GroceriesUnited Supermarkets · ~9.3 mi
- PharmacyPanhandle Drug Store Pharmacy · ~26.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicGolden Plains Community Hospital · ~9.6 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware Dumas · ~24.6 mi
EV charging — from Cedar Canyon Camping Area · National Park Service · TX — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger33.1 mi straight-line SW — Amarillo, TX - River Road - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 9 within 50 · 13 within 100 · 39 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS35.7 mi — Pilot Travel Center 723, Amarillo
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO40.9 mi — Sam's Club 7676 (Amarillo, TX), Amarillo
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)24.8 mi — La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Dumas (at a hotel) · UNIVERSAL · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-02-12 · hours: 24 Hours Daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Hampton Inn & Suites Dumas - Tesla Destination, Dumas, 24.7 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- 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 353790 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cedar Canyon Camping Area · National Park Service · TX — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomCC - Comfort Station · at this camp · NPS
- RestroomSY - Visitor Contact Station Vault Toilet · ~0.4 mi E · NPS
- RestroomSY - Waterfront Vault Toilet #1 · ~1.2 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomFF - Amphitheater Vault Toilet · ~1.2 mi SW · NPS
Coming out here — Cedar Canyon Camping Area · National Park Service · TX
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Lake Meredith as a perennial lake or pond, under 0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 3.9% — 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.
- Rail line mapped ~7.1 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. No track the atlas classes as a main line is mapped within 10 mi. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in 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 Cedar Canyon Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Cedar Canyon Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sanford-Yake Campground~1.0 mi
- Fritch Fortress Campground~1.7 mi
- Bugbee Camping Area~2.7 mi
- Blue West Campground~3.2 mi
Who holds the land at Cedar Canyon Camping Area
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, manager on record: National Park Service (federal). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Cedar Canyon Camping Area
Fire rules
Fires are permitted only in elevated, above-ground grills and existing fire rings; fires are not allowed in the backcountry.
Stay limit
14 nights (up to 14 consecutive days)
Amenities
Large cottonwoods provide shade in this area
Source
public land records
Confidence
Thin — A single weak source put this here. Treat the location itself as unconfirmed, not just the details.
How it was placed
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (NPS). Camping page https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/camping.htm (read 2026-08-16, page "Last updated: February 4, 2026") states, verbatim: "There are 10 RV sites at Sanford-Yake with electric and water hookups. These sites charge a fee and are available by calling 806-865-3131 for a reservation." and "All other sites and campgrounds are FREE and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis." STAY LIMIT, verbatim: "You may camp at any location within Lake Meredith National Recreation Area for up to 14 consecutive days within a 30-day period, but no more than 60 days per year. Hunters may set up a camp between October 1 and December 31, with up to 30 days allowed annually per hunter. It is prohibited to leave your campsite unattended for more than 24-hours." FIRE RULE, verbatim: "Fires are permitted only in elevated, above-ground grills and existing fire rings; fires are not allowed in the backcountry." The page adds "Check this website for up-to-date alerts regarding fire bans" -- check for a burn ban before you go. Also verbatim: "Digging or leveling the ground for a camp is prohibited." ENTRANCE FEE: none -- the park's Fees & Passes page https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/fees.htm (read 2026-08-16) states "An entrance pass is not required to access Lake Meredith National Recreation Area." and "Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is a fee-free park." Coordinates from the NPS official GIS layer NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic (https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, queried 2026-08-16 by UNITCODE). NPS description, verbatim: "This small cove lies between Fritch Fortress and Sanford-Yake campgrounds. The area features beach camping with no individual campsites. The camping area is soft during rainy conditions. Drive with caution when leaving paved roads." Amenities: "Large cottonwoods provide shade in this area"; "2 campsites". COORDINATE CAVEAT: the NPS POI layer has no campground point for Cedar Canyon -- because there are no individual sites, camping is on the beach. This pin is the NPS "Parking - Cedar Canyon" point (35.69500, -101.57209); the NPS "Restroom - Cedar Canyon" point is 60 m away at 35.69516, -101.57149 and the boat launch at 35.69524, -101.57307. Confidence is low for the exact pin, not for the existence of the camping area. Nearest incorporated town: Sanford, 2.3 mi (US Census TIGERweb Incorporated Places, straight-line to the place's internal point).
== NIGHTSHIFT RE-VERIFIED 2026-08-20 (fire 1180, leftover backlog pass 6: TX/TN/MO/SC/VT) ==
Re-read https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/camping.htm (still stamped "Last updated: February 4, 2026") and https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/fees.htm on 2026-08-20. Both still carry the exact wording recorded above, verbatim: "All other sites and campgrounds are FREE and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis."; the 14-day/30-day and 60-day-per-year stay limit; the elevated-grill/existing-fire-ring rule; "Digging or leveling the ground for a camp is prohibited."; "An entrance pass is not required to access Lake Meredith National Recreation Area." and "Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is a fee-free park." The park Alerts & Conditions page (https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm, read 2026-08-20) lists NO alerts. Re-queried the NPS national POI layer (https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, where UNITCODE='LAMR', 105 features returned, 2026-08-20). CEDAR CANYON HOLDS UP. The camping page still names Cedar Canyon as a camping area and still says, verbatim: "The area features beach camping with no individual campsites"; "Restroom with potable water and flush toilets near the parking lot"; "Large cottonwoods provide shade in this area"; "2 campsites". The POI layer still carries "Parking - Cedar Canyon" at exactly 35.69500, -101.57209 (this row's pin) and "Restroom - Cedar Canyon" at 35.69516, -101.57149, 60 m away. Free, first-come, potable water at the restroom. DECISION: approved. Remaining caveat unchanged - the pin is the parking lot, not a numbered site, because NPS says there are no individual sites here.
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 Cedar Canyon Camping 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.
- Whether the fire rule stated above still stands today — what we have is a dated reading of the agency's listing, not a live restriction feed
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- 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 — Cedar Canyon Camping Area
Finding water out here →Dumping grey & black →Hot-weather camping →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →