Agency-listedCountyFree

Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Drive-up · public land · MN · 44.46180, -94.51058

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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.

PAY THE DONATION: overnight camping here is free of charge, but Sibley County asks for a suggested $10/night (and $3 for day use) dropped in the donation box in the park -- leave it so it stays free for the next traveler. BEFORE YOU GO you MUST call the Sibley County Sheriff's Office at 507-237-4330 (or 888-880-4567) to get permission for overnight camping -- paper permits are no longer required but that call is. Sibley County caps camping at 10 days. Clear Lake Park is a 42-acre Sibley County park in the farm country south of Gibbon in southwest Minnesota (33150 615 Avenue, Gibbon; from Gibbon go south on County 2 about 3.5 miles, then County 8 about a mile to the park signs). The whole west side of the park runs along Clear Lake, so there is swimming, boating, a boat access and fishing, plus a playground. Camping is PRIMITIVE: a picnic shelter, a water well, porta-potties (May 1-Nov 1), grills and tables, and NO electricity -- come self-contained, good for tents or a self-contained RV. Camping season is May 1 through November 1. These county parks are quiet, primitive, no-electricity spots in the farm country southwest of the Twin Cities -- the deal is the same one small towns offer: camp free (leave the donation), and be a good enough guest that it stays open for the next traveler. Rules change and we have not visited; confirm the current rules with Sibley County before you rely on this.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Weather outlook — at Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,024 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)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 Clear Lake Park (Sibley County) · public land · MN

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

@Mail5 mi
FFuel5 mi
WWater6 mi
MMechanic7 mi
GGrocery8 mi
HHardware9 mi
LLaundry9 mi
EVEV fast charger10 mi
PPropane10 mi
RxPharmacy10 mi
DDump11 mi
ShShower11 mi
+Urgent care28 mi
AAir-up28 mi
OOutfitter31 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out.

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 — Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Access

Drive-up

Land

public land

Elevation

1,024 ft

State

Coordinates

44.46180, -94.51058

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Clear Lake Park (Sibley County) · public land · MN (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureJudicial Ditch Number One (stream) · nearby
Nearest townGibbon · ~5.0 mi
Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.9 mi
FuelCenex · ~5.1 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump station~11.0 mi
GroceriesWalmart Supercenter · ~9.2 mi
PharmacyWalgreens · ~10.1 mi
Hospital / clinicNew Ulm Medical Center · ~10.4 mi
HardwareAll-Stor Public Storage · ~8.9 mi

EV charging — from Clear Lake Park (Sibley County) · public land · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger9.7 mi straight-line S — Chuck Spaeth Ford, New Ulm, MN (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 18 within 50 · 191 within 100 · 274 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.0 mi — Saint Peter, MN - Tesla Supercharger, Saint Peter
Nearest listing CHAdeMO29.5 mi — HUTCH UTILITIES DC FAST 2, Hutchinson
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.1 mi — WINTHROP DT CITY LOT 2 · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 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 358380 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Clear Lake Park (Sibley County) · public land · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.

Open Clear Lake Park (Sibley County) elsewhere

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

Other camps near Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

Franklin City Campground - Boat Landing (Franklin)~18.9 mi

How we know this — Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Stay limit

10 nights (The maximum amount of days allowed to camp is ten days)

Source

public land records

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

FREE STATUS IS OFFICIAL (donation-based) via the COUNTY's own pages. Sibley County Camping-Permits page https://www.sibleycounty.gov/305/Camping-Permits and the Clear Lake Park detail page https://www.sibleycounty.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Clear-Lake-Park-3 (both fetched 2026-07-22) state verbatim: "Camping is permitted at the following Sibley County parks: Clear Lake, High Island, Rush River"; "Suggested donations are $10.00 for over night camping & $3.00 for day use. A donation box is located in the park"; "The maximum amount of days allowed to camp is ten days"; "you must call the Sibley County Sheriff's office at 507-237-4330 to obtain permission for overnight camping"; "Overnight camping starts May 1st and goes through November 1st". Detail page gives address 33150 615 Avenue, Gibbon MN 55335; 42 acres; amenities "picnic shelter, water well, porta-potties, grills and tables, no electricity". Suggested-donation => fee=0. COORDINATE: OpenStreetMap camp_site NODE 7160750798 (an exact point, no centroid), which Nominatim resolves to "Clear Lake Park, 33150 615th Avenue, Gibbon, Sibley County, MN 55335" -- IDENTICAL to the county page address -> 44.4618014,-94.5105785. NOTE/DISCREPANCY: that OSM node carries fee=yes, but the county's OWN page states a SUGGESTED donation (not a mandatory fee) with a donation box, so fee=0 is honest and the OSM tag is treated as a mapper reading the donation box as a fee. confidence='high' (county's own page). Not visited. Verified 2026-07-22.

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 Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

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 — Clear Lake Park (Sibley County)

Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →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 →