Agency-listedMDCFree
Clifty Creek Conservation Area
Drive-up · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO · 38.03067, -91.98175
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 — 256 acres, Maries 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 Clifty Creek Conservation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 876 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Clifty Creek 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 Clifty Creek 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
- FFuel6 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- ShShower10 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- LLaundry12 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- MMechanic13 mi
- WWater13 mi
- DDump30 mi
- AAir-up37 mi
- OOutfitter42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — Clifty Creek Conservation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
Missouri Dept. of Conservation
Elevation
876 ft
Ground slope
5.3% · gentle
Nearest rail line
~5.5 mi · main line
Nearest highway
~6.4 mi · Interstate 44
State
MO
Coordinates
38.03067, -91.98175
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Clifty Creek Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLittle Clifty Creek · ~0.3 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Also mapped (OSM)Clifty Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townHayden · ~3.1 mi
- Nearest rail line~5.5 mi · main line
- Nearest highway~6.4 mi · Interstate 44
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~30.1 mi
- GroceriesG & W Foods · ~10.2 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~12.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicPhelps County Regional Medical Center · ~12.0 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~6.1 mi
EV charging — from Clifty Creek Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.6 mi straight-line SE — Rolla, MO - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 21 within 50 · 121 within 100 · 229 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS12.5 mi — IHOP Restaurant - Rolla MO - 3554, Rolla
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.5 mi — IHOP Restaurant - Rolla MO - 3554, Rolla
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.7 mi — Days Inn by Wyndham Rolla · LOOP · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · 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 102252 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Clifty Creek Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaDoolittle WB (TPF) · ~7.0 mi SE
- Highway rest areaDoolittle EB (TPF) · ~7.1 mi SE
- Vault / pit toiletLane Spring Picnic Area · ~17.8 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLane Spring · ~18.1 mi SE · USFS
Coming out here — Clifty Creek Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Little Clifty 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 5.3% — 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 ~5.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. 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.
- Interstate 44 is mapped ~6.4 mi from the pin. Straight-line, from the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025) — the divided, limited-access highways, which is why a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not appear here.
- 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 Clifty Creek Conservation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Clifty Creek Conservation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bell Chute Access~5.9 mi
- Rinquelin Trail Lake Conservation Area~10.1 mi
- Spring Creek Gap Conservation Area~14.0 mi
- Paydown Access~16.6 mi
Who holds the land at Clifty Creek Conservation Area
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Clifty Creek Natural 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 — Clifty Creek 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); 1 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 Clifty Creek 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 — Clifty Creek Conservation Area
Finding water out here →Fire rules & restrictions →Leave no trace →Power off-grid →All field notes →