Agency-listedCity of Clinton (Parks & Recreation)Free
Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
Drive-up · public land · MO · 38.38090, -93.75714
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 →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.
FREE primitive camping for Katy Trail and Rock Island Spur riders behind the Clinton Community Center (1004 E Sedalia Ave), run by the City of Clinton Parks & Recreation Dept. -- the city's own page says no fee is charged to camp or park while you are using the trail. You pitch in a safe fenced area behind the building; please register your vehicle at the front desk (or call 660-885-2181, option 2, if you will arrive after hours), and note camping is only for trail users -- 'no overnight parking or camping unless on the Katy Trail.' While the center is open you get free hot showers, device charging, and coffee. Clinton is the western trailhead town, so this is a genuine pull-off-the-trail stop -- gas up, grab groceries and eat local while you are here. Confirmed on the City of Clinton's own website; hours change seasonally and we have not visited, so confirm the current rules and center hours with Clinton Parks & Rec before you go, be self-contained, and be a courteous guest so this stop stays open to travelers.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 783 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)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 Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping) · public land · MO
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- @Mail1 mi
- RxPharmacy1 mi
- GGrocery1 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- WWater16 mi
- ShShower17 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- EVEV fast charger24 mi
- HHardware26 mi
- AAir-up36 mi
- OOutfitter49 mi
- DDump49 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 1 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 — Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
783 ft
Ground slope
3.5% · gentle
Nearest rail line
~0.6 mi · other track
State
MO
Coordinates
38.38090, -93.75714
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping) · public land · MO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCoal Creek · ~0.1 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Nearest townClinton · ~1.4 mi
- Nearest rail line~0.6 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelBreak Time · ~2.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesALDI · ~1.2 mi
- PharmacyAuburn Pharmacy · ~25.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicGolden Valley Memorial Hospital · ~0.9 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~26.9 mi
EV charging — from Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping) · public land · MO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger24.0 mi straight-line S — Port In The Storm, Osceola, MO · SYNERGEV · 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 10 within 50 · 105 within 100 · 165 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)43.3 mi — Concordia, MO - Tesla Supercharger, Concordia
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO34.8 mi — Thompson Hills Shopping Center - Sedalia, Sedalia
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)0.1 mi — EVERGY @CMTY CTR -115A, Clinton, MO · 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 456751 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping) · public land · MO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping) · public land · MO
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Coal Creek as an intermittent stream, ~0.1 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.
- Rail line mapped ~0.6 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. The nearest track the atlas classes as a main line is ~0.7 mi from the pin. 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.
- 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 Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping) elsewhere
Other camps near Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Haysler A. Poague Conservation Area~5.8 mi
- Montrose Conservation Area~12.4 mi
- Farrington Park Lake (Windsor)~16.8 mi
How we know this — Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
Area rules
No overnight parking or camping unless on the Katy Trail.
Source
municipal park 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
Source: City of Clinton OWN .gov page cityofclintonmo.gov/departments/parks_recreation/katy_trail.php (read 2026-07-27): the City of Clinton Parks & Recreation Dept. lets Katy Trail / Rock Island Spur users camp for FREE in the fenced area behind the Community Center -- 'No fees are charged for primitive camping or parking while using the trail.' Register your vehicle with the front-desk attendant or call 660-885-2181 opt 2 (call ahead if arriving outside center hours). Free hot showers, device charging, coffee inside during open hours. 'No overnight parking or camping unless on the Katy Trail.' Corroborated by bikekatytrail.com/clinton-community-center.aspx. HIGH -- confirmed on the municipality's own page. Coordinate = Nominatim structured geocode of the facility address 1004 E Sedalia Ave, Clinton MO 64735 -> OSM way 18487557 38.380898,-93.757143, in Clinton, Henry County, MO. fee=0, dispersed=0, camp_type NULL, status pending. Ingest 2026-07-27.
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 Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
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 — Clinton Community Center (Katy Trail camping)
Finding water out here →Dumping grey & black →Fire rules & restrictions →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →