Agency-listedNGPCFree

Council Creek WMA

Drive-up · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE · 41.43438, -97.86395
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Nebraska Game & Parks 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.

Nebraska Wildlife Management Area (NGPC) — 160 acres, Nance County. Free primitive camping is allowed — no park permit and no fee — for up to 14 days in any 30, unless the area posts otherwise. Facilities are minimal (parking, sometimes a boat ramp); bring water; fires only in provided rings/grills. Confirm on-site; the mapped point is an area centroid and may sit off the access point on long river-corridor WMAs.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Council Creek WMA
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Council Creek WMA
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Weather outlook — at Council Creek WMA
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,738 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Council Creek WMANIFC · 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 Council Creek WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 42 miWFuel · 9 miFWerts' GW · Grocery · 9 miGWells Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 19 miRxHardware · 19 miHMechanic · 19 miMSupreme Laundry · Laundry · 43 miLPrairie Creek Family Medicine · Urgent care · 28 mi+Genoa Post Office · Mail · 7 mi@Tonniges Chevrolet · EV fast charger · 24 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • @Mail7 mi
  • FFuel9 mi
  • GGrocery9 mi
  • MMechanic19 mi
  • RxPharmacy19 mi
  • HHardware19 mi
  • EVEV fast charger24 mi
  • +Urgent care28 mi
  • WWater42 mi
  • LLaundry43 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 42-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Council Creek WMA

Access
Drive-up
Land
Nebraska Game & Parks
Elevation
1,738 ft
State
NE
Coordinates
41.43438, -97.86395
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Council Creek WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureCouncil Creek (stream) · nearby
  • Nearest townMerchiston · ~3.2 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelSinclair · ~15.2 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • GroceriesWerts' GW · ~9.3 mi
  • PharmacyGood Life Pharmacy · ~19.2 mi
  • Hospital / clinicGenoa Community Hospital · ~6.8 mi
  • HardwareNapa Autoparts · ~26.1 mi

EV charging — from Council Creek WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Council Creek WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Council Creek WMA elsewhere

Other camps near Council Creek WMA

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Council Creek WMA

Source
Nebraska Game & Parks (wildlife management 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
NGPC NPGCProperties FeatureServer (AreaType='WMA', Status='Active'), WGS84 centroid + acreage. Camping is category-wide (no per-site flag). 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 Council Creek WMA

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.

Before you go — Council Creek WMA

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 →