Found · unverifiedKDWPFree
Cowley State Fishing Lake
Drive-up · Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks · KS · 37.09844, -96.80311
We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.
Kansas State Fishing Lake — 84 acres, managed by the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks. Free primitive camping is allowed (no camping fee), first-come, first-served, with a 7-day stay limit; a fishing license is required only if you fish. Camping is in designated areas only — confirm the current rules and where camping is allowed with KDWP before you go.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,161 ft.
Fire & smokeNIFC · 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 camp
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware13 mi
- MMechanic13 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- FFuel13 mi
- GGrocery13 mi
- LLaundry13 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- WWater14 mi
- DDump18 mi
- ShShower21 mi
- AAir-up45 mi
- OOutfitter47 mi
- PPropane52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 13 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Open in Google Maps ↗
The site
Access
Drive-up
Land
Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks
Elevation
1,161 ft
State
KS
Coordinates
37.09844, -96.80311
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureGrouse Creek (river) · nearby
- Nearest townVinton · ~1.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~13.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationDump station · ~17.8 mi
- GroceriesCountry Mart · ~13.1 mi
- PharmacyGraves Drug Store · ~14.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicSouth Central Kansas Medical Center · ~13.2 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Open this spot elsewhere
How we know this
Source
Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks (state fishing lakes)
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
Location & acreage: KDWP Fishing Atlas GIS (Res_SFL_CFAP_NoFee, CLASS=SFL, NAD83). Free-camping status: KDWP regulations + Boondocker's Bible KS SFL roster. Pilot ingest 2026-07-19 10:36:50.
Field check
Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Researched until someone does.
What we don’t know
A land record can put you within a few metres 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
Before you go
Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →Power off-grid →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 →