Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Hercules Tower Trailhead
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MO · 36.68479, -92.88290
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 →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Hercules Tower Trailhead
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,385 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Hercules Tower TrailheadNIFC · 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 Hercules Tower Trailhead · Mark Twain National Forest · MO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- LLaundry14 mi
- MMechanic17 mi
- HHardware17 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- AAir-up19 mi
- EVEV fast charger19 mi
- RxPharmacy19 mi
- WWater21 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- DDump32 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Hercules Tower Trailhead
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
1,385 ft
State
MO
Coordinates
36.68479, -92.88290
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Hercules Tower Trailhead · Mark Twain National Forest · MO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLong Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townHercules · ~1.7 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesCountry Mart · ~13.3 mi
- PharmacyTARGET Pharmacy · ~19.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicOral Maxillofacial Surgery Group · ~18.8 mi
- HardwareDirect Tools · ~21.2 mi
EV charging — from Hercules Tower Trailhead · Mark Twain National Forest · MO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger18.9 mi straight-line W — Pinegar Chevrolet Buick GMC, Branson, MO · EV Connect · J1772, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 13 within 50 · 57 within 100 · 124 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)42.5 mi — Bucees Springfield MB.HPC, Springfield
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO19.0 mi — First Stop - Branson, Branson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.0 mi — WRVEC PUBLIC BRANSON 1 · 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 333689 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Hercules Tower Trailhead · Mark Twain National Forest · MO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHercules Tower Trailhead · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCaney · ~8.0 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBar-K · ~14.0 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCobb Ridge · ~18.8 mi NW · USFS
Open Hercules Tower Trailhead elsewhere
Other camps near Hercules Tower Trailhead
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Dispersed camp — Taney County, MO~1.7 mi
- Dispersed camp #2 — Taney County, MO~2.2 mi
- Dispersed camp #3 — Taney County, MO~2.8 mi
- Tidwell~2.9 mi
The unit that manages Hercules Tower Trailhead
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Hercules Tower Trailhead are set by Mark Twain National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Hercules Tower Trailhead
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
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
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
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 Hercules Tower Trailhead
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 — Hercules Tower Trailhead
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Gear & rig loadout →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 →