Found · unverifiedKDWPFree

Jewell State Fishing Lake

Drive-up · Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks · KS · 39.69853, -98.28007

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 — 57 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

USGS topographic map of Jewell State Fishing Lake

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Jewell State Fishing Lake

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,670 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

FFuel7 mi
MMechanic7 mi
GGrocery7 mi
RxPharmacy7 mi
@Mail12 mi
DDump13 mi
ShShower14 mi
HHardware15 mi
OOutfitter19 mi
LLaundry19 mi
+Urgent care33 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: fuel & food sit about 7 mi out.

Not within 60 mi: Water, 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

Kansas Dept. of Wildlife & Parks

Elevation

1,670 ft

State

Coordinates

39.69853, -98.28007

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureAsh Creek (stream) · nearby
Nearest townIonia · ~4.3 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelSinclair · ~6.8 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump stationDump station · ~13.3 mi
GroceriesKiers Thriftway · ~7.1 mi
PharmacyMankato Professional Pharmacy · ~7.1 mi
Hospital / clinicJewell County Hospital · ~7.4 mi
HardwareHardware · ~24.6 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

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

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 →