Agency-listedMDC · dispersedFree
Lake Paho Conservation Area
Drive-up · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO · 40.41784, -93.66604
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 →Missouri Dept. of Conservation 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.
Missouri Dept. of Conservation area — 2,350 acres, Mercer County. Primitive camping is currently FREE (no camping fee), limited to 14 days in any 30 and 30 camping-days per year. IMPORTANT: MDC has PROPOSED a $5/night camping fee at some conservation areas (decision expected around September 2026) — verify current fees before you rely on 'free.' Camping is allowed only where posted; some areas require a free special-use permit, and dispersed sites must be 100+ yards from roads/parking. Confirm this area's regulations before you go.
Missouri wants to charge for this. The Missouri Dept. of Conservation has proposed a $5/night camping permit at its conservation areas, with a final vote set for Sept. 11, 2026. We believe camping on public land should stay free — it keeps people healthy and the outdoors within everyone's reach. Public comment is open through Aug. 14, 2026: tell the Missouri Conservation Commission you oppose it →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Lake Paho Conservation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 961 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake Paho Conservation AreaNIFC · 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 Lake Paho Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- GGrocery4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- FFuel10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- HHardware18 mi
- EVEV fast charger19 mi
- DDump19 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- LLaundry23 mi
- OOutfitter48 mi
- PPropane56 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Water. 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 — Lake Paho Conservation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
Missouri Dept. of Conservation · dispersed
Elevation
961 ft
Ground slope
2.8% · flat
Nearest rail line
~4.7 mi · main line
State
MO
Coordinates
40.41784, -93.66604
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Paho Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLake Paho · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Nearest townGoshen · ~2.5 mi
- Nearest rail line~4.7 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelPhillips 66 · ~16.5 mi
- Propane / LPGHwy 6 Amoco · ~30.4 mi
- Dump station~19.2 mi
- GroceriesJustino's Market · ~4.4 mi
- PharmacyHy-Vee Clinic Pharmacy · ~20.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicHarrison County Community Hospital · ~21.7 mi
- HardwareTrenton Hardware · ~23.8 mi
EV charging — from Lake Paho Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger18.6 mi straight-line NW — Lamoni, IA - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach5 within 25 mi · 6 within 50 · 79 within 100 · 208 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS21.1 mi — BETHANY EV CHRG BETHANYDC2, Bethany
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO21.1 mi — BETHANY EV CHRG BETHANYDC2, Bethany
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.6 mi — EVERGY @EGLVL TRV-275B, Eagleville, 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 367746 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lake Paho Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaEagleville NB (TPF) · ~17.1 mi NW
- Highway rest areaEagleville SB (WC) · ~17.7 mi NW
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 8 · ~19.2 mi NW
- Highway rest areaCoffey NB (TPF) · ~29.5 mi SW
Coming out here — Lake Paho Conservation Area · Missouri Dept. of Conservation · MO
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Lake Paho as a perennial lake or pond, under 0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 2.8% — flat. 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 ~4.7 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. 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.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- 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 Lake Paho Conservation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Paho Conservation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- The Wayne Helton Memorial Wildlife Area~13.7 mi
- Harrison County Lake~22.4 mi
- Grand Trace Conservation Area~25.0 mi
Who holds the land at Lake Paho Conservation Area
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Lake Paho Conservation Area, for which PAD-US names no manager; it records the owner as a state department of conservation. That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Lake Paho Conservation Area
Fee note
Currently free; $5/night fee proposed (~Sept 2026)
Source
Missouri Dept. of Conservation (conservation 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
MDC Discover_Nature camping-point layer joined by Area_ID to the area layer (county/acreage/official name); 3 camp point(s), types=['Primitive Camping Area']. Currently free; $5/night fee proposed (~Sept 2026). 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 Lake Paho Conservation Area
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 — Lake Paho Conservation Area
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Stay limits →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →