Agency-listedUSFSFee
Mcdowell
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · TX · 35.21508, -100.86639
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Mcdowell
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,932 ft.
Fire & smoke — around McdowellNIFC · 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 Mcdowell · Cibola National Forest · TX
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery7 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- HHardware14 mi
- RxPharmacy19 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- WWater23 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- EVEV fast charger35 mi
- PPropane46 mi
- OOutfitter48 mi
- DDump49 mi
- ShShower52 mi
- AAir-up55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 35-mi run (and back).
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 — Mcdowell
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,932 ft
State
TX
Coordinates
35.21508, -100.86639
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Mcdowell · Cibola National Forest · TX (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townAlanreed · ~7.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelConoco · ~7.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesOld Time Country Store · ~7.1 mi
- PharmacyMike's Pharmacy · ~19.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicInterim HealthCare of Pampa · ~24.6 mi
- HardwareGroom Hardware & Lumber · ~13.7 mi
EV charging — from Mcdowell · Cibola National Forest · TX — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger34.9 mi straight-line E — Shamrock, TX - Tesla Supercharger (at a municipal building) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 41 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS48.3 mi — Amarillo, TX - I-40 - Tesla Supercharger, Amarillo
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO60.7 mi — Sam's Club 7676 (Amarillo, TX), Amarillo
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)48.8 mi — Holiday Inn Express & Suites Amarillo East (at a hotel) · UNIVERSAL · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-07-11 · 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 102448 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Mcdowell · Cibola National Forest · TX — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMcdowell · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMcdowell · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMcdowell · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Bluff #1 · ~0.2 mi S · USFS
Open Mcdowell elsewhere
Other camps near Mcdowell
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- East Bluff #1 Campground~0.2 mi
- Mcdowell Campground~0.4 mi
- Lake Mcclellan~0.5 mi · fee
- East Bluff #2 Campground~0.8 mi
The unit that manages Mcdowell
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Mcdowell are set by Cibola National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Mcdowell
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
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 Mcdowell
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 — Mcdowell
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Dumping grey & black →Getting unstuck →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 →