Found · unverifiedMunicipalFree

Medicine Lodge City Park

Drive-up · public land · KS · 37.27768, -98.57479

We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on public land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.

The city park in Medicine Lodge is a genuine free campsite -- the regional tourism office lists 4 RV sites (rigs up to about 40 ft), 4 free 50-amp electric boxes, drinking water, public restrooms and picnic tables. The stay limit is short and specific: up to 2 days, then you are asked not to return for 14 days. Good base for the Gypsum Hills scenic drive. The deal these towns offer is simple: camp free, and they hope you buy fuel, groceries or dinner in town. Be a good guest and it stays free for the next traveler. Town rules change often and we have not visited -- confirm current rules with the town before you go.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Medicine Lodge City Park

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Medicine Lodge City Park

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,465 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

MMechanic9 mi
@Mail9 mi
FFuel26 mi
GGrocery26 mi
RxPharmacy27 mi
HHardware27 mi
LLaundry33 mi
+Urgent care34 mi
DDump44 mi
WWater44 mi
ShShower51 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 44-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 26 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

public land

Elevation

1,465 ft

State

Coordinates

37.27768, -98.57479

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureMedicine Lodge River (river) · nearby
Nearest townMedicine Lodge · ~0.4 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelLove's Travel Stop · ~26.3 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump stationnone within 31 mi
GroceriesWalmart Supercenter · ~26.4 mi
PharmacyDillons Pharmacy · ~26.8 mi
Hospital / clinicMedicine Lodge Memorial Hospital · ~0.8 mi
HardwareAce Hardware · ~27.0 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.

Barber State Fishing Lake~1.5 mi
Kingman State Fishing Lake~31.3 mi

How we know this

Source

municipal park records

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

Coordinates: OSM way 1313001711 'Medicine Lodge City Park' (leisure=park, operator='City of Medicine Lodge', operator:type=public, GNIS 481086), centroid. Camping rules: Gyp Hills regional tourism site, https://visitgyphills.com/a/medicine-lodge-city-park , fetched 2026-07-20, quote: 'The Medicine Lodge City Park is a free campsite with accessible drinking water, public restrooms, and picnic tables' and 'You may stay up to 2 days at Medicine Lodge City Park and not again for 14 days (2 weeks).' CAVEAT: the city's own site (medicinelodge.kansas.gov) was fetched and carries no camping information, so this is tourism-office sourced only. No dump station mentioned by any source. Verified 2026-07-20.

Field check

Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Likely 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 →