Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · KS · 37.08296, -101.99205
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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.
Santa Fe Trail / Companion Trail trailhead at the west end of the grassland, with horse mounting facilities, a restroom and a hand-pump well. Camping is banned inside the fenced trailhead compound but not on the surrounding grassland, so this works as an access point for dispersed camping rather than as a campsite in its own right.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,470 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)NIFC · 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 Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- RxPharmacy36 mi
- +Urgent care39 mi
- LLaundry39 mi
- MMechanic39 mi
- EVEV fast charger46 mi
- ShShower52 mi
- OOutfitter52 mi
- DDump52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 8 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 46-mi run (and back).
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); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
3,470 ft
State
KS
Coordinates
37.08296, -101.99205
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelU Pump it · ~7.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~7.6 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~7.7 mi
EV charging — from Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger46.4 mi straight-line E — TCEC Coop, Hooker, OK · FCN · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 1 within 50 · 6 within 100 · 30 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)77.5 mi — Lamar, CO - Tesla Supercharger, Lamar
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)44.6 mi — ENEL Goodwell Wind Farm · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2022-03-07 · 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 156453 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMurphy · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMiddle Spring · ~4.1 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPoint Of Rocks Ponds · ~4.8 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood · ~5.9 mi NE · USFS
Open Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) elsewhere
Other camps near Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cimarron~9.9 mi · fee
- Cimarron National Grassland (dispersed camping)~11.6 mi
- Conestoga Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)~17.1 mi
How we know this — Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Source
public land 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
SITE RECORD: USFS EDW RECAREAID 12424, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/psicc/recarea/?recid=12424 , read 2026-08-16. RESTRICTIONS field reads in full: 'No camping allowed inside fenced area. Trails are for non-motorized travel only.' -- the ban is explicitly limited to the fenced area, and Murphy Trailhead does NOT appear on Exhibit F, so the surrounding grassland stays open to dispersed camping. FEEDESCRIPTION 'None.' Water quoted from RECAREADESCRIPTION: 'There is also a restroom and a well with a hand pump.' No potability statement is made anywhere on the record, so none is claimed here. USFS Forest Order 02-12-00-24-06, Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands Occupancy and Use Prohibitions, effective 2024-04-05 through 2026-12-01 (https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r02/psicc/publication/alerts/fseprd1170908.pdf, read 2026-08-16). Grassland-wide prohibitions, quoted: (1) 'Camping at any location within the same 20-mile radius for more than 14 days within any continuous 30-day period'; (2) 'Camping within 100 feet of a body of water (such as a lake, stream, pond, or river) unless in a Forest Service developed recreation site or designated dispersed site.' Prohibitions 3 (fires) and 4 ('Camping except in developed recreation sites') apply ONLY inside the areas listed on Exhibits D and F. Exhibit F (https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r02/psicc/publication/alerts/Cimarron%20National%20Grassland%20Table%20%28Exhibit%20F%29.pdf, read 2026-08-16, revised 2024-01-30) lists exactly four named sites: Point of Rocks Overlook (#4, no camping), Cimarron Overlook (#4, no camping), Middle Spring Picnic Area (#3, fires only in FS-provided metal grates) and Cottonwood Picnic Area (#3, same). Everywhere else on the 108,175-acre grassland, dispersed camping is not prohibited by this order. CAVEAT: a reviewer should decide whether to publish this as a campsite at all, or only as a dispersed-camping access point -- you may not camp at the coordinate itself if it falls inside the fence. NEAREST TOWN: Elkhart, 7.7 mi (straight line), from the Census TIGER incorporated-places layer KDWP hosts at https://services1.arcgis.com/q2CglofYX6ACNEeu/arcgis/rest/services/IncorporatedPlaces/FeatureServer/0 , queried 2026-08-16. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.
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 Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
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 — Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →