Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFreeRoad season: open (MVUM)
Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · KS · 37.08296, -101.99205
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 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.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 600.3B (Murphy), 50 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as native material surface and maintenance level 2 – high-clearance vehicles.
Road season: open (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 600.3B (Murphy), 50 ft from the pin, open to passenger vehicles year-round.
MVUM record for FR 600.3B (Murphy): “01/01-12/31” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-27; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
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
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and 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
Ground slope
3% · gentle
Nearest rail line
~7.7 mi · other track
State
KS
Coordinates
37.08296, -101.99205
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCimarron River · ~0.1 mi · USGS: intermittent river
- 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
- Nearest rail line~7.7 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 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
Coming out here — Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland) · U.S. Forest Service · KS
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Cimarron River as an intermittent river, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 3% — gentle. 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 ~7.7 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. 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 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
Who holds the land at Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Cimarron National Grassland, manager on record: Forest Service (federal). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Murphy Trailhead (Cimarron National Grassland)
Stay limit
14 nights (Camping at any location within the same 20-mile radius for more than 14 days within any continuous 30-day period)
Area rules
Prohibited on all National Forest System lands within the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (Forest Order 02-12-00-24-06, in effect through December 1, 2026): 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.
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.
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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.
- Whether that MVUM road is the way in, and the last stretch beyond it
- Whether the site itself closes on its own schedule — only the road's season is on record
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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 →