American Adventurer
Found · unverifiedMunicipalFree

Roadside Park Campground (St. Francis)

Drive-up · public land · KS · 39.77024, -101.81308
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.

St. Francis, up in the northwest corner on US-36, runs a city campground where the NON-ELECTRIC sites are free -- if you want one of the 5 electric pedestals it is $25 a night, so read the sign before you plug in. Three-day stay limit. There is a dump site, and water hydrants around the park (the city notes there are no site water hookups). Quiet hours 11pm-7am, check-out 1pm, two vehicles per site, pets leashed. It sits on the south side of Hwy 36 behind the emergency services building. 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 Roadside Park Campground (St. Francis)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Roadside Park Campground (St. Francis)
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Weather outlook
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,293 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

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Dump · 31 miDMajestic Service Truck Stop · Fuel · 0 miFCo-op · Grocery · 0 miGPharmacy · 1 miRxHeritage Lumber · Hardware · 1 miHBrunk's Machine & Service · Mechanic · 1 miMLaundry · 30 miLCheyenne County Clinic · Urgent care · 0 mi+Cheyenne County Post Office · Mail · 1 mi@
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel0 mi
  • GGrocery0 mi
  • +Urgent care0 mi
  • RxPharmacy1 mi
  • HHardware1 mi
  • @Mail1 mi
  • MMechanic1 mi
  • LLaundry30 mi
  • DDump31 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: fuel & food sit about 0 mi out.

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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
3,293 ft
State
KS
Coordinates
39.77024, -101.81308
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureKeller Pond (water) · nearby
  • Nearest townSaint Francis · ~0.7 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~0.5 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump stationDump station · ~30.8 mi
  • GroceriesSt. Francis Super's · ~0.7 mi
  • PharmacyPharmacy · ~0.6 mi
  • Hospital / clinicCheyenne County Hospital · ~0.5 mi
  • HardwareHeritage Lumber · ~0.6 mi

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

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
Camping rules: City of St. Francis official site, https://stfranciskansas.com/directory/roadside-park-campground/ , fetched 2026-07-20, quotes: 'No fee for non-electric sites', 'Campground fee $25 a night for electric hookups', 'Limited three (3) day stay'. Corroborated by freecampsites.net. Coordinates: OSM way 989486638, tourism=caravan_site, 0.71 mi from the St. Francis place node, consistent with the city's 'south side of Highway 36, behind the new Emergency Services facility' description -- but the OSM element carries NO name tag, so the coordinate-to-park identity is inferred from position, not proven. Confidence 'med' for that reason. 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.

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 →