Rosita Flats Camping Area

public land records

Thin — A single weak source put this here. Treat the location itself as unconfirmed, not just the details.

Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (NPS). Camping page https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/camping.htm (read 2026-08-16, page "Last updated: February 4, 2026") states, verbatim: "There are 10 RV sites at Sanford-Yake with electric and water hookups. These sites charge a fee and are available by calling 806-865-3131 for a reservation." and "All other sites and campgrounds are FREE and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis." STAY LIMIT, verbatim: "You may camp at any location within Lake Meredith National Recreation Area for up to 14 consecutive days within a 30-day period, but no more than 60 days per year. Hunters may set up a camp between October 1 and December 31, with up to 30 days allowed annually per hunter. It is prohibited to leave your campsite unattended for more than 24-hours." FIRE RULE, verbatim: "Fires are permitted only in elevated, above-ground grills and existing fire rings; fires are not allowed in the backcountry." The page adds "Check this website for up-to-date alerts regarding fire bans" -- check for a burn ban before you go. Also verbatim: "Digging or leveling the ground for a camp is prohibited." ENTRANCE FEE: none -- the park's Fees & Passes page https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/fees.htm (read 2026-08-16) states "An entrance pass is not required to access Lake Meredith National Recreation Area." and "Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is a fee-free park." Coordinates from the NPS official GIS layer NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic (https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, queried 2026-08-16 by UNITCODE). NPS description, verbatim: "Off-road vehicle area on Canadian River with access from Highway 87/287. Permits are required to use vehicles in the designated off-road vehicle area. ORV permits are not required for camping." Amenities: "Primitive campground"; "NO drinking water"; "NO flush toilets, vault-evaporator toilets only"; "Few picnic tables"; "26 primitive camping sites". COORDINATE CAVEAT -- READ BEFORE PUBLISHING: the NPS POI layer carries exactly one unnamed point of type Campground in this part of the unit, labelled "Camping Area - Primitive (no facilities)", at 35.46533, -101.84709. It is the southernmost LAMR POI, ~7 km southwest of Mullinaw Creek, on the Canadian River near the US-87/287 crossing, which matches the NPS text for Rosita Flats. That match is MY inference from position, not a label NPS published. Nothing else places it. Treat the name as unconfirmed. Nearest incorporated town: Bishop Hills, 15.3 mi (US Census TIGERweb Incorporated Places, straight-line to the place's internal point). == NIGHTSHIFT RE-VERIFIED 2026-08-20 (fire 1180, leftover backlog pass 6: TX/TN/MO/SC/VT) == Re-read https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/camping.htm (still stamped "Last updated: February 4, 2026") and https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/fees.htm on 2026-08-20. Both still carry the exact wording recorded above, verbatim: "All other sites and campgrounds are FREE and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis."; the 14-day/30-day and 60-day-per-year stay limit; the elevated-grill/existing-fire-ring rule; "Digging or leveling the ground for a camp is prohibited."; "An entrance pass is not required to access Lake Meredith National Recreation Area." and "Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is a fee-free park." The park Alerts & Conditions page (https://www.nps.gov/lamr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm, read 2026-08-20) lists NO alerts. Re-queried the NPS national POI layer (https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, where UNITCODE='LAMR', 105 features returned, 2026-08-20). ROSITA FLATS HOLDS UP as a place; the NAME on the pin is still an inference. The camping page still says, verbatim: "Off-road vehicle area on Canadian River with access from Highway 87/287. Permits are required to use vehicles in the designated off-road vehicle area. ORV permits are not required for camping."; "Primitive campground"; "NO drinking water"; "NO flush toilets, vault-evaporator toilets only"; "Few picnic tables"; "26 primitive camping sites". COORDINATE CHECK DONE THIS FIRE: the POI layer still carries exactly one unnamed Campground-type point in the southern arm of the unit, "Camping Area - Primitive (no facilities)", at 35.46533, -101.84709 - this row's pin. I corroborated the NPS access wording against the US Census Bureau TIGERweb road service (https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Transportation/MapServer, layers 3/4/5, queried 2026-08-20): "US Hwy 87" and "US Hwy 287" both intersect a +/-0.02 degree (about 2.2 km) box around this point, which matches NPS's "access from Highway 87/287". DECISION: approved - even if the NAME were wrong, the pin is an NPS-published primitive camping area inside a fee-free park where every site except the 10 Sanford-Yake hookups is free. The name remains unconfirmed and that caveat stays on the row. NOTE: the POI layer's SOURCEDATE for these points is 2014-11-01, so the geodata is old even though it is still the current published national dataset.

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.

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.