Agency-listedNGPC · dispersedFree
Shell Lake WMA
Drive-up · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE · 42.92165, -102.03746
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 →Nebraska Game & Parks lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Nebraska Wildlife Management Area (NGPC) — 380 acres, Cherry County. Free primitive camping is allowed — no park permit and no fee — for up to 14 days in any 30, unless the area posts otherwise. Facilities are minimal (parking, sometimes a boat ramp); bring water; fires only in provided rings/grills. Confirm on-site; the mapped point is an area centroid and may sit off the access point on long river-corridor WMAs.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Shell Lake WMA
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,472 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Shell Lake WMANIFC · 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 Shell Lake WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail12 mi
- FFuel12 mi
- GGrocery15 mi
- +Urgent care23 mi
- RxPharmacy23 mi
- HHardware23 mi
- WWater49 mi
- LLaundry50 mi
- EVEV fast charger50 mi
- MMechanic50 mi
- DDump51 mi
- ShShower52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 49-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 12 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 50-mi run (and back).
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); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Shell Lake WMA
Access
Drive-up
Land
Nebraska Game & Parks · dispersed
Elevation
3,472 ft
State
NE
Coordinates
42.92165, -102.03746
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Shell Lake WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureShell Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townIrwin · ~5.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~11.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesLynn's Dakotamart · ~23.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicGordon Memorial Hospital · ~11.2 mi
- HardwareHardware · ~23.2 mi
EV charging — from Shell Lake WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger50.0 mi straight-line W — NPPD EV STATION CHDRN BGBTS DCN, Chadron, NE · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 15 within 100 · 38 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)74.8 mi — Wall, SD - Tesla Supercharger, Wall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)34.2 mi — GismoPower MEGA - Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center, Pine Ridge, SD (at an office building) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-01-13 · hours: 8am-5pm 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 311797 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Shell Lake WMA · Nebraska Game & Parks · NE — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~29.9 mi NE · FWS
Open Shell Lake WMA elsewhere
Other camps near Shell Lake WMA
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cottonwood Lake SRA~18.4 mi · fee
How we know this — Shell Lake WMA
Source
Nebraska Game & Parks (wildlife management areas)
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
NGPC NPGCProperties FeatureServer (AreaType='WMA', Status='Active'), WGS84 centroid + acreage. Camping is category-wide (no per-site flag). Broad-scope ingest 2026-07-19 14:49:09.
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 Shell Lake WMA
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 — Shell Lake WMA
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Dumping grey & black →Leave no trace →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 →