Agency-listedKDFWRFree

Yellowbank WMA

Drive-up · public land · KY · 37.97675, -86.51030

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The land manager 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.

FREE primitive camping, but ONLY in this WMA's DESIGNATED camping area -- KDFWR's own page says: "Primitive camping on designated site only - primitive rest rooms in camp ground." In Kentucky you do NOT need a hunting or fishing license just to camp or hike a Wildlife Management Area, and ordinary KDFWR WMAs charge no access or camping fee (only Otter Creek and Peabody WMA require an entry permit, and this is neither). It is unlawful to camp anywhere on a WMA except in a designated area (301 KAR 3:010), so camping outside the marked site is not allowed. Expect primitive conditions -- generally no electric, no hookups, little or no water; pack water in and everything out. On the Ohio River in northwest Kentucky. The KDFWR page notes primitive restrooms at the campground and a 20-stop archery trail at the end of the campground road. Kentucky WMA rules and camping availability change and can be closed by posting -- confirm the current rules, the designated campsite location, and any stay limit with KDFWR (1-800-858-1549) before you go, and read the signs at the entrance. HEADS UP: this is working wildlife-management land -- during Kentucky's fall/winter hunting seasons wear blaze orange or pick a different night. The pin is KDFWR's published coordinate for the WMA (a general access reference point), NOT the exact campsite -- find the designated camping area on the WMA map before you commit to it after dark.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Weather outlook — at Yellowbank WMA

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 386 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Yellowbank 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 Yellowbank WMA · public land · KY

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

FFuel4 mi
GGrocery4 mi
@Mail11 mi
HHardware14 mi
MMechanic14 mi
LLaundry14 mi
RxPharmacy14 mi
DDump19 mi
+Urgent care24 mi
EVEV fast charger26 mi
ShShower28 mi
OOutfitter30 mi
WWater31 mi
AAir-up31 mi
PPropane39 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 31-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.

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 — Yellowbank WMA

Access

Drive-up

Land

public land

Elevation

386 ft

State

Coordinates

37.97675, -86.51030

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Yellowbank WMA · public land · KY (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureYellowbank Creek (river) · nearby
Nearest townAmmons · ~2.0 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelFuel · ~4.1 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump station~18.8 mi · fee
GroceriesThe Derby Market · ~4.1 mi
PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~14.1 mi
Hospital / clinicPerry County Memorial Hospital · ~12.1 mi
HardwareHardware · ~13.7 mi

EV charging — from Yellowbank WMA · public land · KY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger26.3 mi straight-line NE — Corydon · EV Connect · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 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 · 32 within 50 · 96 within 100 · 367 within 150
Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)40.7 mi — LOVE'S 716 - KY #716 DC2, Elizabethtown
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)14.3 mi — RMC, Tell City, IN · Blink Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, 21.0 mi · J1772 · hours: School business hours; call 812-357-6611 if you wish to make a reservation · AFDC lists it “$1.50 per hour”
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 329669 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Yellowbank WMA · public land · KY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Campground · ~4.1 mi W · USFS
Vault / pit toiletRainbow Lake · ~4.2 mi N · USFS
Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Beach · ~4.4 mi W · USFS
Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Campground Trailhead · ~4.4 mi W · USFS

Open Yellowbank WMA elsewhere

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

Other camps near Yellowbank WMA

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

German Ridge Campground~4.1 mi · fee
German Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 2 (Hoosier NF)~4.8 mi
German Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 1 (Hoosier NF)~5.3 mi
Mogan Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 4 (Hoosier NF)~5.9 mi

How we know this — Yellowbank WMA

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

Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources public-land page, app.fw.ky.gov/public_lands_search/detail.aspx?Kdfwr_id=192 (read 2026-07-22); page states on-WMA camping is allowed in a designated area ("Primitive camping on designated site only - primitive rest rooms in camp ground.") and is silent on any fee. Free/no-license basis: KDFWR FAQ (fw.ky.gov/More/Pages/FAQ.aspx) -- no license needed to camp/hike a WMA, only Otter Creek & Peabody require an entry permit; and 301 KAR 3:010 (unlawful to camp except in a designated area, no fee imposed). Coordinate = KDFWR's own published lat/lon for the WMA (37.9932, -86.5174), cross-checked via Nominatim reverse-geocode to fall in Breckinridge County (unit also touches Meade County). It is the WMA's general reference point, NOT the campsite -> confidence='med' on pin precision (free-status is high). ~7,554 acres. Scanned KDFWR ids 1-260 (59 valid WMA pages) this fire; Dewey Lake (26) and Carr Creek (131) EXCLUDED -- their pages say camping is in Corps-maintained (paid USACE) campgrounds only; Higginson-Henry (132) HELD -- own page silent on camping. [2026-08-16 fire 740 COORDINATE CORRECTION] The lat/lon on this row was previously KDFWR's WMA *entrance* GPS (37.9932,-86.5174), which is ~1.9 km from the campground. Moved to the single point KDFWR labels Type='Campground' on this WMA in its own map layer. KDFWR: "Primitive camping on designated site only - primitive rest rooms in camp ground." The 20-stop archery trail KDFWR describes starts "at the end of campground". NOTE: restrooms are not a water source; no potable water is claimed. Coordinates are KDFWR's own, from the agency WMA_Map_Points layer, https://services5.arcgis.com/RMHPuOW5MJ6iyTV6/arcgis/rest/services/WMA_Map_Points/FeatureServer/0 (Type='Campground', read 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 Yellowbank 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 — Yellowbank WMA

Finding water out here →Fire rules & restrictions →Leave no trace →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 →