Banner Flats WMA
Iowa DNR Wildlife Management Area — about 1,199 acres across 5 separate parcels, Warren County. Primitive camping is allowed statewide on Iowa DNR wildlife areas by rule — no permit, no camping fee — for up to 14 consecutive days, UNLESS that area posts restrictions on site (Iowa Admin. Code r. 571-51.11). The DNR can close any individual area to camping just by putting up a sign, and there is no statewide list of which ones have, so read the signs at the entrance and treat a posted restriction as final. Iowa DNR's own camping article also says to stay 100+ yards from parking lots, boat ramps and jetties; that sentence was dropped from the rule in the June 2025 rewrite, but it is still good practice and may be posted locally. These are working wildlife areas, not campgrounds: expect a gravel parking area and nothing else — no water, no toilet, no table, no fire ring. Pack water in and everything out. Much of this unit is marsh, river bottom or seasonally flooded ground — dry, level tent ground can be genuinely scarce and access roads can be under water in spring. Fall is a hard time to use these: Iowa's shotgun deer seasons and waterfowl season put a lot of hunters on WMAs, and blaze orange plus a different destination is the smarter call. The pin is a representative point inside the official DNR boundary, NOT a campsite or a parking lot — scout the actual access off the DNR atlas before you commit to it after dark.
Everything you need — measured from Banner Flats WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA
- GGrocery4 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- RxPharmacy4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- HHardware4 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- MMechanic4 mi
- EVEV fast charger5 mi
- AAir-up6 mi
- LLaundry6 mi
- WWater8 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- ShShower10 mi
- DDump15 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.
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 — Banner Flats WMA
Nearby & resupply — around Banner Flats WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMiddle River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townSummerset · ~1.7 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~7.5 mi
- FuelCasey's General Store · ~3.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~15.0 mi
- GroceriesFareway · ~3.6 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~5.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicMercy East Clinic · ~10.4 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~3.9 mi
EV charging — from Banner Flats WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger4.6 mi straight-line S — Deyarman Ford Indianola (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach36 within 25 mi · 46 within 50 · 80 within 100 · 167 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)14.8 mi — Des Moines, IA - Tesla Supercharger, Des Moines
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO7.1 mi — Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.6 mi — DeYarman Ford, Indianola, IA · Blink Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 358359 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Banner Flats WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~14.7 mi NE · FWS
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~14.8 mi NE · FWS
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~15.2 mi NE · FWS
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 25 · ~17.3 mi NE
Open Banner Flats WMA elsewhere
How we know this — Banner Flats WMA
What we don’t know about Banner Flats 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