Dekalb WMA
Iowa DNR Wildlife Management Area — about 2,310 acres, Decatur 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. 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 camp
- FFuel19 mi
- @Mail24 mi
- +Urgent care26 mi
- GGrocery26 mi
- MMechanic28 mi
- ShShower29 mi
- HHardware54 mi
- RxPharmacy55 mi
- LLaundry55 mi
The read: fuel & food sit about 19 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Water, Dump, 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
Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townKingston · ~2.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMFA Gas · ~7.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationDump station · ~12.6 mi
- GroceriesHy Vee · ~8.8 mi
- PharmacyHy-Vee Clinic Pharmacy · ~15.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicDecatur County Hospital · ~8.6 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 8 · ~12.6 mi S
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 13 · ~12.7 mi N
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 9 · ~12.7 mi N
- Highway rest areaEagleville SB (WC) · ~20.5 mi S
Open this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sand Creek WMA~7.6 mi
- Kellerton Bird Conservation Area WMA~15.1 mi
- Ringgold WMA~22.4 mi
- Heritage Hills WMA~23.2 mi
How we know this
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.
- 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