Heritage Hills WMA
Iowa DNR Wildlife Management Area — about 2,311 acres across 3 separate parcels, Clarke/Madison Counties. 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
- FFuel41 mi
- @Mail46 mi
- +Urgent care48 mi
- GGrocery48 mi
- MMechanic51 mi
- ShShower51 mi
The read: fuel & food sit about 41 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)
- Water featureSouth Fork Clanton Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townBarney · ~1.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCasey's General Store · ~11.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesKum and Go · ~10.6 mi
- PharmacyHy-Vee Pharmacy · ~12.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicMadison County Memorial Hospital · ~11.7 mi
- HardwareEgli Feed & Supply · ~12.7 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 13 · ~14.0 mi SE
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 9 · ~14.2 mi SE
Open this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Three Mile Lake WMA~13.9 mi
- Sand Creek WMA~20.7 mi
- Dekalb WMA~23.2 mi
- Banner Flats WMA~31.1 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