Agency-listedVirginia DWR · dispersedFreeOpen today
James River WMA
Dispersed · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA · 37.66699, -78.73021
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 →Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources 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.
Can I go now? — James River WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA
Open today Year-round per the agency record.
Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at James River WMA
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 541 ft.
Fire & smoke — around James River 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 James River WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- MMechanic0 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- LLaundry5 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- AAir-up13 mi
- PPropane15 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- DDump19 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- WWater20 mi
- OOutfitter28 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 20-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — James River WMA
Access
Dispersed
Land
Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · dispersed
Elevation
541 ft
Ground slope
22.6% · steep
Nearest rail line
~0.5 mi · main line
State
VA
Coordinates
37.66699, -78.73021
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around James River WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMayo Creek · ~0.2 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Also mapped (OSM)James River (river) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townMidway Mills · ~0.4 mi
- Nearest rail line~0.5 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelShell · ~10.0 mi
- Propane / LPGParker Fuel Freedom · ~17.5 mi
- Dump station~18.9 mi · customers only
- GroceriesFood Lion · ~10.1 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~18.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicNelson County Health Department · ~11.5 mi
- HardwareW.F. Paulett & Son · ~15.7 mi
EV charging — from James River WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.9 mi straight-line NW — Exxon Lovingston (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 38 within 50 · 175 within 100 · 680 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)25.4 mi — Madison Heights, VA - Tesla Supercharger, Madison Heights
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.3 mi — MILL CREEK MILL CREEK 2, Charlottesville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.8 mi — Scottsville Town Hall · 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 461070 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around James River WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomTATC Harpers Creek Shelter Vault Privy · ~19.7 mi NW · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletHarpers Creek A.T. Shelter · ~19.8 mi NW · USFS
- RestroomClover Hill Tavern Slave Quarters (Restrooms) · ~20.3 mi S · NPS
- RestroomAppomattox Courthouse - (ME) · ~20.3 mi S · NPS
Coming out here — James River WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Mayo Creek as a perennial stream, ~0.2 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 22.6% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~0.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open James River WMA elsewhere
Other camps near James River WMA
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Tye River WMA~6.9 mi
- Horsepen Lake WMA~14.6 mi
- Hardware River WMA~17.8 mi
- Harpers Creek A.T. Shelter~19.8 mi
Who holds the land at James River WMA
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as James River Wildlife Management Area, manager on record: VA Department of Wildlife Resources (state). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — James River WMA
Fire rules
It is unlawful to leave a campfire unattended. From February 15 to April 30 campfires are allowed only between the hours of 4:00 PM and midnight.
Open season
Year-round
Stay limit
14 nights (up to 14 consecutive nights)
Permit
A new regulation (4VAC15-20-155) effective January 1, 2021 makes it unlawful to camp on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) without written authorization. There is no charge for camping authorizations at this time. Camping authorization can be obtained from the Go Outdoors Virginia website or any DWR license agent. Any person 17 years of age or older who does not possess a valid hunting, fishing, trapping license or boat registration is required to purchase an access permit or Restore the Wild membership, which includes an access permit, to visit and utilize a WMA.
Area rules
Camping is only allowed in previously cleared locations; no vegetation can be cut to make room for a camp. It is unlawful to camp within 300 feet of any lake or facility (building, boat ramp, etc.). Camping is prohibited in certain other areas as displayed on WMA maps, publicized on WMA kiosks or where posted as "No Camping."
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
Virginia DWR Wildlife Management Area, Nelson County. DWR flags this WMA as offering Primitive Camping. About a mile of access road and seven parking lots. Boat ramp open year round. Camping authorization required (free, Go Outdoors Virginia, listed under Special Licenses). Anyone 17+ also needs a VA hunting/fishing/trapping license, boat registration, Access Permit or Restore the Wild membership. Primitive camping up to 14 consecutive nights and no more than 14 nights in any 28-day period. Camping only in previously cleared locations; no cutting vegetation. Unlawful to camp on or within 300 ft of any boat ramp, fishing lake or facility, or where posted. Campfires may not be left unattended; Feb 15-Apr 30 campfires are allowed only 4:00 PM to midnight. Food must be stored so wildlife cannot reach it. Pack it in, pack it out. COORDINATES ARE A COMPUTED REPRESENTATIVE POINT inside the largest tract of DWR's own boundary polygon (1125.6 acres of 1125.6 acres total across 1 tract(s)), NOT a surveyed campsite. DWR states there are no established campsites on WMAs. Sources read 2026-08-17: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wma/ (Primitive Camping amenity flag) | https://dwr.virginia.gov/camping-on-wmas/ | https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/wma-rules.pdf (General WMA Rules) | boundary geometry from https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/arcgis/rest/services/HUB_Layers/DWR_WMA_Boundaries/FeatureServer/0 WMA page: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wma/james-river/ | 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.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
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 James River 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.
- Whether the fire rule stated above still stands today — what we have is a dated reading of the agency's listing, not a live restriction feed
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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