Mt Ayr WMA

Iowa DNR Wildlife Management Area — about 1,530 acres, Ringgold 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.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

EV charging — from Mt Ayr WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

• Nearest public DC fast charger23.1 mi straight-line E — Lamoni, IA - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
• Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 93 within 100 · 201 within 150
• Nearest listing CCS33.5 mi — BETHANY EV CHRG BETHANYDC1, Bethany
• Nearest listing CHAdeMO33.5 mi — BETHANY EV CHRG BETHANYDC1, Bethany
• Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.6 mi — Dunn Ranch Prairie, Hatfield, MO (at a public site) · RIVIAN_WAYPOINTS · 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 367746 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Mt Ayr WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

• Highway rest areaEagleville SB (WC) · ~21.8 mi SE
• Highway rest areaEagleville NB (TPF) · ~22.4 mi SE
• Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 8 · ~24.9 mi E

Open Mt Ayr WMA elsewhere

Other camps near Mt Ayr WMA

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Ringgold WMA~11.6 mi
• Kellerton Bird Conservation Area WMA~12.8 mi
• Emmett and Leah Seat Memorial Conservation Area~19.5 mi
• Sand Creek WMA~20.6 mi

How we know this — Mt Ayr WMA

What we don’t know about Mt Ayr 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 — Mt Ayr WMA