Agency-listedVirginia DWR · dispersedFreeOpen today
Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA
Dispersed · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA · 37.01470, -79.56327
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? — Smith Mountain Cooperative 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 Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,755 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Smith Mountain Cooperative 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 Smith Mountain Cooperative 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
- ShShower3 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- GGrocery4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- PPropane7 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- LLaundry12 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- EVEV fast charger19 mi
- AAir-up21 mi
- WWater25 mi
- DDump30 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA
Access
Dispersed
Land
Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · dispersed
Elevation
1,755 ft
Ground slope
64% · steep
State
VA
Coordinates
37.01470, -79.56327
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLick Fork Cedar Creek · ~0.4 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Nearest townUnion Hall · ~6.5 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCarl's Place · ~4.0 mi
- Propane / LPGLake Mart & Deli · ~7.0 mi
- Dump station~30.0 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~4.2 mi
- PharmacyGretna Drug · ~11.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~10.8 mi
- HardwareCapps Home Building Center · ~11.0 mi
EV charging — from Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger18.6 mi straight-line W — Duncan Ford Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Rocky Mount, VA (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 2 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 · 37 within 50 · 189 within 100 · 442 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)22.3 mi — Bedford, VA - Tesla Supercharger, Bedford
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO27.3 mi — City of Roanoke, Roanoke
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)21.7 mi — Berglund Ford Buick GMC, Bedford, VA · Blink Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — E&S Mart's Two Sisters Tap Room and Deli - Tesla Destination, Altavista, 17.4 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- 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 447281 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomVisitor Center · ~12.0 mi NW · NPS
- RestroomVINT MP 120.45 B466 RM PA Loop A Front CS · ~26.1 mi NW · NPS
- RestroomVINT MP 120.45 B467 RM PA Loop A Walk In Sites CS · ~26.1 mi NW · NPS
- RestroomVINT MP 120.45 B465 RM PA Loop A Back CS · ~26.2 mi NW · NPS
Coming out here — Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA · Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources · VA
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Lick Fork Cedar Creek as an intermittent stream, ~0.4 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 64% — 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.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on 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 Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA elsewhere
Other camps near Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Turkeycock Mountain WMA~15.4 mi
- White Oak Mountain WMA~20.1 mi
Who holds the land at Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Smith Mountain Cooperative 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 — Smith Mountain Cooperative 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, Bedford and Pittsylvania counties. DWR flags this WMA as offering Primitive Camping. NO FIRES. DWR's General WMA Rules state camping is allowed on Smith Mountain Coop WMA but no fires are permitted. Land is owned by Appalachian Power Company and co-managed by DWR. Two primary parking areas 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 (4040.1 acres of 5015.4 acres total across 3 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/smith-mountain-cooperative/ | 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 Smith Mountain Cooperative 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