Agency-listedIDNR · dispersedFree

Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2

Dispersed · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA · 40.95776, -93.59143
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Iowa Dept. of Natural 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.

Nearest town per agency page/address: Woodburn.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2
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Weather outlook — at Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,078 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2NIFC · 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 Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2 · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 33 miWDump · 25 miDCasey's · Fuel · 8 miFCasey's General Store · Grocery · 10 miGHy-Vee Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 15 miRxTrue Value · Hardware · 11 miHOsceola Sinclair Services · Mechanic · 10 miMOsceola Laundry · Laundry · 10 miLShower · 32 miShAir-up · 28 miAUnityPoint at Home · Urgent care · 10 mi+Fish Fix · Outfitter · 27 miOWoodburn Post Office · Mail · 4 mi@ROUTE 65 HARLEY DCFAST HOG · EV fast charger · 27 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • @Mail4 mi
  • FFuel8 mi
  • GGrocery10 mi
  • MMechanic10 mi
  • +Urgent care10 mi
  • LLaundry10 mi
  • HHardware11 mi
  • RxPharmacy15 mi
  • DDump25 mi
  • EVEV fast charger27 mi
  • OOutfitter27 mi
  • AAir-up28 mi
  • ShShower32 mi
  • WWater33 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 33-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 8 mi out.

Not within 60 mi: 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); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗

The site — Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2

Access
Dispersed
Land
Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · dispersed
Elevation
1,078 ft
State
IA
Coordinates
40.95776, -93.59143
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2 · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA (OpenStreetMap)

  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelCasey's · ~8.4 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~25.0 mi
  • GroceriesCasey's General Store · ~10.4 mi
  • PharmacyHy-Vee Pharmacy · ~14.6 mi
  • Hospital / clinicUnityPoint at Home · ~10.4 mi
  • HardwareTrue Value · ~11.0 mi

EV charging — from Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2 · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2 · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2 elsewhere

Other camps near Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2

Stay limit
14 nights (up to 14 consecutive nights)
Source
public land records
Confidence
Agency-confirmed — The managing agency's own record names this as a campsite and puts it at these coordinates. About as good as it gets short of standing here.
How it was placed
One of five backcountry pack-in campsites on the Woodburn Unit backpacking trail system, Clarke County. Picnic table and fire ring at the site; no modern restrooms, no electricity. IDNR Stephens State Forest: "Additionally, five backcountry pack-in campsites in the Woodburn Unit have picnic tables and fire rings at each campsite, along with a water hydrant available at the trailhead. There is no fee for these pack-in sites and they are first-come, first-serve. They do not have modern restroom facilities or electricity." Trailhead/parking for the backpack trail system is on 330th Avenue in Clarke County; the Woodburn Unit has more than six miles of backpacking trails. Source: https://www.iowadnr.gov/places-go/state-forests/stephens-state-forest (read 2026-08-16). The DNR GIS layer publishes exactly five backcountry campground points inside the Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Unit polygon, matching the five sites described. IDNR: "The backpacking campsites at the state forests are not available on the reservation system and are only available as walk-in sites." Source: https://www.iowadnr.gov/places-go/state-parks/make-reservation/overnight-camping (read 2026-08-16). Stay limit: "Campers may camp up to 14 consecutive nights in a state park, recreation area, or forest. Campers must then vacate the park (including removing the camping unit) for a minimum of 3 nights before camping in that park again." Source: https://www.iowadnr.gov/places-go/state-parks/make-reservation/overnight-camping (read 2026-08-16). Coordinates are Iowa DNR published points from the DNR Recreation Amenities GIS layer https://programs.iowadnr.gov/geospatial/rest/services/Recreation/Recreation/MapServer/8 (Type = Campground - Primitive / Campground - Remote), spatially joined to the DNR Public Areas layer https://programs.iowadnr.gov/geospatial/rest/services/Recreation/Recreation/MapServer/11 for the land manager. Both read 2026-08-16. | 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.
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 Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2

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.

Before you go — Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Backpack Site 2

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →