Three Mile Lake WMA
Iowa DNR Wildlife Management Area — about 2,675 acres, Union 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.
Everything you need — measured from Three Mile Lake WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA
- OOutfitter4 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- MMechanic5 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- LLaundry7 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- +Urgent care8 mi
- AAir-up28 mi
- EVEV fast charger30 mi
- WWater34 mi
- ShShower35 mi
- DDump36 mi
The read: water is a real 34-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Three Mile Lake WMA
Nearby & resupply — around Three Mile Lake WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townAfton · ~4.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCasey's General Store · ~19.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesFareway · ~7.0 mi
- PharmacyHy-Vee Pharmacy · ~7.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicGreater Regional: Urgent Care · ~7.9 mi
- HardwareRamsey's Ace Hardware · ~22.3 mi
EV charging — from Three Mile Lake WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger29.6 mi straight-line NE — 101 E IA-92, Bevington, IA · CHARGELAB · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 25 within 50 · 96 within 100 · 207 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)37.0 mi — Lamoni, IA - Tesla Supercharger, Lamoni
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)20.7 mi — HY VEE WINTERSET · ChargePoint 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 205882 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Three Mile Lake WMA · Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources · IA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 13 · ~23.4 mi E
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 9 · ~23.6 mi E
Open Three Mile Lake WMA elsewhere
Other camps near Three Mile Lake WMA
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Heritage Hills WMA~13.9 mi
- Sand Creek WMA~19.9 mi
How we know this — Three Mile Lake WMA
What we don’t know about Three Mile Lake 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