Wanoka Lake Recreation Area
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 38 mi
This is how it should work.
- Right now
- OpenListed open; its database flags it not open
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Season
- May 2 – October 31Open May 2 through October 31
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
Wanoka Recreation Area is located off an ATV route that connects to local ATV trails and other open routes. Visitors may ride their ATV or smaller UTVs to and from the route. ATVs may not be used to drive around the campground for fun. ATVs need to be kept on their trailers or on the parking spur on the site. Located approximately 7 miles east of Iron River, this campground is located on a 15-acre lake that has panfish and trout. Wanoka Lake Campground has 20 sites. Each site has a defined parking spur, fire ring, picnic table, and tent pad, and can accommodate RV's up to 35 feet. Keep reading
Please help to not increase the size of the area and keep all equipment on the parking spur. There are two pull-through sites. Drinking water and vault toilets are available. There is a carry-in-boat access. Did you forget something? Don't sweat it! The small town of Iron River can meet your camping supply needs ranging from groceries to firewood. If you need an out-of-state fishing or ATV/UTV license, Iron River gas stations have these available for purchase. So, if you like to fish, kayak, hike, bike or enjoy being close to town, then the Wanoka Recreation Area is the place for you, conveniently located just a short drive from Iron River.
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…pull-through sites. Drinking water and vault toilets are available. There is a carry-in-boat access. Did…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…spur. There are two pull-through sites. Drinking water and vault toilets are available. There is a…”
- Firewood
- Sold here
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
Nothing to book, just show up
One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and a night costs $15 with nothing added. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.
recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.
Every line of the receipt · 7
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($15), and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
How we know this receipt · 5
record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Birch Grove Recreation AreaChequamegon National Forest · 14 mi
Two LakesChequamegon National Forest · 18 miNamekagon Lake Recreation AreaChequamegon National Forest · 23 miThe agency publishes this point for 3 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Iron River, WI
Typical weather
Typical October night 35°F, day 53°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical October night 35°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Wanoka Lake Recreation Area is in Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district. Its representative, Tom Tiffany (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →