Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Iowa / Southern Iowa

Stephens State Forest Woodburn Backpack Trail

Stephens State Forest, Woodburn Unit (Clarke County, about an hour south of Des Moines)

Stephens is Iowa’s largest state forest, and its Woodburn Unit is set aside for backpacking: about six miles of foot trail connecting five pack-in campsites in oak woods and bottomland. The DNR describes the forest as a place with “few other people,” and the backpacking loops are short enough for a first overnight.

Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, and the DNR lists a water hydrant at the trailhead on 330th Avenue.

The hike

The DNR’s 2019 release on Iowa backpacking describes two loops. The East Loop follows the Turkey Foot Trail for about 3 miles through bottomland forest with intermittent streams that the DNR says may be hard to cross after heavy rain. Its three backpacking sites sit beneath white oak trees.

The West Loop follows the Shagbark Trail. The DNR mentions an open field lined with raspberry and blackberry bushes, and a cottonwood about 100 feet tall at a stream crossing. That loop’s camps include the Buckstop site and, in the release’s wording, a Rock Crossing site.

The DNR’s backpack trail map, updated in January 2018, labels the five camps White Oak, Black Oak, Bottom Oak, Buck Stop, and Longbeard, with mileage checkpoints between them. Segments run from about 0.4 mile to just under 1.5 miles, so no camp is far from the next. Together, the DNR says, the system is “six miles of trails and five different campsites.”

Kansas City Hiker, writing about the forest as a whole, says its trails are natural surface and well marked but “slippery after rain or snow melt,” and recommends sturdy boots and trekking poles. The same guide points out groves of Douglas fir that can top 70 feet, in rolling country that was once prairie and forest.

The Woodburn Unit is only one part of Stephens. The DNR says the forest has more than 30 miles of roads and trails, including about 20 miles of multi-use trail in the Whitebreast Unit shared with mountain bikes and horses.

For a longer trip in Iowa’s hill country, the Yellow River State Forest Backpack Trail in the northeast corner of the state has more miles and bigger climbs. On the western edge of the state, Preparation Canyon has ten hike-in sites in the Loess Hills.

Tips

Camping

The DNR says the five Woodburn pack-in sites are first come, first served, with no reservations. Each has a picnic table and fire ring. There are no modern restrooms or electricity. Iowa’s state forest rules require backpack camping areas to be marked with signs and to have fire rings. The forest office is at 641-774-4559.

Inside Intel: We didn’t find camper accounts recommending a particular Woodburn site. A reviewer on The Dyrt, Emily C., wrote that the unit “has great hiking trails leading to very primitive camping locations.” The DNR’s own description singles out the East Loop’s three sites under white oaks.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Slippery trails in Stephens State Forest:

Kansas City Hiker calls the trails slippery after rain or snowmelt, and the East Loop's streams can be hard to cross after heavy rain. Here's how three rain shells compare.

Compare the shells →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.