Best Glamping near Mississippi River - Pools 11-22

Nice quiet little primitive campground next to the Wapsipinicon River. Unfortunately, when I was there the last weekend of May, the gnats were bad, and the mosquitoes were just starting to gear up. HOWEVER, take bug spray and enjoy the rustic peacefulness of this "best kept secret" for primitive and inexpensive camping sites. Beautiful location, ranger close by, wood for sale just across the bridge, fire pits and picnic tables at every site. Good for RV, trailer or tent camping… level ground and lots of shade. Primitive bathrooms, no showers or running water.

This CG is one of 6 that you have to choose from here at Scott County Park, wherein Woodside is definitely more geared for the RVs – especially the much larger ones, so if you have a very big rig, this likely is the best CG for you – with each site offering FHUs with electric, water& sewage, fire rings and picnic tables. If you wanted to tent camp here, you could, although I would recommend nearby Incahias or Sac-Fox as better for tent campers. Unlike some of the other campgrounds, Woodside is somewhat bare and desolate inside the actual campground with the land being incredibly flat, but wide open so therefore not providing much privacy or shade whatsoever. Back-in slots are spacious, hard and very level with the grounds being incredibly well-kept and impeccably clean bathroom / shower facilities with great HOT running water.

Albeit with a short hike through the forest, Woodside CG is near Cody Lake and Glynn’s Creek, which offers some decent oaring in your kayak or canoe. Sitting adjacent to Cody Lake is an eponymous community shelter than can be reserved or used on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s also a playground for the kiddos and a restroom facility that is also spartan-clean as well access to Glynn’s Creek Trailhead which is a moderate hike and further afield throughout the rest of the park, there’s no shortage of hiking / biking / horse trails. We found Woodside to be fairly quiet, although lacking in privacy without the benefit of any real brush or trees to blot out our next-door neighbors, but that said, everyone was incredibly friendly with full displays of Midwestern hospitality that this area is known for.

Scott County Park is easy to fall in love with, whether traveling solo or with a family as there is a lot that this park offers up: from fresh water catch & release lakes, combination of topographies, from woodlands, wetlands and prairie grasslands, beautiful 18-hole championship golf course, outdoor exercise areas, club house and concessions, stand-alone cabins for rent, designated dump stations and trash receptacles, numerous picnic areas, massive heated swimming pool complete with a snake-like water slide, volleyball court, ranger stations, seasonal on-site hosts, firewood available for purchase at entry stations, Walnut Grove Pioneer Village and St. Anne’s church at the park’s NW perimeter, 7 community shelters, designated picnic areas, a memorial park, equestrian area and an incredibly well-paved network of roads that allows you to easily access just about every corner of this park. Oh, and the incredibly friendly rangers that constantly patrol and keep this beautiful park in full working order were nothing short of amazing.

Happy Camping!

The campgrounds are very nice. They have clean bathrooms, a nicely stocked store, and a couple playgrounds. Thay also have an Eco Center with turtles, snakes, and an aquarium that our family really enjoyed. The grounds are on backwaters of the Mississippi so there are boat ramps, docks, and areas to fish. The camp store also offers canoe, kayak, and other boat rentals. Our site was pretty flat, although it was a little tricky backing into it. They put the site number posts at the end of the pad near the road and our site had a tree on the other side, so we had to use the grass across the road to maneuver in and out. I'm not sure what the rules are, but there were a lot of dogs not tied up. Most people kept a close eye on them, but we had a couple wander through and do their business in our site. I also didn't notice anyone cleaning up after their dogs, so walk with caution.

This campground is the Geneseo Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, which coming across one fine Autumn day, I was completely unaware of this organization, which apparently is America’s oldest and most successful conservation organizations. This particular chapter in Geneseo was chartered back in 1952 and shortly thereafter founded Ike’s Park located right here along the Hennepin Canal, which features among other things: picnic facilities, fishing, boating and kayaking, a boat ramp, handicapped accessible fishing pier as well as a community lodge that you can book in advance, in addition to a primitive style campground offering up some 20 or so sites on a first-come, first served basis.

To put it bluntly, this place is incredibly simple and basic, which is its beauty in a nutshell. This undiscovered little gem will make you feel as though you’ve just hit the primitive camping lottery jackpot as very few folks outside of Geneseo even know of this place. So if you’re coming from slightly further afield, you’ll appreciate getting in on something special. Upon arrival from Route 82, which if you are coming from the nearest major highway of I80, you’d be heading northbound, you need to simply hang a right onto a very modest gravel road that has an immediate declining slope upon entry. Once you turn into Izaak Walton Park, you’ll feel embraced by something truly special with mature maples and oaks surrounding you before coming across a sign marking this territory as Ike’s Place with the community lodge on the right. If you continue on, just about 30 yards further you’ll come across the self-check-in kiosk where you just need to fill out the required information and drop your$10 (member) or$20 (non-members) in an envelope and you can set up wherever you’d like.

As you are literally right next to the Hennepin Canal, you’ll want to set up as near the canal as you can get, although, you could sit back a bit further south if you’d like under the canopy of a mature treeline. Beyond the beautiful, scenic riverview, there’s just a couple of community shelters, basic restroom facilities with vault toilets, a fishing pier and a large area that faces a larger swath of the Hennepin Canal that for a short bit resembles a lake, although when you are on the water, you’ll learn it’s just the bend in the river. Here at Izaak Walton Park alongside the property immediately to the south, Geneseo Prairie Park, there’s lots of decent hilly hiking trails to keep you occupied. And of course, if you’re an angler, you’ll appreciate the quick and easy access to casting a line where you’ll be able to catch panfish, small- and large-mouth bass as well as catfish.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) While you are north of Geneseo, you shouldn’t have too much problem with cell coverage out in these parts – we got 4 bars with Verizon and 3 bars with AT&T; (2) Not all of the sites are level, so you definitely want to check out a number of the sites before deciding upon which to choose from – where you’ll also want to keep in mind that not all of the sites have electricity, so either plant yourself near an outlet or bring a long electrical cord; (3) While there is a dump station on-site, when we were there, it was locked, so while we were able to place most of our trash in the garbage receptacles, be prepared to haul yours out with you before leaving; and (4) You’ll want to take note that you are sitting alongside the Hennepin Canal, which if you haven’t been to before, provides about 100 miles worth of some pretty amazing slow-moving current that is excellent for kayaks and canoes, so if you’ve got one, bring it, but if not, the good folks at Geneseo Campground just due north of this location across the river will rent you one.

Happy Camping!