Best Campgrounds near Scales Mound, IL

Terrific access to electric site near the bathroom! All to ourselves

General: This is a small (29-site) county park campground situated along the North Fork Maquoketa River. Nine of the sites are reservable, and the rest are first-come, first-served. Some sites are primitive, and some have water and 30-amp electricity hookups. There is one ADA-accessible site with a paved camper pad. 

Site Quality: Most sites are level. The camper pads are gravel/grass, but not all are clearly defined. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. 

Bath/Shower: The bath/shower house was closed when we were there in November but there are vault toilets about a quarter mile from the campground (in the day-use area) that were very clean and well-stocked when we were there. 

Activities/Amenities: Many activities including disc golf, three hiking trails, volleyball, two playgrounds (one in the day-use area and one by the campsites). There are two reservable picnic shelters. There is also a dump station. 

We were tent camping in November on a backpacking trip so we didn’t take advantage of any of the activities but would return in our van on a future camping trip. We were the ONLY ones in the campground at this time of year!

Hand’s down, this is one of Iowa’s best state parks, so if you’ve never made your way here to Maquoketa Caves SP, you need to start making your plans. And if you are coming with a large group of kiddos, Maquoketa SP has you covered with not one 1, but 3 individual large group sized campsites with each accompanied by its own duo split restroom albeit basic with a simple, but very clean privy. You’ll access all three of these youth camping sites by taking your second left after accessing the SP turning left on 98 Street after passing the Maquoketa SP Visitor Center. Each site is completely shrouded by tall grasses providing some solid privacy as you stare up at an unobstructed view of a perfect star-filled night sky. Each site has its own designated firepit accompanied by several picnic tables and chopped logs, which serve as extra seating.

Beyond this, there’s no additional amenities, however there are more than 6 miles of hiking trails that await your ‘spazierengehen’ pleasure as well as pretty close access to Raccoon Creek, which is not big enough to do anything that includes oars (but at least you’ll have a good view of a trickling stream). Apart from the youth campground itself, there’s 13 bat caves to explore and scattered throughout the SP, you’ll find plenty of shelters with picnic tables featuring an assortment of both in-ground and stand-up BBQ grills. There’s a very good children’s playground near the only other campground here at Maquoketa SP, and it’s just a short hike up the hill past the bat cave entrance– about ¾ mile hike from the youth campground.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) While there’s not much in the way of decent, deep waterways at this SP to explore, if you head due east, check out 6B’s Campground, which on its lower level you’l discover has direct access to the Maquoketa River, which is definitely worth your oar paddling effort, but do yourself a favor and reach out to 6B’s before paying a visit; (2) In the event that you grow weary of trying to conjure up your next meal from the depths of your Cordova roto-molded cooler and you want to check out some local fare, trust me, there’s not much in these parts, although there is a small hidden-in-the-weeds joint called Bluff Lake Catfish Farm that not only serves up some amazing Midwest comfort food (fried catfish, cole slaw, fried shrimp, sirloin, fried chicken, prime rib, fried haddock), but the food shack sits in front of a lake complete with ducks who will eat your leftovers right out of your hand; and (3) If you’ve never gone spelunking before – and trust me, if you come here to Maquoketa SP, you’re going to want to – then make sure you bring the right gear: headlamp, good sturdy hiking boots, pants to keep the bugs, spiders and ticks away as well as plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Happy Camping!

This Iowa SP campground is simply AMAZING and if you are a bat cave spelunker, you are going to be absolutely excited by this place, if you don’t know it already. For the rest of us outdoor enthusiasts who are simply looking for a great campground, then you’ve also struck the campground lottery, but if you are interested in staying here, I would STRONGLY encourage you to mind your dates taking note of when bat hibernation ends and begins – for what it’s worth, my brother and I drove all the way here only to find out that hibernation began the day of our arrival. That said, we could still hike all of the amazing trails, but couldn’t access the bat caves.

The campground that resides here, is less than a quarter mile away from the access point to the bat caves, creating huge upside for selecting this campground in the first place. A heavily wooded area encompasses every single site (there’s 28 in total w/ 24 offering 20 / 30 / 50 amp electric) providing a substantial amount of shade, will also allowing decent sunlight as well along a slowly winding lone lane that leads one into this shrouded camping haven. While the spots (#12-#16) towards the end of the lane are more earmarked for mi tent pitchin’ bredren, whereas the rest of the sites (#1-#11; #17-#28) are set-up for the RV and 5th Wheel toting crowd (although you could easily set up a tent on any one of these sites should you choose to).

A couple of points to keep in mind– the entrance to the campground is the busiest, so if this is of concern, steer clear of #1-#3 or #27-#28. Second, if you have kids and want to be planted near the playground, you might want to target sites #26-#28, where the spacious kids playground sets right behind these sites. In the event that being nearest the built-in amenities (restroom, shower, water source, community library, trash, firewood) are important to you, then look at sites #5-7 and #23-26. With this in mind, as you meander further down the lone campground loop lane, the quieter and more sheltered the place gets, so from #6-#24 should be a prime target for you if peace & solitude are important to you. Despite all of the advice I’ve just given, I don’t think you can really go wrong with any site here.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you’re looking for a primitive tent camping experience, then you’re going to want to book sites #12 and #13, which set a bit further back for the cul-de-sac end of the lane offering up more privacy and less noise from the rest of the camping commune; (2) All sites designated for RV’s are back-in and range in driveway length between 31 and 68 feet; (3) The campground itself is closed between December 1 thru February 28 each year; (4) This SP offers up more than 370 acres with 6 miles of hiking trails with 13 distinct bat caves to explore, so bring good hiking shoes, headlamps, proper long sleeve shirts and pants to keep the bugs and ticks away, which abound here aplenty; and (5) There’s plenty of picnic tables, most under shelters as well as scattered stand-up and in-ground BBQ grills all offered up on a first-come, first-served basis.

Happy Camping!

Offers basics: water, electric, showers some shade, stores nearby

CG offers gravel pads, tables, fire rings, electric, sump station, water, small pond with fishing, paddling, dog park. Close to stores for supplies, dining, fuel.

My mom remembers visiting this park in the 40's. Not a surprise since Grampa was a Geologist.
This is a small campground for such an old park, only 34 sites, walk-ins included. All sites are along one road with a turnaround at the end. There is only one building with toilets, showers and no pit toilets. These are clean and well maintained.
There is a playground near the entrance that is shared with the caves entrance area, a bit of a walk.
The caves themselves are down a long hill from the campground. There are facilities there too, and a concession stand with limited hours/ days. The caves are fun to explore, but not ADA accessible. Bring flashlights and in some areas watch your head.
The Visitor's center at the park entrance is staffed by volunteers and only open on weekends.
Once you've done the caves, there's not much else to see within the park. But visit the Hurstville interpretive center for a nice nature center and trails.

I’ll begin by saying this is by far the cleanest campground I have stayed at. The facilities were well kept including the vault toilet houses. We stayed in a walk to site and the views were incredible. Our tent pad was quite rocky so I would recommend sleeping pads or you will be very uncomfortable. Our site was also extremely dusty which wasn’t a problem at all just be prepared to be a little dirty. The campground was quiet except for the occasional train that rolled through those are quite loud due to how close they are to the campground. I would definitely come back to Nelson Dewey and stay again. There was not a ton to do in the area so a short weekend stay was perfect. A highlight is that the park provided cart to use to haul all your stuff to the walk to sites. There is 1 designated parking spot per walk to site as well. The walk to sites are small and only accommodated our one (6 person) tent which was not a problem for us as we knew this ahead of time.

I got a primitive tent site in an area all to myself, with a shower house just down the road, in a beautiful and quiet campground for $10 cash. You really can’t beat that. Campground is separate from the park so you don’t have to pay a park entrance fee to stay here.

Two hour float trips on the North Fork Maquoketa River are available directly from the campground. There is a mix of permanent and temporary campers. The tent sites, nearest the river, are well spaced with flush toilets. Apparently there are also good trails, as many of the campers have ATV’s parked at their sites. The shower house, under the office, was spacious and clean.

I was hitchhiking thru, was dropped off by a ride that said he was buying a $14 tent site for me, come to find out he never did, I just was honest with sandy and the gentleman worker and offered the only 8$ I had, no sir, they said please stay for free and just enjoy. WONDERFUL PPL THAT CARE ABOUT OTHERS!! THANKS YALL

Lots of playgrounds for kids age 2-10. Pit toilets smell- I’d avoid sites around them. Hot Showers by lot 30 and at pool. Pool is not heated as stated- definitely not 80 degrees. West tower is the best for sunsets. Site 75 was nice as it was a bit back from the road and you can’t see your neighbors.

Great backpack base camp! Great views, plenty of privacy and an easy hike. We stayed at 806.

I have stayed at this campground three times in the last decade or so.

Pros:

- Excellent location if you're looking to recreate on the Wisconsin River or visit the American Players Theater across the way.  

- Interesting history about the Shot Tower on site.

- Nice little hiking trails.

Cons:

- Every time I've visited we've dealt with lots of mosquitos, but nothing comes close to our most recent visit!  It was a mosquito massacre.  So terrible that after coating ourselves in DEET and eating dinner there the first night, we actually booked another campsite about a half hour away (Brigham County Park - a gem!) and abandoned this site altogether.  

- Vault toilets were fragrant.

We needed a place after visiting the House on the Rock and couldn't find anything with hookups nearby. We stumbled upon Tom's Campground hoping to find a site. We pulled in and Tom met us at our camper as soon as we got to the top of the hill and before we even got out. He was very friendly and informative. Showers were good enough but we aren't picky, 7 minutes for $0.25. The area was beautiful.

I wanted so badly to love this campground experience, but just didn't. Site 19 was an easy walk-in that theoretically had nearby vault toilets, parking, and water.

Each site only had space for one car to park before walking in. Not a huge deal, but annoying as there were 2 of us who drove separate and we had to problem solve. When we got to the site I was shocked to see that what was labeled as a tent site had literally NO flat space to actually set up a tent. Spacious site, but fully sloped.

Also, what I would have loved to know, is that the vault toilets are closed because they are doing construction to build something new in that space. Construction that starts loudly each day at 7am. Honestly every site from about #35 down was affected by the noise because the construction is happening in the middle of the loop (and actually blocking some of the one-way road as well).

The park in general was okay. Per the usual, the pet areas were lacking. No beach at all, just grass covered in goose poop and one cut out on the raised shore between tall grasses and foliage where a dog could potentially jump in. Certainly nowhere for a human to enjoy the water with their pups unfortunately.

Handful of sites, not very level. Lots of bugs, had raccoons fighting outside my tent. Was right across from the New Glarus brewery.

Nice quiet place no neighbors usually bothering you showers and toilets could be better but overall ok

This park is beautiful and perfect for an adventurous hike. The caves make this a unique place to visit but the hiking is rigorous. It proved to be tons of fun for me, my son and his friends. We would definitely go back.

I took my son and one of his friends campjng to Bellvue State Park, however, we did not visit the actual park itself. The camp sites were close to one another, many had almost no privacy from the other campsites. We were at campsite 40, which had a severe incline. Also, if you prefer to hammock camp you may not be able to do so. I was able to find one tree and hook the other side up to my vehicle.