A large, flat loop design defines Six Pines Campground, where primitive sites spread across an open area within Iowa's first state park. The central playground creates a hub of family activity, though [Amanda C.](https://thedyrt.com/camping/iowa/backbone-state-park/reviews/79751) notes "the sounds bounce all around" due to the campground's bowl-like layout.

Each site provides a picnic table, fire ring with grill grate, and access to pit toilets and water spigots. The outside perimeter sites offer better shade and spacing, while interior spots remain more exposed. No electrical hookups keep this campground focused on tent camping, though RVs without power needs can fit on the level, grassy sites. Campers seeking hookups can consider the nearby [South Lake Campground — Backbone State Park](https://thedyrt.com/camping/south-lake-campground-ia).

Trout fishing draws many visitors to the spring-fed creek, where stocked rainbows and browns provide consistent action from April through October. The creek features a rocky bottom and clear water, with several deep pools holding fish. Two trails depart directly from the campground - Six Pines Trail and West Lake Trail - connecting to the park's 20-mile trail network. Rock climbing and rappelling require registration at the park office but offer unique geological features uncommon in Iowa.

The campground operates without lighting after dark, creating excellent conditions for stargazing. [Kerry M.](https://thedyrt.com/camping/iowa/backbone-state-park/reviews/118197) particularly enjoys autumn visits "after the leaves have fallen off of the trees" when fewer campers use the non-electric sites. Shower facilities require a 15-20 minute drive to the modern campground, so plan accordingly. Firewood must be purchased within the county due to Emerald Ash Borer restrictions.

For additional primitive camping experiences, explore [campgrounds near Dundee](https://thedyrt.com/camping/iowa/near/dundee) or consider the park's rental cabins for weather protection.

Located about an hour’s drive north of Cedar Rapids, Backbone State Park is Iowa’s oldest state park. Established in 1920, it was named for a narrow limestone ridge—the Devil’s Backbone—along the Maquoketa River. At its founding, it was one of the largest state parks in the U.S. to offer camping, picnicking and hiking opportunities. Since that time, the park has expanded to 2,100 acres—almost double its original size—and offers even more opportunities for locals and visitors to get outdoors and enjoy some time in nature. Whether it’s wandering the woods, fishing on a quiet creek, lounging by the lake, or just napping in shade under a swinging hammock, there’s something for everyone here.  

The two campgrounds at Backbone State Park offers 125 campsites for tent and RV campers. The large South Lake Campground has nearly 100 sites, about half with electrical hookups, with flush toilets and showers. The smaller Six Pines Campground has 27 primitive tent sites with vault toilets. Most sites are open and grassy, but there are plenty of shade trees around. Both locations have drinking water faucets and trash receptacles; a dump station is located at the South Lake Campground. The park also offers a few 1- and 2-bedroom cabins for those visiting sans tent or RV; bedding not provided. Many sites and facilities are ADA accessible. A small store in the park sells bait, firewood and some concessions. Reservations are accepted, but some sites are held open for first-come, first-served campers. Seasonal campsite rates range from $6–$16/night; cabins range from $50–$100/night.

There are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy at Backbone State Park. The park features several playgrounds, picnic areas, an outdoor auditorium, and a museum. More than 21 miles of multiuse trails explore the woods and waterways within the park. Taking a hike or ride is the best way to see some of the park’s natural rock features, including the Stone Arch, Balance Rock, and the Devil’s Backbone. In winter, many of these trails are open for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Swimming, paddling and boating can be enjoyed on Backbone Lake, with kayak and canoe rentals available from the park, and angers can fish for trout on the creek out of Richmond Springs. And rock climbers will find several challenging routes on the park’s many limestone cliffs.

Six Pines Campground — Backbone State Park

Dundee is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Dundee, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Find the best campgrounds near Dundee, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.

Dundee

The Best Camping Near Dundee, Iowa

Overall a nice, clean park! Will go back.

Nice, nothing too exciting!

We were driving home from Colorado and decided to go out of our way to get to a state park. We got in around 7 so there was a little day light. The next morning we left at 6 in the morning and no one was up yet. It rained as we came in but nothing the park could have dome to fix that. It was good for a nights rest and no commotion, but nothing more than an average night in the rain.

Average

Backbone offers 2 different campgrounds, a beach, trout and regular fishing a playground anso electric and water hookups. This park books up fast but offers walk ins so don't give up if booked online. Also offers cabins, beautiful trails, paddle boats, and a snack shack during the day. A little bit for everyone.

Peaceful

Iowa tends to get a bad wrap but this particular park should be love by many. I have family in Iowa and visit often. I decided on one trip to get out exploring a bit and stumbled upon this gem. Now, while there might not be mountains and alpine lakes and such, this is a beautiful park. We decided to picnic and quick day hike, but there are opportunities to do much more. There are designated trails for mountain biking and if kayaking, canoeing, or boating is your thing this place has you covered. Fishing is available for those so inclined. While we didn't stay the night, we did spy the campsites and checked out what they have to offer. They sell bait, firewood, rent boats, have concessions, a real bathroom (and some pit toilets!) and places for your trash. There is the opportunity to go rock climbing and even swimming in the lake. There are standard campsites as well as cabins to rent. While this place is not as primitive as I generally like, and was really busy, it is one heck of a park. 

A little bit of everything for everyone

I have visited a lot of Iowa parks and campgrounds. Backbone is one on my favorites. Backbone is the oldest state park in Iowa. You can take your canoe out on the lake or hit some of the hiking trails. There are cabins for rent if you don't want to sleep in a tent.

Click on the following link to download the trail maps: www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/parks/trailmaps/trails_backbone.pdf

This is a great place to stay but make sure you get your reservations in early if you plan on staying on the weekend. If you want it to be quiet and prefer less crowds but you still want to enjoy the park, I highly suggest taking some time off of work during the week and avoiding the weekend.

This is a special place, the facilities, the showers, the campsites, the trails, and the lake are top quality.

Backbone SP is one of the best in Iowa

Just my husband and I this time. We hadn't been to Dundee in about 9 years so we decided to head up and check out the trout streams. The camp ground that we stayed at was family friendly. Hammocks were ok to put up. The only not so great experience was that 2 out of the 3 showers on the women's side were out of order. And the only working shower didn't have warm water. It was a quick shower but I got clean after walking through streams and hiking trails. Spoke to Ed the previous years campground host. Super nice and friendly. Didn't profile our VW bus as a hippie bus and us as pot smokers. Which happens more than people think. A very enjoyable experience.

Beautiful weekend

This has been one of my favorite state parks in Iowa to camp thus far. I've tent camped in April and cabin camped in October. The cabin camping was the better of the two experiences, mainly due to the unusually chilly overnight temperatures in April. During the warmer months you can rent canoes from the concession stand. Climbing/rappelling is also allowed in the park via registration at the park office.

We stayed in a family cabin that sleeps up to 4 people. You have to reserve cabins and there is a 2 night minimum stay, but the price is extremely reasonable. These cabins also offer heat and A/C. Our cabin had a common area with a kitchenette.The bathroom included a toilet and shower. The small, but cozy bedroom included a mattress - you're responsible for bringing your own linens - along with a sink. Additional amenities included stove, frig, microwave, pots and pans, and even a small coffee maker. And, the couch in the common area pulled out into a futon, providing extra sleeping space. Outdoor amenities included a fire pit and picnic bench. Bonus: The back of our cabin area looked out onto Backbone Lake.

We purchased firewood in Strawberry Point, a small town just a short drive from the park. Iowa requires that firewood be obtained within the county you're staying in due to the Emerald Ash Borer epidemic.

We fished for trout and hiked along several trails in the park. The Devil's Backbone was our favorite mainly because of the scenery along the bluff. It was the perfect way to view the changing leaves and watch the Maquoketa River flow by.

While we did have neighbors on either side of us, the noise level was minimal, and everyone was respectful of parking spaces as there is a common parking area in front of the cabins.

This is a beautiful spot to visit especially in autumn.

Backbone State Park

There is a variety of things to do here. You can rent cabins, shelters, tent and RV camp, hike the trails especially the “Backbone”, explore the cave, fish trout streams, visit fish hatchery, swim at the beach, canoe, kayak or just have a picnic. Beautiful park! My sons have even repelled the bluffs.

Very nice and lots to do!

We went camping at Backbone for a friend's wedding that was taking place at the park's lodge. While most of the wedding guests stayed in town, we opted to camp, during October. It was gorgeous! We loved waking up in the morning and going for a walk along the many trails, seeing deer on the trail, and the lake. Great place to camp or host an event like a wedding!

October Foliage!

lots of things to do and great hikeing park, also swimming and boat rentals 

plenty to do

I went with a group of entering sixth grade Girl Scouts on a weekend tent camping trip to this park. The campsites were simple to access and the grounds were easy to navigate. We hiked on the famous Backbone trail - a really fun hike that isn’t too incredibly long. The grounds were well kept and we had a phenomenal time. The girls gathered our firewood in the neighboring tree line, and our evenings were filled with fun and friendly camping neighbors. I highly recommend this park.

Fantastic location cation for individual or group tent camping!

Absolutely love Backbone! Beautiful hiking trails and a great place to camp with good bathroom accommodations!

Love this place

This campground has many things to do. This place has tent, rv and cabin camping, you can choose modern or non modern camping. Fun activities include fishing, swimming in a lake and also ground fed springs, boat rentals on the lake, hiking also horse trails, rock climbing, caves, playgrounds shelters for events and parties. I am sure there are even more things to do that I didnt have the time for.

Fun for the whole family

Have camped here twice with large groups (12-25 people) of college age friends. Was a great time with plenty to keep everyone interested.

My favorite memory was definitely swimming in the river. Also enjoyed hiking along the backbone trail, and climbing around some wooded areas.

Hiking, swimming, fishing, and resting!

Lakewater often unsafe for swimming. To the extent the beach had weeds growing on it. Campsites are close together w no privacy.

Contaminated water

Great place to stay 

Lots a hiking trails... nice trout fishing.
Kids love the river crossing.
Be aware of night life, the raccoons  like to come and join you at the camp fire.  
All been said., nice little gem in Iowa. 

Backbone 

We stayed here two nights. That was plenty, although it's not really the park's fault. The lake was super gross, with excessive floating moss (probably a weather issue) and EXCESSIVE goose poop everywhere. The beach was basically unusable, with goose bombs everywhere. It was better when we kayaked, but still gross.

So why the five stars? 1. The bathrooms were fantastic. 2. The camp site was really nice and plenty of room.  3. The hiking was superb. Felt like we were not in Iowa. 4. The driving through the park was also really great and I will go back this fall to look at leaves. 5. There is a cave you can explore on your own. We did. It's awesome. It's muddy. It's super cool.  6. There are some decent bouldering spots. 7. Cheap, huge bundles of firewood at park entrance.  8. Really friendly at the camp store. 9. Close to Strawberry Point. Go to town to Clayton's Pharmacy and get an old fashioned soda. Fantastic. 10. Close to Edgewood and the Edgewood Locker. Go visit and stock up on meat on the way home. 

Great bathroom and hiking, awful lake

I tent camped at Six Pines Campground for 3 nights in August.  The park has two campgrounds and this one is non electric with pit toilets and water. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring with a really nice grill. The sites are large and flat and the ones on the outside of the loop are well shaded. Two trails can be accessed from the tent campground - Six Pines trail and West Lake trail. There are two shower houses that you can use at the RV campground but it takes about 15-20 minutes to drive across the park to that campground. The park is very large with about 20 miles of trails. There is a spring fed creek and, if you stay away from the trout fishing area, you can play and wade in the creek. It has a sandy/rocky bottom and sandy banks. It felt wonderful on a hot day. There is a swim beach on the lake but it was closed due to E. coli in the water. There’s a small camp store too. At night in this campground there are no lights except in the registration kiosk so it’s perfect for star gazing.  The Field of Dreams movie site is just 45 minutes away and makes for a fun side trip. There is a town about 10 minutes away with a couple restaurants and coffee shops. 
The Six Pines trail can be taken from the campground to the Backbone trail. The Backbone trail is along a rocky ridge. There are side trails down to the base of the cliffs and lots of rock climbing to do. Very fun to explore the side paths and climb up the rock walls. 

Great park!

This park is perfect for families or anyone looking for plenty of activities. They have boat rentals, amazing trails, a camp store onsite, a swimming beach and super clean bathrooms. Stayed at tent site #24 in the Southlake Campground, and it was fairly quiet even on a busy holiday weekend. 

Favorite Iowa Park

There are two campgrounds at this park (the first state park in Iowa): a primitive one and a “modern” one. The primitive one (Six Pine) only has a pit toilet and each site has a fire grate and a picnic table. The modern campground (South Lake) has 30 amp, 50 amp, and tent sites. The electric sites are very close together (too close for our liking) so we opted for a tent site. We were in a loop with about six sites, and while the site size was generous and spaced a decent distance apart, there was no delineation between sites and no specific place to park your vehicle (and you cannot park on the road). These sites were also decidedly bumpy and not level; it took us about 15 minutes of maneuvering our van around to find a reasonably level spot. 

  

The restrooms were six separate rooms, each complete with toilet, sink, and shower; they were clean. 

  

We drove around the park and saw the balanced rock (meh) and I walked the short distance to the mouth of the cave. There was good signage to find the cave but once there, no information about the cave and its safety (or not) was available so I opted not to explore its dark and wet interior! There are seven trails in the park; the East Lake trail was a treat to hike. It hugs the lake for about two miles and while you can veer off onto the Bluebird Trail, I enjoyed hiking out and back for a different view. You can also hike from the South Lake campground to the beach– about a mile but the trail does start and stop, and you have to walk on the road for a bit. You can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats but we did not take advantage of this. We also did not swim so I cannot speak to the quality of the lake (other reviewers took issue with this). There is also a CCC museum, but it was not open while we were there. 

  

We stayed one night which was sufficient for us. It might have been nice to stay longer if we decided to rent kayaks or hike different trails.

Many different camping options

Great scenery and views! Fun trails, great beach, lighthouse, boat docks, cabins, caves, and much more. Absolutely loved this place! Had a blast got lots of great pics and memories! Loved the trails but most of all the amazing views/scenery! Fun family oriented park!

Great, amazing, fun, family oriented!

Backbone is a very diverse area. There are miles of trails. Is hiking your thing? What about equestrian? Maybe mountain bike trails? You can even take the family for a nice leisurely walk on the easier trails. Exploring is fun at this park because there is so much to see. The Trout stream was busy the weekend we were there. You might even want to play a round of Gulf. We have solar on our trailer so we stayed in the Six Pines campground and it was beautiful. We listened to the night animals for hours.

Many things to do here

To start off, Backbone State Park is one of the most gorgeous parks I’ve ever visited. It’s so beautiful, with plenty of challenging and scenic trails and lots of wildlife. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is the campgrounds (we stayed at Six Pines). I’ll go into more detail below. 

Pros
-Great trails, hikers will find much to love here 
-Beautiful scenery
-Six Pines is all primitive campsites, which is nice for us tent campers who prefer quiet, natural environments 
-Six Pines sites are fairly spacious
-Decent fishing
-Lots of in-park attractions (the cave, old fish hatchery, etc.)

Cons
-Six Pines is a big, flat loop, which means not much privacy and the sounds bounce all around. 
-With the playground in the middle Six Pines can get quite noisy
-The sound reverberations at Six Pines means you can hear everything going on in your neighbors’ tents at night 
-Not much for modern bathrooms around the park
-The trails are not well marked, the maps are largely inaccurate. Expect to find random, well-worn forks in trails without seeing them on the map
-The trails could use some maintenance. There were plenty of downed trees blocking paths, a few that seem to have been there for quite some time. 
-Sites at the South Lake campground seem small, the place looked packed in like sardines with not much space between tents or campers 

Gorgeous state park!

I have been to Backbone a few times, this spot is one of my friends and I’d favorite. There is no through traffic so it’s quiet. Tons of trails, specifically the spot we camped at was right by the trail so we had easy access. The sites are big so you can camp far back and keep the vehicles at the front. I was able to fly my drone here and it produced some amazing footage, check the descriptions you are interested! 

The bathrooms weren’t the greatest, and their aren’t any showers near the site we stayed at, so be ready to be dirty for a couple of days. 

Endless trails, cool cliffs, quiet atmosphere

Backbone State Park is unlike any other place in Iowa, having geological features uncommon in Iowa.

  

There are two campgrounds. I have camped in both:

  

Modern Campground:
This is a large, modern campground with all of the standard amenities found in a modern campground… electric hookups, flush toilets, water. I have camped here twice, both times in my travel trailer. Overall, it is a nice campground with decent space in between campers, however, I tend to avoid it during the busier summer and fall colors seasons.

Primitive Campground:
This is my favorite at Backbone for camping, especially in the autumn after the leaves have fallen off of the trees. As this campground is non-electric, there are not many people camping after it turns colder. I have spent many nights there alone in the primitive campground, watching RVs pull in and then leave after realizing that it has no hookups.

Nearby trout fishing:
Backbone is home to one of the more popular trout streams in Iowa. The fishing is easy as most of the fish are stocked (April-October). Still, it is an enjoyable fishing trip as the stream itself is mostly rocks and gravel, with several deep holes. The water is cold and clear.

Other activities:
Hiking is very popular in Backbone. I have also seen rock climbing and rappelling. There are some nice spots away from the trout stream for wading and a little swimming.
Backbone State Park also has a small lake with a swimming area and boat rentals during the summer. Several nice cabins are available for those who do not want to camp.

Two campgrounds to enjoy at Backbone State Park

Very nice great hiking couldn’t swim on our stay but nice beach canoe rentals small store bathrooms were very clean

Great park

This campground was large. The lake reminded me of a puzzle I did with my grandma as a kid. It was fall, and it was just gorgeous. There was a wedding the weekend we were there, but we were lucky to explore the tower the day prior. The nearby communities offer ameneties, which were needed as I sprained a knee hiking the backbone trail my third go. Absolutely adored the weekend we spent here. Wonderful neighbors, great spacious, level sites. I want to say we had electric only, and service was definitely spotty in most areas of camp. We used Verizon, and could not hulu.

Just stunning

Stayed in march it was cold but very nice park , restrooms were nice shower house was closed and locked but the scenery on the hiking trail was amazing 

Photos of Six Pines Campground — Backbone State Park

Real photos from real campers