Hitchcock County Nature Center, near Honey Creek, Iowa, is a fantastic spot for campers looking to enjoy the great outdoors. With a mix of tent sites, RV spots, and cabins, it caters to a variety of camping styles while providing a clean and well-kept environment.

The campground boasts clean bathrooms and hot showers, which visitors appreciate after a day of hiking the nearby trails. Many campers have noted the friendly atmosphere, with hosts who keep the place immaculate and are always ready to lend a hand. One happy camper mentioned, “The hosts are so polite and helpful,” highlighting the welcoming vibe here.

Nature lovers will find plenty to explore, with numerous hiking trails right at your doorstep. The area is also home to friendly wildlife, including cows that some campers found charming. While the tent sites are a bit close together, they offer ample shade and privacy thanks to the surrounding trees. Just remember to pack some bug spray, as the mosquitoes can be a bit pesky!

Conveniently located near Honey Creek, this campground is perfect for a quick getaway or a longer stay. Whether you're roasting marshmallows by the fire or taking in the beautiful scenery, Hitchcock County Nature Center is a solid choice for your next camping adventure.

Hitchcock County Nature Center

Honey Creek is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Honey Creek. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.

Honey Creek

The Best Camping Near Honey Creek, Iowa

The park has cabins, rv sites, tent camping and backcountry hike in camping.   The nature center is a nice place to cool down the the summer and learn about the loess hills. The backcountry campsite  have pads with pea gravel for tents and fire rings. Nice and quiet.

Loess hills getawayg

The trails are well marked and easy to follow. I was very impressed on the hike in campsites. They already have a nice flat spot for your tent, although I'm a hammock camper. The views from the two south east campsites are amazing, looking over the Missouri River valley and the Omaha skyline in the distance. 

Great trails 

When I think of “nature center” I think of a stuffy little cabin with taxidermy. This site is far far more than that, with hiking trails, educational programs, a museum, event halls, and of course camping. Local friends told us about it, otherwise we would have never found it. Make sure to look at their events calendar, they have exceptional programs for all ages (and especially kids). I learned about this park from Pheasants Forever, a nonprofit.

Yay: well tended and updated campground. You can camp all year (but I think they turn the water off?)

Nay: no reservations (but supposedly they don’t fill up completely?)

Surprise: make sure you talk to the rangers!

Fantastic educational site with extensive trails  

If you are in the Omaha metro you should head across the river and checkout Hitchcock Nature Center just North of Council Bluffs. This is one of my favorite places to camp. All of the campsites are considered "back country" but don't worry, I think the furthest campsite is about three miles.

My preference is getting one of the campsites on the western edge of the park on top of the ridge. At night you can see the Omaha skyline lit up and the breeze running through there is wonderful.

Hitchcock is smack dab in the loess hills which is one of only two places in the world with the hill formations. The other place is in China.

The trail system isn't huge because of the size of the park, but it has a lot of up and down and is a great place to practice backpacking or test new gear before you leave the plains and head to the rocky mountains for a new adventure.

When your done with your hiking, climb up to the top of the towering platform and bring your binoculars to checkout the visiting hawks and occasional eagle. Don't pass up Hitchcock Nature Center.

Hitchcock is an awesome jewel right outside of Omaha

if you want to get some hiking in that’s not just all flat walking this is a great place in this area. The views show you the vast farmland here and are great for sunrise and sunset! Leashed dog friendly. There are some camping spots you can hike to and some cabins as well. I have mostly used this as a day spot. 


Great Place for Hiking 

Great hiking in Loess Hills, great Nature Center especially with programming of "Hawk Watch"

Great county camground

As a family we go to Hitchcock a few times a year for the hiking and the archery range they have on-site. Both are excellent and a nice escape from the city! This spring/summer I am planning to take our boys for a nice hike in camp!

Hiking and Archery!

Hitchcock Nature Center features 10 miles of trails in varying difficulties for all skill levels.   Great training site with some fantastic campsites and excellent views.  Nature Center offers a unique lodge and educational space with a "fire tower" regularly used for bird studies. Backcountry campsites are the main attraction but there are also RV sites and an archery range.  The park even offers a small section of ADA boardwalk.   It's a great place!

Outstanding hiking close to the city.

This is one of our favorite places to camp. It's beautiful and there's plenty of hiking. The campgrounds are a little way away from the road and more secluded so they're very quiet. You do have to pack your stuff down a bit of a steep hill. with the nature Center there is plenty for the kids to do. There's even a 1 mile hike on a boardwalk that's very easy. There's all levels of hikes. They have a hawkwatch tower. Lots of information about Hawks and nature conservation. We love doing their extra classes.

Favorite

Small Campground the few hookups cabins and a great place to hike .

Just hike

This is a County run Park, that has a limited number of sites.  The location is very nice, most sites are full sun.  And the grounds are located on top,of a hill.  Easy drive in, all paved.  A lot of hiking trails, for day hikes.  Really nice location but site availability is always the question.  Would recommend.

Small but nice

Hitchcock Nature Center is north of Crescent, IA and just let outside Omaha, NE. A short drive from the city and you are in the Loess Hills that were explored by Lewis and Clark on their trek west. The is a $3 day use pass or a $20 yearly pass available.

This place has a lot to offer anyone. They have Nature education events, archery range, a handicapped accessible boardwalk trail, hiking trails, camping, etc.  There are miles of trail available with backcountry camping available for $10 per night. RV camping is also available for $15 per night with electric, showers/bathrooms, picnic tables, fire rings, etc. They also offer a couple cabins for rent.

The hiking is fantastic and offers something for every skill level. There are absolutely gorgeous views of the Missouri River valley below. All trails are marked and the a multiple different trailheads, many which start around the visitors center/tower Overlook. During the winter they even over snowshoeing events. It is really a nice place to get outdoors anytime of the year.

Great outdoors close to the city!

Been coming to this place on and off for years.  They have several hiking trails of different skills inside the preserve.  There is a couple look out points of the Loess Hills as well as a educational visitors center.   There is a rv camping site,  as well as cabins that can be rented.  There also 2 types of tenting as well. There is the walk up sites near the cabins, and also a few hike in camp sites.  

Great little hiking park

The road up gets a little narrow and windy, but nothing an experienced traveler can’t handle. It’s worth driving a little further off the road for this campsite. MAKE SURE YOU BRING CASH. It’s $25 per night and there’s a pay station as you enter the campsite. 

Great price, Great Place to Stay!

Great campground! Best campground shower I've ever had in my life, both in water pressure, heat and cleanliness of facilities. Be aware that it's first come first served. Sadly did not make it to the interactive nature center, but heard that its super cool. Lower RV spots are on a hill, be prepared to level out farther than usual. Staff was amazing and very helpful. We def camped next to a butterfly/moth garden. They were everywhere! 

Hidden Gem

It was a great first trip into the area! Learned about the Loess formations, Saw a lot of wildlife and took a hike to the pond. Excited to check out more challenging hike spots in the future 

Successful 1st Trip

We’ve stayed at Hitchcock several times since March of 2021. Our longest stay was for a week and our shortest was for one night. It’s FCFS and they accept cash or check upon check in. You can also pay by credit/debit card if the camp store is open. Ice and fire wood are available for sale. Tons of hiking trails and trees. You can hear cows mooing and I was surprised (during our stay in June) just how much air traffics there was, having increased a great deal since earlier months due to loosening of pandemic restrictions and air travel. Landing patterns for planes headed to Omaha’s Eppley Airfield often include the airspace over Hitchcock. That being said, it was never annoying to us. The ranger is very welcoming, friendly and willing to chat if you’re so inclined. They had a water issue when we were there last, but the ranger was excellent at communicating any and all interference caused by the repairs. We did not feel inconvenienced whatsoever. They do a great job of staying on top of any issues so that interruption is minimal.

We love this campground!

Great spot for an overnight! Restroom is clean w/ pit toilet and tp. Wifi is only accessible in the upper area of the grounds. Site number 13 is the most cozy as there’s no one next to your rig. Firewood is at the right of the entrance. Potable water available! 

Nice and peaceful 

Easy overnight stay late season. Bathroom was spotless. Water hot. Not too far off the interstate. 

Clean an Simple

The tent campsites are close together in the campground all of them have fire rings with grates. There is a vault toliet just up from the site. There are also a lot of hike in sites that are equiped with a fire ring, no bathrooms though. Tons of hiking trails ranging from hard to easy. Plenty of RV spots and they have cabins

Beautiful Area

We tent camped in the modern loop. Bathroom was clean, lit, and stocked - even had hand sanitizer! RV loops had flush toilets and showers, but we didn’t stay long enough to make the trek worth it. The walk down to the tent sites was annoying at worst, but plenty doable. Campsites were level enough, and there were a few sites with pads. Lots of ticks to look out for. There’s an airfield nearby so plane noise was regular but not frequent. Wifi didn’t quite reach the tent campsites; nor did Verizon service, but T-Mobile was good. All around a fine campground. 

Nice

The sites for tent camping are okay pretty close together and down a hill, no parking next to your site. There are also pack in sites available and depending on location very nice. There are electic hook ups and cabins to. The bathrooms are a vault toilet. 

Nice Hiking Trails

We camped in a tent and it was $10 so great and the bathrooms were super clean

Literally can’t beat the price

This is my favorite place to tent camp! Nice bathhouse, and even the pit toilet is clean and unoffensive. Tent sites are spacious and most are separated by lots of trees so there's plenty of shade, privacy, and wildlife. Firewood is available and hiking trails are nearby. Unfortunately, I have to find a new favorite spot because I can no longer lug my gear up and down the hill between my car and my tent.

Secluded and well-kept

Friendly reminder to bring CASH
FIRST COME FIRST SERVE

Pros
- great Starlink line of sight
- super clean bathrooms and hot showers
- very quiet
- many nature trails out your door
- friendly cows :)

Literally no cons.

Clean, quiet, and tranquil

Only spent one night but would have stayed longer if we would have had time. Nice clean bathhouse and restrooms. Lots of hiking trails and even hiking sticks. We really enjoyed this short stay!

One of the best places ever.

We camp all the time at different locations, and I 100% recommend this campground! The hosts are so polite and helpful and they keep the place immaculate. Even the pit toilets were spotless and didn’t smell. The hosts went around several times a day collecting trash and even mopping the pit bathrooms. Camping here also gives you access to the playground and nature trails into some beautiful countryside. The only downside is bring several bottles of bugspray, the mosquitos are terrible!

Amazing!!

Stopped overnight in late August. Did not want to drag our gear up/down a hill to the tent campsites in the lower loop. Paid more to stay in the upper RV loop where we listened to a neighbor's generator all night. Pretty buggy. Showers/toilets okay. Note there are at least 2 railroads running nearby in the wee hours of the morning. Also, this is on the flight path for jets leaving (I assume) the Omaha airport. Not a restful night--won't be back.

Meh, for tent camping

I pulled in late at night easy to navigate stayed the next day and did some trails apparently the land formations are 1 of only 2 in the world how about that Iowa.

Photos of Hitchcock County Nature Center

Real photos from real campers