County parks and wildlife areas surrounding Anamosa, Iowa offer several tent camping options with varying levels of amenities and accessibility. Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area provides primitive tent camping along the Maquoketa River, while Wakpicada Natural Area in Central City features tent sites with good tree cover next to a fishing pond. Pictured Rocks County Park in Monticello and Macbride Nature Recreation Area both cater to tent campers seeking more secluded experiences. Wickiup Hill Primitive Campsite offers walk-in tent sites accessible via short trails, making it suitable for families wanting a backcountry camping experience without venturing too far from amenities.
Most tent-only sites in the region require campers to pack in their own supplies and follow Leave No Trace principles. Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area features basic amenities including a table, fire ring, and latrine, but no drinking water. Campers should bring their own water and supplies. At Joinerville County Park, primitive tent camping requires permit applications submitted one month in advance. Several locations offer pit toilets, but shower facilities are rare at the more primitive tent campgrounds. Fire rings are common at most sites, though firewood availability varies by location. Walk-in tent sites typically require parking within 100 yards and carrying gear to the campsite.
The natural setting enhances the tent camping experience throughout the region. According to reviews, Wakpicada Natural Area provides good tree cover that makes camping enjoyable even in hot weather, with quiet campgrounds that aren't positioned right next to each other. One visitor noted that Macbride Nature Recreation Area offers "small, quiet and secluded" tent sites where campers can walk through the forest to visit the injured raptor center with outdoor aviaries. At Buzzard Ridge, campers reported appreciating the "native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area" with river access for fishing and paddling. Many primitive tent sites in the region offer water access, making them ideal bases for fishing or paddling adventures.
"Campsites right next to the pond and good tree cover made the experience fun anyway. Good bass and panfish fishing with quiet campgrounds that aren’t right next to each other."
$20 - $45 / night
"Jungletown Ridge is perfect for those looking to get some space from others and enjoy some quiet nights int he woods. Check them out and share some pics from your stay!"
"People driving around the pond didn't even know we were there! The camping spot was beautiful (although you have to watch out for nettles). Great fishing while we were there too."
"Unique hike or paddle primitive site. Native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area. Two parking sites to hike in or access by river. Site is along river, has table, fire ring, latrine."
$35 - $50 / night
"Convenient location a lot of amenities and activities"
$54 / night
"The site offers primitive amenities near Wikiup Hill learning Center. Taking a short trail to the site, the permanent wake up offers shelter, fire ring with grate, and restrooms nearby."
"Linn County, Iowa, county pack in Primitive site is near nature scape, pit toilets, offers fire pit with sitting blocks and firewood included with camp fee, nature center just yards away, trails, forested"
"My son and I tent-camped at Macbride Nature Recreation Area (not nearby Lake Macbride State Park) several times circa 2005. Always a good time."
$70 - $80 / night
"Charcoal grill, fire ring with wood supplied, picnic table, covered porch, trail head right next to cabin. After hours offers quite park, dark skies, and trails with wildlife."
"Cabin offers modern amenities: stove, oven,micro, dishwasher, refrigerator, coffee pot, toaster, ADA access, shower. AC/heat, covered porch, firewood, picnic table, Charcoal grill, trails."
LegendUnique hike or paddle primitive site. Native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area. Two parking sites to hike in or access by river. Site is along river, has table, fire ring, latrine. Pack in, pack out and Leave No Trace.
ScoutNice 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.
LegendOne of the 6 campgrounds that you will have to choose from here at Scott County Park, Bald Eagle CG & Cabins is one that is more geared for the RV driving and trailer toting tribes as each site has FHUs with electric, water & sewage, fire rings and picnic tables; however, if you wanted to pitch a tent here, you could, although I would recommend nearby Incahias as an alternative. Unlike some of the other campgrounds here, Bald Eagle kind of lives up to its name as there’s not much in the way of tree cover or brush, so the land is somewhat BALD. The land is incredibly flat, back-in slots are spacious, hard and very level grounds are incredibly well-organized and the bathroom / shower facilities with great HOT running water and are about as impeccably clean as can be.
Near by Bald Eagle is Pride Lake, which makes this pet-friendly CG your top pick if you’re an angler or looking to get some decent oaring with your kayak or canoe. Sitting in front of Pride Lake are 2 very large shelters – Whispering Pines and Hickory Hills – as well as a playground for the kiddos and a restroom facility that is also spartan-clean. Surrounding Bald Eagle is also no shortage of hiking / biking / horse trails. We found the CG itself 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. There is also a single large cabin available for rent that has capacity for 10 people.
We loved Scott County Park so much because there is a lot that this gem offers up, from fresh water catch & release lakes, a combination of topographies (from woodlands, wetlands and prairie grasslands), a 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, a 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.
Happy Camping!
LegendThe camp is walking only, with few tables and fire rings. Firewood available t main cg all ng with water and showers there too. Sites are spread along a waterway within bottom land woodlands with water access for fishing, paddling etc. Parking is within 100 yards so must pack in/out, use Leave No Trace ethics.
RangerCampground Review:
Saulsbury Bridge Recreation Area is 675 acres, nestled between rolling fields of corn, dairy farms, native prairie, and the Cedar River. Located in Muscatine County in southeast Iowa, this rec area offers well-maintained campgrounds, hiking trails, fishing, kayaking/canoeing and seasonal hunting.
There are three separate campgrounds. The main campground has electrical hookups, picnic benches, fire rings, modern restroom facilities including showers, a dump station, playground, and firewood for purchase. There are 24 sites, and they run $20 per night.
The primitive campground area sits along Chicken Creek and offers four, tent-only sites, and is just off the main campground. The sites are well spaced and surrounded by large trees. These are walk in sites with parking in the main campground. It’s a short hike in from the parking area, and within walking distance of the restrooms and firewood. Primitive sites are $10 per night.
Across the road from these two campgrounds is the main boat access and fishing dock for Chicken Creek. Only non-motorized boats are allowed here. If you don’t have your own, you can rent kayaks and canoes through the Muscatine County Conservation office. There is also a large shelter, which is reservable along with day use picnic areas, playgrounds, a sand volleyball court, and vault toilets. There’s large, open expanses of grassy fields and oak shade trees; perfect for relaxing on a hot summer day.
The river campground sits right along the Cedar River and allows easy access to fishing along with a boat ramp. This campground is a short hike to the old Saulsbury Bridge and Lodge. The bridge has a small gazebo-like structure and bench which provides a nice view of the river. There are vault toilets in this campground, but the modern restrooms are within walking distance as well. There are 10 sites in this campground and run $17 per night.
All campsites are self-registration and are on a first come, first served basis. There is a campground host on duty in the main campground and the park officer lives on site. Dogs are allowed, but must be on leash in the campgrounds and on trails. However, they are allowed to run in the designated hunting areas. These areas are marked with signs. If you plan to hike during hunting season, it’s a good idea to wear bright colors/blaze orange so you are visible to hunters and not mistaken for a deer or other wildlife.
This park also has prairie/natural habitat restoration areas that, in spring and summer, attract Monarch butterflies, and an abundance of birds including indigo bunting, red headed woodpecker, and goldfinch. In the colder months you can spot bald eagles flying along the river. There are also deer, wild turkey, and pheasants. While there, we walked around the campground areas that were open and over to the day use area along Chicken Creek to roast marshmallows. We hiked the short distance out to the Saulsbury Bridge to watch the Cedar River flow by and caught a beautiful sunset.
The one downfall to this park is the possibility for flooding. When the Cedar River is high, it pushes Chicken Creek out of its banks which can mean potential closure of campgrounds.
A call ahead to the conservation office to check on closures is a good idea. We had hoped to camp at a primitive site, but learned the trail leading into the campground was under water, which also meant the river campground was closed as well. Though there was some water over the road in the main campground, it was minimal and we were able to choose an electrical site. We opted to car camp as we were only staying one night. Only about a third of the campground was filled and we had no one on either side of us which meant for a more quiet camping experience.
This is one of my favorite local areas to hike and camp that’s close to home. It offers a full picture of Iowa’s varied landscapes and outdoor activity opportunities.
Product Review:
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. On this camping trip, I tried out VivoBarefoot Primus Trail SG Womens sneakers. VivoBarefoot’s goal is to provide an environment that allows the feet to remain in their natural state while providing a protective shoe. https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/womens/off-road/primus-trail-sg-womens?colour=Olive
GuideThe pros: $10 fee ($15 electric), campground seems well maintained (grass is mown, security light works, tables in good repair, gravel access road in good shape, etc); no one here but us, the sound of the running Creek is soothing, vault toilet is probably the cleanest I've seen; ATT cell service was 3bars 5G The unusual: no specific site, no specific place to pull into, no site numbers or designation except on the electric pedestals. It's all grass. Pull onto the grass near the table or electric pedestal you want. The cons: highway traffic noise is easily heard and doesn't seem to stop for more than a few seconds (though the crickets/bug sounds and the creek sound is sometimes louder so you hear that instead), dust from vehicles passing on nearby dirt road filters thru the trees (due to dry weather?), and, well, it is, after all, a vault toilet-not my fav,
GuideOur one-night stay at the Sugar Bottom- Coralville Lake Campground was terrific! My husband and I stopped there during our cross-country road trip. We arrived around 7:30pm on a Sunday in September and easily got a spot. The lady at the entrance station was incredibly kind and answered all of our questions.
The campground is very well marked, with easily visible site number labels. Each site is in a grassy area with a picnic table and fire ring with a grate. Our site had a tree or two that provided some shade, but some other sites were a but more shaded.
We ended up staying in site #103, which is right by the water. What a beautiful view we had! Our campsite was very close to a boat dock, a sand volleyball court, and a sandy beach. We didn't have a chance to swim at the beach, but it looked really nice! It had a large, designated swimming area that was marked with floating ropes. We were also located close to a building with restrooms. Each restroom had a clean, hot shower. The showers were free, which was a plus!
In my opinion, this is definitely a 5-star campground. I can't wait to come back!
LegendGeneral: 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!
GuideThis is a really beautiful campground. The RV sites aren’t really out of the ordinary but the park sits upon a slight rise above the Missouri River and the road around the campground leads down to the river. Deer can be seen drinking from the river and grazing along the tree lines. There’s a cool spot where the river crosses the road in a shallow bend. There are even picnic tables scattered around.
The RV sites vary in length from about 25’ up to 60’. Unfortunately, none of them are more than mostly level and several are on about a 20 degree slope. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and fire pit. Some have electric but none have water. There is a fresh water station but no dump station. (We stopped at another park on the way to here but the park host told us there’s a dump site at the state park in Monticello; it’s about 10 miles from Anamosa). The park does have bathrooms and showers. There are tent sites as well as RV sites. Some sites can be reserved but others are walk-on sites. This year’s park host is a really special guy who’s very, very helpful but also very hands-off. He makes sure everyone respects the park and each other but isn’t intrusive.
Anamosa is a very sweet little town with a lot to offer for dining and local culture. (Don’t miss the “General Store Pub” in Stone City.) If you’re into motorcycles, make sure you visit the National Motorcycle Museum. The collection is exceptional and the arrangement quite intimate — especially considering the size and variety of the collection. We actually came here specifically to tour the museum but we’d definitely come back here for the overall beauty.
Tent campsites near Anamosa, Iowa are primarily concentrated along the Maquoketa and Wapsipinicon river corridors, where hardwood forests provide natural shelter. Most primitive sites in this region sit at elevations between 700-900 feet, with summer temperatures typically ranging from 65-85°F. Winter camping requires preparation for temperatures that can drop below 20°F, with snowfall making some access roads impassable from December through March.
Fishing opportunities: At Worthington Sportsman's Club, secluded camping spots provide direct access to productive fishing waters. One camper noted, "Great fishing while we were there too. I was skeptical about the pit toilets but the one closest to our site was very clean!"
River paddling: Access the Wapsipinicon River from Wapsi River Environmental Ed. Ctr. for day trips through forested corridors. A visitor mentioned, "Wapsipinicon River below bluff offers paddling, fishing. Menke Observatory offers sky programs."
Astronomy viewing: Several campgrounds offer minimal light pollution for stargazing. At Kestrel Cabin in the Wapsi River Environmental Center, one camper appreciated that there's "No city like that so night sky shines with stars."
Privacy between sites: Campers consistently mention the well-spaced sites at Wakpicada Natural Area. One reviewer stated, "Good bass and panfish fishing with quiet campgrounds that aren't right next to each other. I consider it a little hidden gem."
Shade coverage: Tree canopy provides relief during hot months. At Wakpicada Natural Area, a camper reported, "Went when it was 110 degrees with humidity. Campsites right next to the pond and good tree cover made the experience fun anyway."
Wildlife viewing: Many campsites offer opportunities to observe local fauna. At Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area, a camper appreciated the "Native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area. Two parking sites to hike in or access by river."
Permit requirements: For camping at Joinerville County Park, you must apply for a permit one month in advance. A visitor explained, "CG is day use year-round though primitive camping is by approved permit application 1 month in advance of stay."
Water supply limitations: Most primitive tent sites near Anamosa require bringing your own water. At Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area, facilities are limited to "table, fire ring, latrine. Pack in, pack out and Leave No Trace."
Off-season access: Winter camping is possible but restricted by road conditions. Most campgrounds maintain gravel access roads that may become difficult to navigate after snowfall or during spring thaw.
Short hiking options: Wickiup Hill Primitive Campsite offers family-friendly trails with educational components. A visitor noted, "Along the trail into the site, you will find a large play area for families."
Educational centers: Several campgrounds feature nature centers with exhibits. One camper at Wapsi River Environmental Center mentioned, "Park is also site of nature center with live animals, an observatory, access to Wapsipinicon River."
Walk-in site distances: Most tent-only sites require carrying gear short distances from parking areas. At Wickiup Hill, a camper described, "Taking a short trail to the site, the permanent wake up offers shelter, fire ring with grate, and restrooms nearby."
Limited RV accommodations: Most campgrounds near Anamosa focus on tent camping with few RV amenities. At Cedar River Campground, an RVer noted, "Sites are tighter than what we prefer, but will be back again."
Noise considerations: RV sites tend to be closer to highways than primitive tent areas. One Cedar River camper mentioned, "It is right off the highway, so it was loud when we were outside, but we couldn't hear it at all when we were in our Tab 400."
Seasonal availability: Most RV camping options operate from April through October. Cedar River Campground specifically runs "April 15 to October 15" according to their official season dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Anamosa, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Anamosa, IA is Wakpicada Natural Area with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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TheDyrt.com has all 22 tent camping locations near Anamosa, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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