Best Cabin Camping near Audubon, IA

This was one of the nicest county campgrounds I've ever seen. We've been to a lot of them, but this one stands out. Not to mention that the price was unbeatable! So much more reasonable than at home. Set off the road a bit in a tiny little town in Iowa, it's along a river and very close to the Raccoon River Valley Trail, an 89 mile loop trail (paved) that goes through several towns and counties. It costs $2/person/day if you are 18 or older, or a year pass is $10. There is also a lodge that you can rent.

We rented a cabin for $50, because it was only about $10 more expensive than what we were planning on spending for a campsite in Minnesota. Normally, we stay in tents, so we were very pleased to find the options that this campground had to offer at such reasonable cost! If you wanted a tent site without electric, it was only $8. Electric sites were only $12. And the sites were incredibly well groomed. They were clean (I didn't see any trash). And they were tucked into the woods. A caretaker lives on site, and although we rarely saw him, it was obvious that he cared about his job. The bathrooms were clean and cared for too!

We were in a cabin and they were simple, but suited our needs. They had two wooden cabin-style buildings with little front porches (not screened in, but room under the overhang for chairs). Inside, you had two bunk beds, and the bottom bunk of one was a pull out futon, so you really had room to sleep 5 people. (Must mention: The futon in our cabin was horribly uncomfortable. I would have given 4 stars to the review because of it, but the futon alone shouldn't take away from the rest of the campground, which was immaculate). There was also a bathroom with an ADA shower, toilet, mirror and sink. In the room, there was a mini fridge, coffee maker, microwave, little sink and it even had air conditioning! Tucked in the corner was a folding table and chairs. A few hooks scattered around the walls completed the room. The A/C in ours wasn't at full working capacity, but it did chill the room down enough to be very comfortable. And it was very hot outside! We also had a little fire ring and picnic table, just outside the door.

The campground could accommodate plenty of tents and campers alike. Some electric, some not. All with very nice grassy pads for tents, all with picnic tables and fire rings. Grass was well clipped and there were plenty of parking spaces. It was very quiet when we were there, but I assume it gets busy on the weekends. The shower/bath house had separate bathrooms (both unisex) and both with toilet, mirror, sink and shower). Both were very clean for a camp bathroom. A little campground for those wishing to camp together was at the back of the park. It, too, had bathrooms. But they were locked, so I couldn't peek inside.

Bottom line, it was well worth our $50 for the cabin (you can't even get a hotel room for that price any more). I'd love to go back and tent in the quiet of a weekday eve when the crickets are chirping and I can feel the breeze through the tent!

Please note - there are no trash cans at the campground if you are in tents or RV's (the cabins have them inside). It is a carry in/carry out campground

There are LOTS of water pumps all over the campground. Yay for water!!

This park surrounds the whole lake and you can explore everything thing by trail or water. Lots of fishing and swimming, we went looking for wildflowers along the lake trails. Even though there are tons of campsites it does not feel at all crowded. Very nice and clean.

Yay: Hard to choose a campsite, all had great views and little perks. Check out the cabins too.

Nay: None, perfect experience!

Surprise: trails are perfect for XC skiing in winter. We saw bald eagles and deer very close to the tent.

Most packed side by side, back to back. The few good sites are continually reseved.
Campers are loud well beyond midnight. If you like to whoop it up all night, this is the camp ground to go to, no enforcement Small lake is nice, trails are nice. Camp store and beach house (rentals) closed up long ago. 1 dump, long wait. Nearest store 10 miles away, weak cell, down in river valley.

You’ll love this little park if you want to really disconnect and get away from things as there was absolutely 0 cell reception where we were at. That’s definitely not a bad thing since that’s exactly what we were looking for!

The park was very clean and everyone we met was extremely nice! Bring some hiking equipment as well as they have multiple nice trails to go hiking on.

Very nice place. Full hook up spots were very nice. Easy to get into, plenty of space, fire pit, picnic table, friendly & helpful park officers, lots of activities (hiking, boating, boat rentals, beach, bait shop, close to a race track in Corning, etc). We went the weekend after Memorial Day & there were plenty of spots. Quiet & family friendly. Even have food trucks that serve over by the beach!

It was clean and looks like they are updating some of their building. The playground needs a massive makeover. Our RV was on the corner so we had a fair amount of extra room unlike some sites. A cute little beach for swimming, one main reason we picked this state park was for the kayak rentals. They were closed so we weren’t able to, which was a big disappointment.

The park is electric only with a dump station and water hydrants through out the park. We have Verizon & AT&T and had no service. This is the first place we have been to without voice service (other doesn’t matter). Just a bit worrisome in case of emergency.

Overall, there are many better state parks that I would rather go to.

These Iowa state parks are extremely clean and well taken care of. The lake is huge with multiple trails that the kids loved. Playground was directly behind us which is a plus for us.

This state park camp site close to Carroll, Iowa was nice, but we were the only tent campers there, it seemed more like a permanent RV home site. The bathrooms while nice had no working showers, they had showers but no way to turn on the water. There was a cute frisbee golf on property, a beautiful lake, and a nice paved walking path.

Reserved electric unit 090 for the weekend, which had a scenic corn field for a backdrop - this is Iowa! Paved roads, level gravel sites, wide & mowed trails, clean pit toilets and a layout that isn’t too cramped. The pond has multiple shoreline fishing spots with picnic tables and a cleaning station. Basic playground in front of the beach which is a short drive or a ~1 mile trail walk away.

I really like Prairie Rose State Park. It is about ten miles north of Interstate 80 near Harlan, Iowa. The lake is gorgeous and has many different view points. There is plenty of space and a lot of different activities. A lot of folks fish and picnic. There are also a lot of geese.

The camp sites have great views of the lake and the park was pretty empty when I visited. This park truly is a rose in the prairie.

We showed up easter sunday when everyone in the loop left except one van, so it was pretty empty. But the wind was so intense an constant. Probably about 20 to 25mph wind all day and night. Temp was mid 70s to 80s. Well kept sites and the park ranger came through to check reservations were correct on the posts. Random people did come through the loop area to either hang out or go to the trail, which alerted our dogs everytime. We even thought some lady did a drug deal by grabbing an orange bag from one of the electric posts then left, pretty weird. We stayed on site 81 next to water which was essential. Big lake close by to fish which I'm guessing the only thing to do here other than walk the trail. I ran the trail for a workout, it's all grass around the lake. All the sites are pretty close together, about 20 to 30 apart so of you like that then there you go, but we wanted space for our dogs and privacy. Stayed 2 nights. All views of corn.

It was a bit cold, lots of bad weather, but we found some great places nearby, a dutch windmill near by! Very cool

An oasis of solitude. The park is somewhat small but laid out nicely. I paid extra for an electric site to be close to the lake. It is 9 or so miles north of the highway so it was actually quiet. There were zero bugs to deal with. Amazing!!!  And no raccoons. I stayed one night, a Thursday, so I don’t know if it gets bad on a weekend. There were lots of locals there using it like a big backyard. The lake isn’t big but big enough to be useful.

We stayed during the campground's last weekend in October, and loved it. It was so gorgeous with all the fall colors, and it's really a gem of a campground.

Pros:

-Beautiful, huge lake with lots of pretty views

-Primitive spots are separated from electric spots, which is great if you're looking for quiet, peaceful tent camping

-Primitive spots are relatively private and generously sized, you don't feel like you're right on top of your neighbors

-Decent portapotty in close distance

-Plenty of picnic spots

-Electric spots are right along the lake, which offers beautiful views

-On-site firewood

Cons:

-Full modern bathrooms are a long walk/drive away

-Not much for activities

-Water hydrants are right in the middle of people's camping spots, so it feels awkward to grab water

-The only hiking trail is EXTREMELY poorly marked and when it ends (it doesn't tell you it's ending) you either have to just turn around or walk a mile along the busy highway with very small shoulder. We mistakenly took the highway expecting the trail to continue, but it didn't and it was very scary, 0/10 don't recommend.

-Not many walk-in spots

-Lots of primitive spots are on a hill, so your tent is a little sideways

-Not many dumpsters

-No lights in the portapotty, so you'll need a headlamp at night

EDITED TO ADD: We stayed again in May, and it was a great place to spend a weekend. Quiet, friendly but not a party crowd, and a nice, relaxing environment overall. Word on the streets (from the DNR warden) is that they’re looking into creating 2 more hiking trails too.