Best Cabin Camping near Carroll, IA

Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Carroll, IA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Carroll is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Carroll. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.

Best Cabin Sites Near Carroll, Iowa (19)

    1. Swan Lake State Park Campground

    3 Reviews
    Carroll, IA
    3 miles
    Website
    +1 (712) 792-4614

    "I was only tent camper in the electric only sites.  If there was a tent only location, I didn't see it.  Those in campers that need water and electricity are regulated to gravel 'parking lot' sites."

    "We stayed one night, beautiful park! Great trail all the way around the lake, we took a bike ride around it was about 3 ish miles. Camp host was a gem. Bathrooms were very clean!"

    2. University 40

    7 Reviews
    Lanesboro, IA
    20 miles
    Website
    +1 (712) 297-7131

    $25 / night

    "I can share with you information concerning the writing service that helped me with my academic trouble."

    " Enjoy drifting& driving awesome cars. Explore beautiful maps, find your favourite drift locations. Do experiments with car tuning."

    3. Camp Crescent Park — Black Hawk State Park

    1 Review
    Lake View, IA
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (712) 657-2189

    $16 - $50 / night

    "Many types of sites available from full hook to dry camping.   Some paved but most are gravel sites.  Utility location did require us to use a longer hose and extension cord to reach from our site.  "

    4. Spring Lake County Park

    9 Reviews
    Jefferson, IA
    30 miles
    Website
    +1 (515) 738-5069

    $20 / night

    "We were lucky and got a spot right along the lake. This park is peaceful (only slight downfall is the trains you can hear a bit-not too loud though)."

    "Plenty of camping spaces, some right next to the lake. Swimming area, concession stand, boat rentals, and even a skating rink on the weekends. My favorite childhood camping spot."

    5. Springbrook State Park Campground

    9 Reviews
    Guthrie Center, IA
    29 miles
    Website
    +1 (641) 747-3591

    $12 - $200 / night

    "Pros:

    -Not a far drive from Des Moines, but still quite remote

    -Lots of nice hiking trails

    -Easy access to large, mostly clean modern bathrooms

    -The lake is a peaceful spot to spend the early mornings"

    "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."

    6. Hagge County Park

    1 Review
    Sac City, IA
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (712) 662-4530

    "Hagge Park has only 15 sites available with full hookups, but it is a great, quieter place than most. Nice shaded areas. There are some primitive sites too."

    7. Yellow Smoke Park

    1 Review
    Denison, IA
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (712) 263-2748

    "We rented out their 3 cabins and had a whole area to ourselves. The kids could walk down to the sand and a bridge."

    8. Prairie Rose State Park Campground

    17 Reviews
    Harlan, IA
    37 miles
    Website
    +1 (712) 773-2701

    $15 - $50 / night

    "Reserved electric unit 090 for the weekend, which had a scenic corn field for a backdrop - this is Iowa!"

    "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."

    9. Black Hawk Cabin — Black Hawk State Park

    Be the first to review!
    Lake View, IA
    17 miles
    +1 (712) 657-8712

    $150 / night

    10. Dolliver Memorial State Park Campground

    9 Reviews
    Lehigh, IA
    46 miles
    Website
    +1 (515) 359-2539

    $15 - $50 / night

    "Dolliver State Park was our maiden voyage in our travel trailer and it was obvious we were pitiful newbies!"

    "The RV parking area isn't really big, but all sites are great & feel private, especially the outer ones. We have never stayed in the cabins, but they look nice & well kept."

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Recent Cabin Photos near Carroll, IA

4 Photos of 19 Carroll Campgrounds


Cabin Reviews near Carroll, IA

73 Reviews of 19 Carroll Campgrounds


  • Amy G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 2, 2018

    Sportsman Park

    Beautiful solitude with well manicured campsites

    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!!

  • Kandace F.
    Aug. 30, 2021

    Springbrook State Park Campground

    Small town camping

    Electric sites, no reservations required I don't think. Nice bathrooms, 3 showers for the women's room with a family size shower. Nice playground, volleyball net, basketball court. Picnic tables and fire rings. No cell service down at the campground. You could call that a pro or a con! Really nice campground employees.

  • L
    Nov. 5, 2021

    Dolliver Memorial State Park Campground

    Beautiful and tranquil

    Dolliver State Park was our maiden voyage in our travel trailer and it was obvious we were pitiful newbies! The park's beauty and tranquility did get disturbed a couple times when our dogs got loose (newbs!). The park staff were friendly and very helpful as were our fellow campers. The sites are mostly level with picnic tables and fire rings. Sites range from shady to sunny and the reservation website depicts the sites with a small photo and details about the amount of slope and shade. Cell service was good but no WiFi without a hotspot for us. We had fun, learned a lot and plan to camp here again!

  • N K.
    Oct. 11, 2020

    Prairie Rose State Park Campground

    Peace & quiet

    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.

  • Deborah C.
    Sep. 22, 2018

    Swan Lake State Park Campground

    Not very tent friendly

    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.

  • Bethanie S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 27, 2025

    Sportsman Park

    Sportsman Park

    Dawson is such a cute little park. I rented a primitive tent site for two nights and it was $20. The self-registration was super simple!

    They say there’s a live-in park employee. I never met him/her, which was a bummer. Theres two cabins, ten electric sights and five primitive, a shelter, a playground with slides and swings, and a bigger building you can reserve. I clocked four water spouts.

    The place was well maintained, people were polite, modern restrooms and showers. Everything was handicap accessible. You can tell the employees put a lot of care into their work. So glad I was able to stay here.

  • S
    Aug. 2, 2020

    Middle River Point

    Beautiful spot!

    A great spot for camping and RVing. Super friendly staff and great amenities. Only downside was there were no bathrooms.

  • RN P.
    Oct. 21, 2023

    Swan Lake State Park Campground

    Perfect

    Tented camped in late October, the weekend before closing.  I was only tent camper in the electric only sites.  If there was a tent only location, I didn't see it.  Those in campers that need water and electricity are regulated to gravel 'parking lot' sites.

    Beautiful park with playgrounds, swim beach, fisbee golf, paved trail, many fishing bars, and more.  

    Electric only sites are small and spaced out well.  Most have level drive perfect for sm camper or suv camping. Grass has slope, but I think you can find a good enough place for tent, I did.  Bathroom clean enough, I didn't use showers. I enjoyed the privacy of lake-front site J.

  • James M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Feb. 24, 2021

    Don Williams Park

    Nice County Park

    Camped by tent, basic amenities on-site-fire ring, table, etc. Went kayaking on lake and then on Des Moines River (close by). Nice wildlife areas, hiking, fishing, etc. Pleasant staff.


Guide to Carroll

Cabin camping near Carroll, Iowa offers a perfect blend of nature and comfort, allowing visitors to enjoy the great outdoors without sacrificing the conveniences of home.

Cabin campers appreciate these amenities

  • At University 40, guests can enjoy electric hookups and picnic tables, making it easy to relax and recharge after a day of adventure.
  • Yellow Smoke Park features well-maintained cabins with access to drinking water and sanitary dump facilities, ensuring a comfortable stay.
  • Hagge County Park offers a cozy cabin option along with full hookups, perfect for those looking for a peaceful retreat in nature.

Some prices for cabin camping range from $8 to $50

  • Tent sites at Sportsman Park are available for just $8, while electric sites are priced at $12, making it an affordable option for families.
  • Renting a cabin at Camp Crescent Park — Black Hawk State Park costs around $50, providing a budget-friendly way to enjoy a cabin experience.
  • Spring Lake County Park features a variety of sites, with cabin rentals offering great value for those looking to stay close to the lake.

Cabin campers like these nearby activities

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Carroll, IA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Carroll, IA is Swan Lake State Park Campground with a 4-star rating from 3 reviews.

What is the best site to find cabin camping near Carroll, IA?

TheDyrt.com has all 19 cabin camping locations near Carroll, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.