Best Tent Camping near Clarion, IA

Looking for the best Clarion tent camping? Find the best tent camping sites near Clarion. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.

Best Tent Sites Near Clarion, IA (12)

Showing results 1-10 of 12 campgrounds

Recent Tent Reviews in Clarion

155 Reviews of 12 Clarion Campgrounds


  • Pat F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Don Williams Park
    Oct. 14, 2024

    Don Williams Park

    Quite and nice

    Very quite and nice campground, we camped on top of the hill in tents it was awesome view and potable drinking water next to camp, bathrooms and shower facilities was clean and nice

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Clear Lake State Park Campground
    Oct. 8, 2024

    Clear Lake State Park Campground

    Surprisingly quiet campground on a summer weekend

    We tend to stay at campgrounds during the off or shoulder season for a quieter experience so it was with some apprehension that we reserved this campground for a summer weekend so that we could meet friends for Paddlefest. We were happy to discover that despite being a full campground, it was quiet at almost all hours of the day and night. It was, however, an entirely different story on the lake itself, where boats gathered all day to party!

    There is little separation between the sites but there are trees located throughout, some of which provide shade to the site. The camper pads were a mix of dirt and gravel and mostly level. We were lucky to snag Site 34 (reserved about three months in advance) – it was on the end, making it a much larger site than the interior sites (all end sites in our section were larger) and we had plenty of shade trees, a welcome relief on a very hot weekend. 

    The paved roads leading to the sites are very narrow and would appear to be one-way but are not designated as such, resulting in some confusion. The site numbers are only listed on one side, even though most of the sites appeared to be pull-through. 

    The restrooms and showers were clean and had soap and (dated) air dryers. 

    Overall, we had a very pleasant two-night stay even though we were prepared for a different experience.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Dows Pool Park & Campground
    Sep. 28, 2024

    Dows Pool Park & Campground

    Shady, quiet campground with electric & water hookups and a dump station

    I only drove through here I did not camp. It was quiet and the sites were shaded. I saw water, electricity and a picnic table at every site. The pads are gravel and very level.

    You can easily bike into town.

    There is a dump station.

    I had 3 bars of Verizon 4G which provided 70 down and 12 up.

    On T-mobile I had 5 bars of 5G and 100 down and 7 up.

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve
    Sep. 16, 2024

    Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve

    Great place!

    Standard site without electric was only $10.00 a night which includes a nearby water spigot to fill your tank with. Put toilets and showers available. The friendly hosts made a point to come by to chat. Two fawns were born there, under one of the picnic tables and they were around all weekend. I’ll be back !

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve
    Sep. 14, 2024

    Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve

    Great site to camp - non electric sites are $10.00 -“and electric are $18.00

    Nice place to spend the weekend or a week! Came in late and a resident helped me find a great spot. When driving to my site two fawns were laying near the playground.

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Clear Lake State Park Campground
    Aug. 15, 2024

    Clear Lake State Park Campground

    Nice but crowded campground

    Nice campground with grassy pull thru sites. But very close together. If full, you would have no privacy. Fortunately, it was 1/4 full, so no problem. Bathrooms clean, nice warm showers! Nice beach, lots to do. Would be a fun place if you don’t mind camping next to neighbors!

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Dakins Lake County Park
    Jun. 17, 2024

    Dakins Lake County Park

    Very Nice!

    Stayed a weekend here and was very enjoyable! This looks to be a relatively new campground as the trees are still very young and, therefore, not much shade. It was windy that weekend so plenty of air circulation made it nice. High didn’t hit 90 until Sunday afternoon so didn’t even need air conditioning.

  • Greg K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Alden riverview campground
    May. 5, 2024

    Alden riverview campground

    15$! Alden Riverview Campground

    30/50/110 power. Drinking water and dump onsite but not on sites. Wifi! Hot showers, playground,boat launch,fire pits,grills,good camp host.town is right there 2 bars and restaurants. Gas station I think was 8 blocks up to the right. Been hard to find all this for 15 bucks a day!

  • c
    Camper-submitted photo from Camp At The Woods
    May. 3, 2024

    Camp At The Woods

    Open year round

    Very accommodating super nice people helped us back in and set up in middle of winter after dark after we had drove 2 days from the east coast. Our spot was on an incline but the water worked when temp was below freezing the camp was nice with new park for kids new basketball court new pavilion wish we could have been there in the summertime I’m sure the pool is nice when uncovered. I saw laundry and bathrooms by the river.

  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Rice Lake Wildlife Management Area
    Mar. 30, 2024

    Rice Lake Wildlife Management Area

    Good spot, but not exactly private

    It's a nice spot off of the main road. It's pretty quiet, but there aren't many spots to camp. When you come in on the dirt road, it hooks to the right, and you'll come upon a dirt cul-de-sac. On the right, you'll see a grassy area set into the woods where you could camp. Other than that, your parking in the perimeter. There's enough room that virtually any size camper could navigate into this spot, but if there are other people, that will really complicate your life.

    There is a boat launch and paths down each side of the launch you could fish. On the way in, you'll see a deck to the left, providing a scenic overlook. There's also a spot there you could potentially park, but you'll be very exposed if there is any foot traffic.

  • Pam H.
    Camper-submitted photo from Grotto Campground
    Sep. 5, 2023

    Grotto Campground

    Nice quiet camping

    Stopped for the night , so I could see the Grotto in the morning. Very clean restrooms/showers. Only one other camper here. Shaded spots, great Wi-Fi, good cell service. Next to train tracks but only one train came by and it wasn’t loud. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area. You pay at the gift shop across the street. $20 for RV and $10 for tent.

  • Becky M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Clear Lake State Park Campground
    Jul. 3, 2023

    Clear Lake State Park Campground

    Great State Park

    This is our second time camping at the Clear Lake State Park. The park is clean, the shower house is nice. It’s hard to control the temperature in the showers, too hot for little kids to stand directly in the water. The playground was fun for the kids, nice beach access! Limited full hook up sites. I wish there were more full hook ups that you could reserve. Paved roads are great for bike riding. Great shaded spots. DNR cruises the park daily which is nice to see.

  • C
    Camper-submitted photo from MacNider Campground
    Jun. 23, 2023

    MacNider Campground

    Pretty good

    Was a quick stop. Surprised when we pulled up it was only $19 a night for only electric & $28 for full hook ups. We came in the end of June & it is not too busy. Still plenty of parking. There is a community pool right beside the camp.

  • R
    Camper-submitted photo from The Grotto of the Redemption RV Park
    Jun. 22, 2023

    The Grotto of the Redemption RV Park

    Nice place to stop while visiting the Grotto

    We stayed at the Grotto of the Redemption RV park for two nights. We were in our class C while slowly making our way across the country. We had no problems getting a spot here. There are two areas. One is very close to a train line, which runs infrequently. Sites are grass, level, and reasonably well maintained. All sites are pull through. Only electrical hookups are available at the sites. This is in good condition. There is fresh water and a dump station available. Each site has a nice grassy area and there are plenty of large trees. Staff was very friendly and helpful. There was a park nearby with a playground. 

    The RV park is near the Grotto. The Grotto is a fascinating achievement worth a look if you are in the area.

    We had 2 bar LTE with Verizon. Our hotspot was usable and performed very well. Campground wifi was not available.

    We enjoyed our brief stay at this campground. We will stay again when traveling this way.

  • V
    Camper-submitted photo from Clear Lake State Park Campground
    Jun. 12, 2023

    Clear Lake State Park Campground

    Nice place

    Overall nice place to stay. We stay each year with family so there are about 4 of our campers all there together.distance between sites can be wide or narrow depending on which site you’re on.

    Pros: Clean/well maintained, easy short path through the trees to get to the beach, sturdy picnic tables all around, long “driveway” for campsite

    Cons: pads are gravel and not very level, pads are very narrow, beyond the trees on one side of the campground is a major road so you’ll hear cars passing by, not a lot of restroom/bathhouses

  • Becky M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Clear Lake State Park Campground
    Jun. 10, 2023

    Clear Lake State Park Campground

    Very clean park!

    We spent 4 days here and the park is a busy place! Very clean!!!!! Dump station was easy access! We were right by the shower houses. Check in and out was simple. We made our reservations online. The park had paved roads, great for bike riding, playground was a hit! The sunset was gorgeous in the evenings at the beach! We will be back!

  • Jeannie D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Featherstone County Park
    May. 25, 2023

    Featherstone County Park

    Snug

    Snug if you have slide outs, must watch to see you don't hit neighbor's trailer as you extend. Awnings literally touch neighbors. Crazy good time, if that's what you're into. I like the cabins!

  • Jeannie D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Joe Sheldon County Park
    May. 25, 2023

    Joe Sheldon County Park

    Beautiful hiking!

    This is a lovely and expanding park. Spacious, level pull through sites with full hookups. Decent Verizon coverage. Shower houses could use updates.

  • Jeannie D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Briggs Woods Park
    May. 25, 2023

    Briggs Woods Park

    Pretty place

    Nice camp, decent sites, GREAT buddy sites! Cell service is null, and no wifi. We do love the hiking over here!

  • Jeannie D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Kennedy County Park
    May. 25, 2023

    Kennedy County Park

    Getting away from it ALL!

    Decent smaller county park with newly installed blacktop trail around lake and golfcourse next door. No cell service provider functions in this park. The WIFI is shared between dozens of sites, speed averages right around 5mps. The rest of everything out here is WONDERFUL! Great neighbors, wildlife, the trail, fishing, boating, the playground… everything else is wonderful.

  • Jeannie D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Dolliver Memorial State Park Campground
    May. 25, 2023

    Dolliver Memorial State Park Campground

    Love Dolliver

    One of my favorite hiking spots! Camping here is comfortable enough. Sites can be a little squat in the middle loops, and no fhu. Antenna coverage is fine for catching your evening weather report, but cell service cuts out as you drive down into the park, and does not resume until you come back up and out. There's no wifi, and I'm not sure how satellite service would fare down here. Our Dish barely kept up with the antenna, so I'm guessing satellite's a meh. If you have anything you'd like to listen to or watch, download it before going in. But, honestly, the hiking is so good, it'd be silly to worry about much of anything down here. I rarely do.

  • Jeannie D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Webster County Kennedy Park Campground
    May. 25, 2023

    Webster County Kennedy Park Campground

    No Service

    Great sites, phenomenol hosts. LOVE the playground, and the culture; this is home during the summer months. Terrible WIFI, absolutely no cell coverage out here. Not sure how they justify raising camping rates here if the ameneties do not reflect modern needs for family enjoyment. Yes we like smores, and watching the birds, and fishing, and hiking; but so help me, we like our Netflix too, and I sure would like to be able to watch the weather report. Even Dish coverage is spotty out here. It's weird, we're not down in a valley or anything. Not sure why this is such a dead zone out here.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve
    Mar. 25, 2023

    Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve

    Layout of campground would be challenging if full

    General: A mixture of tent (non-electric) and electric sites, mostly arranged in several rows. 

    Site Quality: Mixed. Not all sites are level, and most do not have delineated parking pads (there is a small pavement indent to show where to access the site). A fire pit and picnic table complete the site. Most of the sites are too close together for our liking, however, when we were there (a Monday at the end of August, the day before school started), we were only one of three sites occupied so for our stay it didn’t matter. 

    Bathhouse: Basic but clean. My biggest complaint is there were no hooks or shelves for toiletries by the sinks. The showers looked nice but we did not use them. 

    Activities: Horseback riding (there are trails for this), hiking, fishing. Although we did see several trailheads, I did not have a map so didn’t explore them. There is an observation tower, but it is a two-mile walk/drive from the campground (on paved roads; I didn’t try to find hiking trails to get there). 

    Misc: A shout-out to the great host, Pam, who greeted us as we arrived. The observation tower, entrance gates, and picnic shelter were all constructed by the CCC and were beautiful. It almost seemed like the campground was an afterthought as it is outside the entrance gates and nowhere near the tower. The layout of the campground would be challenging if all sites were occupied.

  • D
    Camper-submitted photo from Beeds Lake State Park — Beed's Lake State Park
    Oct. 28, 2022

    Beeds Lake State Park — Beed's Lake State Park

    Poor Layout

    Over half of the campsites are parallel parking. That means if you don’t know the person camping across from you, you’ll be staring at a stranger just a few feet away during your stay. Nice lake with a picturesque dam.



Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular tent campsite near Clarion, IA?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Clarion, IA is Big Wall Lake Wildlife Management Area with a 2.7-star rating from 3 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find tent camping near Clarion, IA?

    TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Clarion, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.