For those who want to get away from civilization for a weekend, but still want the comforts of home, consider renting a cabin for your Clear Lake camping trip. Find the best cabin camping near Clear Lake. Each cabin offers quick access to one or more of Clear Lake's most popular destinations.
$16 - $22 / night
This park has something for everyone. The trails take visitors around wet lowlands, oak savanna, and grasslands. Albert Lea Lake and park marshes draw hundreds of waterfowl during migration. Oak savanna and prairie landscape, including wetlands, dominate most of the park. One of the more unique aspects of the park is the 116-acre Big Island, covered with maple/basswood forest. Another is the glacial esker located in the northeast section of the park.
$14 - $22 / night
GuideGood little campground with tent,cabins and rv sites and reasonable
Scout
40 site Totally renovated 2 years ago nestled along the little Cedar river above the dam. New Shower house/bathrooms. Natural themed kids play area including a huge tree house. City water and sewer with 50 and 30 amp to each site. Man made swimming pond with a lighted waterfall. Volleyball and walking trails with primitive camping across the road. Cabin with air conditioning and fully furnished further up the river on 200 acres of county land. Fishing above and below the dam. Picnic table and fire ring at every site.
GuideGorgeous little park right on a series of small lakes. Camping is in grassy and forested area. You dive on grass and park next to a table and power outlet. Many of these spots are not level and seem better suited to tents than larger RVs but some spots could work for vans, class C or small class A RVs. I also saw one cabin for rent. This is all near the water and has bathrooms and a water faucet. I also noticed pretty good AT&T cell coverage here. This area has historically been bad for cell coverage so maybe that is improving.
Scout
This campground has a TON of sites! There are close to 60 sites in all, about a third to half of those are electric sites. If you like open spaces, this is a wonderful place to camp.
Beautiful, clean, and recently updated bathrooms and showers!
So much wildlife to see at this park. Seeing large groups of deer was a daily/nightly thing!
The park has 20+ miles of hiking trails through prairies, woodlands, and along the lake too! PLus the park offers geocashing (and free GPS rental), as well as canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, and a small fishing that can be rented!
A lot to offer here!
Scout
Beautiful campground. Well maintained. Nice facilities. You can’t beat this place for the price. Nice hiking trails too.
ScoutThis is our favorite place to camp. Never overcrowded, they have activities put in by Friends of Pilot Knob such as movie nights. Lots to do like hiking, biking, and fishing. Very clean bathhouse and bathrooms, park. Family friendly and quiet place to camp.
ScoutFor $12/night on a 30AMP hookup, I really can't complain. This is my first of many stops in the new RV, needed a place to camp out before getting it serviced the next day. Enjoyable scenery, especially at sunset
RangerPull through sites, bathhouse was clean and showers were individual room with timed lights, motion sensors kept the shower interesting! Got to see turtles laying eggs and deer were all around. Family loved the fishing.
ScoutI3rd got a few awesome things to see. Hiking trails. Picnic area. We have gone a grew times a year and love it!
ScoutPilot knob state park is a great place for a week long stay or just a few hours!
The camp ground is on the smaller side but it’s clean and there is a play ground! There is the town of Forest City just a few miles away and it has pretty much everything you need for a stock up for your next adventure!!
TravelerIf you are picking up a camper from Lichtsinn RV in Forest City they offer to let you stay on their lot with electric hookups during your pick up. But, we found it a little more private and less intimidating to set up camp down the road just a few miles at Plot Knob State Park. Nice level sites with electric hook ups, clean restrooms and showers. Gave us the opportunity to unload our car and figure out our new motorhome without feeling like we were being watched. We didn't explore to much but we noticed they have several hiking trails. Very nice and quiet.
TravelerLocated by New Ulm, MN this campground has plenty of activities in the park or very near the park. Plenty of hiking trails, playground for the kids, and an amazing sand bottom swimming pond surrounded by sand beach. Golf is also nearby at The New Ulm Country Club which is open to the public. Nice level sites with electric, picnic tables and fire rings.
GuideGreat hiking trails.
GuideNice 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.
GuideStandard 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 !
LegendGeneral: 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.
TravelerGreat spot for nature seekers. Great bike trails. Well spaced, quiet sites. Electric hookup for RV and easy dump station. Showers were what you can expect but good pressure and hot water. No where to swim in the lake.
GuideWe visited in early April so the sites were quite exposed, I can imagine they would be more private in the summer. Water and showers were not open yet as it was too cold but the vault toilets were well maintained.
TravelerWe stayed in White Fox Site 97 from September 13-15. No one was nearby until late in the evening on the 14th, so it felt very private and quiet. Although I know that is because the people in the campground were quiet... thank you! Tons of trails; paved, gravel, or grass; you can explore the entire park. We had a bit of rain and then it got hot again so it was super muggy. Of course that is the weather, not the park. The ranger was friendly and helpful. Great worry free trip, just like camping should be!
GuideWe stayed on the mainland campground White Fox in site #78, bordered on 3 sides by trees and shrubs for privacy. The bathroom/ shower facilities were very recently done. This park is unique as you can drive across a causeway and get on the Big Island which has more trails and another campground. We were here in May and the bugs were awful (I get it, they're part of being out in nature). At one point I just had to yell "RUN" at my partner as I fled with our dog because the may flies were swarming so thickly that it was all you could hear and see. Great park with lots of history, check it out and enjoy.
TravelerThis state park was a wonderful surprise! We first selected a site on Big Island however it wasnt for us. Due to the dense foliage there was little sun able to peak through, no grass for our dog to lay in, but it is beautiful if you like seclusion.
We moved to site 60E in the White Fox campground which is a perfect mix of sunshine, tree cover, wildlife and mowed grassy area. We have seen deer each night out the back of our rig. They offer Electric only sites but in White Fox there is water available between some of the sites. We have a hiking trail directly behind our site that we can hike for miles on. The hiking/biking trails are a mix of mowed grass, asphalt or through the dense forest - you can choose. Cell service has been very good just a bit slow at times. Shower and restroom facilities are extremely clean and well maintained.
TravelerThe facilities and space are beautifully kept. If you are looking for a swimming destination it might not be in my top ten, but they have tons of availability of watercraft! Most impressive part to me is their accessibility! They have a trek chair/track chair? Which for anyone wanting to hike with mobility issues it offers a lot of access.
GuideI've been using this as a night over stop before going on to the Black Hills or on my way back home. The first time I stayed the night over there it was a nightmare just because of this family or group of people showed up late and didn't comprehend quiet hours. So needless to say I had little to no sleep.
The other times I've stayed there it was quiet and not too many people around. Kind of buggy but that's expected with the water and all the shade.
TravelerMy best friend and I camp all the time with our pups! This park was lovely, it's on an island and we had a pretty amazing view!! We did a little hiking and enjoyed the semi empty campground only 10-15 people!! We saw a ton of wild life many many many deer!
GuideThis is a rustic state park with limited amenities. There are no water or electric hook ups. However clean water is available in the park. The park does have flush toilets and showers. We found these to be in good condition and clean. The showers had warm water. The water stream is on a timer and so are the lights. The shower stalls are Individual stalls. The interior roads are dirt roads with a few potholes they are very narrow. The camping sites are nice sized and relatively private. There is a gravel pad on each site and some have a tent pad. Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. There are plenty of walking and biking trails and there are walk-in tent camp sites. However, you cannot see the lake from the campground and there is no access to the lake from the campground. We were able to drive through the campground with our 40 foot fifth wheel. But just barely, be careful! 
GuideWe arrived on a Sunday and stopped at the Park Welcome area. We got the last spot with electric for 3 nights. Nice staff! Ice was available.
$34/night plus Minnesota State Park pass @ $8/day.😩
Not super spacious but very comfortable distance between spaces. Well maintained dirt road in campground. Grassy and mowed. Nice big trees! Water spigots. Very nice individual, clean rooms for showers.
Two separate campground loops in the White Fox area and another couple loops half mile down the road
The lake is gorgeous but just a few places to get to the water. Saw a sign on the park door saying kayaks and canoes available to rent.
Six miles of paved, but badly in need of care, is a bike path that meanders through thick forest and open grassy fields. Follows the lake and heads close to the town of Albert Lea.
We saw a guy setting out electric scooters that were available to rent which looked like fun!
Birds and deer abound.
Walmart 2 miles away!
GuideThis is a nice well-kept campground. That is a mix of primitive and electric only sites.. sites are spacious with most having trees between each of the campsites for privacy. And her in number of water stations in each camping loop where you can fill up your RV as well as an RV dump station that has a separate spigot for water fill also. There are a couple of primitive vault toilets as well as a restroom and shower facility in between both loops. The reservation was $24 a night but when you get to the office to check in you also have to purchase a $7 per day vehicle permit so that you can drive your personal vehicle and the park. So with I told vehicle and the additional vehicle it was an extra $14 per night. Oh no it's a really nice campground I'll be a little pricey for primitive camping. We're averaging 10 to 12 Mbps on T-Mobile and probably about the same for Verizon.
Cabin camping near Clear Lake, Iowa offers a serene escape into nature, complete with cozy accommodations and a variety of outdoor activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Clear Lake, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Clear Lake, IA is Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve with a 4.3-star rating from 12 reviews.
What is the best site to find cabin camping near Clear Lake, IA?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 cabin camping locations near Clear Lake, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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