Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Council Bluffs, IA

Park has easy access from Highway. Nice mix pull-through and back-in sites. Pet friendly with large dog park and plenty of green space with mature trees.

Coming from MO, Nebraska is usually just a one night stop for us (as we head onto bigger and cooler states). We were happy to find this clean RV park near Nebraska City. Big, but quiet. Friendly staff. Homey. Green space. Great dog park.

We were passing through Nebraska and opted to stay the night here. The campground is new and will be even nicer when the trees are big enough to provide shade. We only stayed one night but enjoyed the walk to the small waterfall in the park. There is a large dog park, clean restrooms and nice trails for walking.

Platte River State Park is a beautiful, full service park with plenty of amenities. There are playgrounds and a splash pad for the kids, canoe rentals, and plenty of trails to hike or bike. Sites are concrete pads with full hookups and include a fire ring and picnic table. The campground also has a bathroom and dog park. 5 bars of AT&T @ 120Mbps!

This was a one night visit in June 2012 and we arrived very late after visiting St. Joseph, Mo Pony express museum that day we decided to keep driving which put us in council bluffs, IA just outside of Omaha at dinner time. We were blessed to get a site here later that had electric which is a plus and It was a very inexpensive site at only $16.00. I do remember there being a beautiful Lake which I wish we could have enjoyed but such is life when you are on a schedule to get to another destination. This park has swimming, boating, hiking, biking, restrooms and picnic area Apparently the campground has been closed since last fall and only shelters and a youth group area are available to rent.

We only stayed here one night but would have gladly stayed longer. We didn't use everything but it seems to have all the amenities you might need - full hookups, propane, showers, laundry, dog park, play space for kids.

We were pretty close to our neighbors but not so close that it felt uncomfortable. Staff accommodated our need for a late check-in and even called to make sure we knew how to get to our site.

Really beautiful surrounding landscape and not too much road noise. Not sure if that might change depending on the site.

All in all, a good experience!

If you are in the Omaha metro you should head across the river and checkout Hitchcock Nature Center just North of Council Bluffs. This is one of my favorite places to camp. All of the campsites are considered "back country" but don't worry, I think the furthest campsite is about three miles.

My preference is getting one of the campsites on the western edge of the park on top of the ridge. At night you can see the Omaha skyline lit up and the breeze running through there is wonderful.

Hitchcock is smack dab in the loess hills which is one of only two places in the world with the hill formations. The other place is in China.

The trail system isn't huge because of the size of the park, but it has a lot of up and down and is a great place to practice backpacking or test new gear before you leave the plains and head to the rocky mountains for a new adventure.

When your done with your hiking, climb up to the top of the towering platform and bring your binoculars to checkout the visiting hawks and occasional eagle. Don't pass up Hitchcock Nature Center.

Victorian Acres was fine for one night. Not a lot to say about it. It backs up to the highway, but after a long day of driving we slept through the noise. There weren’t any fire pits because “it was too cold”. That’s exactly why we wanted one. The bathhouse was ok. The women’s bathroom was fine, even large for the size of the campground. Unfortunately, both toilets in the men’s bathroom were backed up and broken, huge bummer! 💩 There was a small dog park , we didn’t get to use it since we got in late and left early so I cannot comment on the condition. We were on site 55, easy to access and leave from. It was sort of level, but we still felt like we were tipping sideways a bit in the van. There were 30amp electric and water hookups.

I stayed at site 239 (tent) which seems to be the least busy area. There are nice docks for fishing and boating. A nice closed off area for swimming, but not area allows pets to swim. Very polite employees. Showers are kinda expensive and expect to hear the tracks right behind the camping area. I think a pet/person swim area would be nice but other than that it was a good stay.

It appears not many people camp in Iowa in February. We had the campground to ourselves. We missed the crazy cold and snow by a day but it was 20 degree with the wind when I hiked the prairie. Lovely little state park, clean and the trail system was pretty neat. Wasn't perfectly flat and had some overlooks. Very much enjoyed!

We primary stop by this site for fishing as the lake is regularly stocked. It's great for kayaking or small boats. There is very little shade available at this campground as it is a man-made area so bring the sunscreen. Fires are allowed and pets must be on leash. RV sites and tent camping site are available.

This is easily the coolest state park I’ve ever visited. On a walk from my campsite, I went by the marina, disc golf course, conservatory, activity center, stables and ropes course. It’s a bit pricey for camping and, my biggest pet peeve of a campsite, I can hear the interstate from my tent. But, overall, it’s a nice site, and I’d probably return.

Oh, bring bug spray!!!!!

Right next to the event center, tent or rv camping is allowed. Depending on what's happening that day, it can be quiet or very busy. All sites are gravel and have electrical hookups. Internet is available throughout the area. Fires must be contained in an enclosed fire pit and pets must be kept on leash at all times. You can use the arena for showering during the day which is incredibly helpful.

I only stayed the night, but as I was walking my dogs I saw the camp. Everywhere you turn there was something to do. Good fun.

Centrally located and walkable. There is a small lake close by that we walked the dogs too. Also 20 minute bike ride to GSR Casino. I appreciated the free filtered water dispenser in the office.

Had a great time at this state park. Nice clean facilities. Great friendly staff. The fishing was good. Had great neighbors. Plenty of things to do and geocaches were fun. Took part in a birding adventure put on by the state. Learned a lot. Raccoons were going thru the trash cans at night and they were as big or bigger compared to some of the dogs in our campsite.

We stayed in a teepee which was a first for us. The teepee area has about 8 teepees, each on a platform. Short walk in but a wagon is provided to help unload equipment. Picnic and fire pit near the teepee. We did have a raccoon one night, he thought about checking out the tepee while we sitting around the fire but my dog's bark scared him away. Lots of hiking in the area.

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.

Lake Cunningham is a fun destination for getting outside if you only have an afternoon to escape! The lake itself is great for kayaking, paddle boarding, and sailing! People do swim near the beach area but it is technically not allowed. I like the beach for letting my dog swim! If you want to adventure but don’t have your own gear there is a cute little paddle board shop that rents boards and kayaks by the hour. They also offer classes!

Camping in the teepee was hands down our worst camping experience ever. The teepee was hot, dirty and falling apart. We stayed in the“big chief” teepee and it was on a horrible slope with tons of ruts on nothing but bare uneven dirt. There was no privacy as the other two teepees beyond this one were set up so other campers were constantly walking by your camp. Even the door placement to the teepees were bad. There was a more well placed teepee they save for first come first serve camping, not reserved camping. That makes no sense. The worst teepee should be reserved for unreserved campers. There are also bike trails directly around the teepees so in daylight, meaning early and late, you will hear groups of bikers riding around a technical course and lots of whooping and cheering as well as hard landings. To make things worse, they didn’t tell us about an ROTC event they were hosting in the park where groups of ROTC young people were constantly walking by our camp from early morning to afternoon, looking for markers for a kind of seek out practice for them. This was highly disturbing. Zero calm and privacy. The teepee was shabby and the indoor outdoor carpet was dirty and old, and you got the feeling you were sleeping and living over everyone else’s ick. Also, right over the teepee there were loads of huge dead oak branches. With the high winds, we were pretty scared a branch might fall on us. It’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt, or worse. There were many loud people in cabins with dogs, even dogs barking and crazy dogs running loose the whole time we were there. There was also a lot of trash and littered personal items scattered around in the woods and on the campground area. In the end, it is a very poorly planned campground for comfort, beauty, safety and privacy. We would have been better off to stay home. Like many things now, Platte River State Park feels overrun with activity and under preserved. The exact opposite of why one wants to get away from the city and camp in nature. Waste of time and money.

Great fishing and kayaking lake!  Bike path goes all the way around the lake. Sites are large and spaced out. I prefer the ones along the water but you have to book early to get one. A special permit is required to camp there. That is a bit of a bummer because you used to not need that. The town of Wahoo has a cool butcher shop, so I always plan to pick up steaks, hot dogs or other grillable items for one night's dinner.