Decorah is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Decorah is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Find the best campgrounds near Decorah, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
"Excellent staff. One of the best kept campgrounds I've been to. Between the campground and the nearby towns, there is easily two weeks of activities to do. More depending on the time of year you go."
"We booked a spot for our RV because we wanted to explore the Decorah,IA area and it’s abundant set of activities."
$25 / night
"The camping sites also have large tall trees where a camper should be parked which causes you to park way to close to the fire pit."
"Gorgeous bluffs and river to camp right next to! Can’t wait to go back!"
"As someone who bicycle tours I appreciated fire wood being on site and close to where the tent area is. The bathrooms aren’t the best but they worked."
"Lake Meyer sits atop a hill above the Lake. Beautiful trails with lots of wild life. Even an eagles nest. There are hook ups and water."
"Includes electric and water and showers and firewood. Best value I have found yet. They have a bunch o pavilions and facilities. Pool, tennis, lake."
"Free firewood, free wifi, water and electric at each campsite. Found a nice shady site for tent camping."
$35 / night
"There are so many activities to do both within the park and surrounding areas, but my most favorite thing to do was walk the endless miles of hiking trails."
"It can be a little confusing because the camping and mystery caves are a distance apart. I highly recommend going to the caves."
$30 - $46 / night
"Located on the Root River. Cliff View has very clean bath houses. Lots of sites to choose from. 50 amp service, sewer hook up and of course water. If your close enough to the office wifi available."
"Situated right along the Root River next to the bike trail. They offer kayak, canoe and tube rentals and shuttles. They also have bike rentals.
This facility is clean and very well kept."
"Our site was very large, which was nice as it gave us more than enough room to set up our tent, leaving space between us and the neighboring sites."
"It was located right on the Root River Trail System which we liked for biking and running."
$25 - $39 / night
"The cart in sites all have a fire pit with a grill, picnic table, and are a short walk from the primitive toilets. There is a water spigot in the parking area."
"I enjoy camping away from the hub bub of the family campground and opting for the backpack or cart in sites. Luckily, Great River Bluffs has some of the nicest cart ins I have encountered."
TravelerOverall great experience! Located on the Root River. Cliff View has very clean bath houses. Lots of sites to choose from. 50 amp service, sewer hook up and of course water. If your close enough to the office wifi available. Some sites are tight for large motor homes, 5th wheelers and tavel trailer. If your a bicyclist, campgrounds on great paved trail. They like their grass, no rugs or carpet on the grass. I take this as a positive. Dogs n cats are welcome. Lots of seasonal sites. Camping during the week is quite!
TravelerThe cart in sites all have a fire pit with a grill, picnic table, and are a short walk from the primitive toilets. There is a water spigot in the parking area. They have 4-5 wheelbarrows to use as carts to get your stuff to the site. Each site could comfortably hold 3 to 4 tents. They are on a path for an out and back hike so expect some passers by. Cart in 1 and 2 are fairly close to the parking area and are less secluded from each other. 3 and 4 are more secluded. Site 3 offers more shade and 4 looks to have recently had some trees cut down and is fairly open air. Overall the trails are well maintained and accessible from the cart in area. They provide some nice views of the river and you can easily hike the area in a day. It’s by no means a secluded area if you’re looking to get away from road noise or other people. All in all it makes for a nice weekend getaway.
LegendWhat's Appealing?
This campground is nestled in the woods above the Mississippi River. There's a beautiful view from King's Bluff Overlook which is about a 2.5 mile roundtrip from the parking area. You could make it about 5.5 miles if you hike from campground. There are also short walks to a few other overlooks.
We were just spending the night but I'm not sure there's anything else to do. The information sheet says there are 7 miles of hiking trails, but there really isn't anything interesting other than the overlooks. It was a quiet place for a one night stay.
I think fall would be the best time to visit after the mosquitoes are gone and when the leaves have turned. Winter would also be good. There are 9 miles of groomed X-country ski trails; you need a MN Ski Pass.
The Basics
There are 31 pull in/back in sites (38 is the highest number but some numbers are skipped), 4 cart in sites, and 5 sites for bicyclists (off the Great River Road bike route below the campground across from the Mississippi River). The sites are spacious and shaded and have a picnic table and fire pit.
Very Basic Campground
There's a bathroom with toilets, showers, and sinks. The showers are push button so you get no heat control and the water shuts off after about 30 seconds. There are also pit toilets that may be closer to your site. Drinking water and trash dumpsters are near the bathroom.
Cost
It's $19 plus the $7 MN state park fee. There was no camp host on site, but I saw a ranger drive through. We have a MN parks sticker on our window and paid online the day we came in because the office was closed. There was no online reservation fee when we paid online on the day of our stay.
.
GuideI enjoy camping away from the hub bub of the family campground and opting for the backpack or cart in sites. Luckily, Great River Bluffs has some of the nicest cart ins I have encountered.
The 5 sites are well spaced out with lots of trees, nice flat tent pads, a newer clean vault and good fresh water both within a short distance of all the sites.
The surrounding hiking trails feature incredible views of the Mississippi River valley, high upon a bluff. The sites are away from the heavy foot traffic of picnic areas and primary hiking trails, though during the day there will be a few hikers walking the trail down the middle of the cart site trail to get to a fantastic lookout site. There weren't tons of people but it might bother those that don't want to see anyone while there.
There are two vault toilets. One at the parking lot and one between camp site 3 and 4. If you want a shower, you have to drive up to the family campground which is a good half mile away.
LegendStayed here in the fall. Had a site right next to the bathroom big enough for 2 tents and 2 vehicles. Hikes here offer great views of the river and bluffs and the fall colors are gorgeous!!! site came with a fire pit with grate and a picnic table. I did not use the grate for cooking as I camp with a blackstone as grates tend to be dirty. When I do use the fire for cooking, I always use a cast iron pan rather than cooking directly on the grate. pictures are from before my friend arrived with their vehicle and tent. They parked directly in front of my car and put their tent near the parking barricade close to the bathroom. My dog enjoyed all the room he had at this site!
LegendThis park fell short in so many ways. Having stayed in other Yogi Bear's we were expecting similar accommodations. I will say they had a lot of rain and it did affect most of the campground. We booked over the phone for two nights. It was nearly $90 for those two nights. This is pretty spendy for us but we were meeting friends there. We arrived at the campground and were given site 14. It as across from our friends cabin so it should have been good. However, we got to our site on a very poorly maintained road only to find the site did not have a fire pit or a picnic table. It was extremely tiny, barely big enough for our truck and definitely not enough room for our two tents. The site was covered in sticks and debris and there was trash bags in front of the cabin across the washed out road. We went down to voice our concern that this was just not going to work and they said to try site 13. Even worse then 14. It was a grass spot, mowed out, no place to park a vehicle, which I'm glad I left at the bottom of the hill, extremely narrow, washed out road going to site 13. There still was no picnic table but there was a fire pit. Stated this is just not going to work. We paid way too much for so little accommodations. They said they couldn't refund or move us to an electric site (we didn't need electric but the two previously mentioned sites were not going to work) without talking to their boss. After already spending 28 days in a tent, across the country, I was pretty upset that this yogi bear was so bad. They did end up moving me to site 17, which was one of the few that did not have a completely flooded fire ring. Which leads to the next things, almost all of the grounds were completely flooded. Fire rings couldn't even be seen they were so far under water. To walk to any part of the park involved getting your feet wet. The playground swings were above water making it difficult for the kids to reach them without getting really wet. There had been no attempts to move any water from the storms making it difficult to enjoy parts of the park. The pool was pretty cold but I suppose it is Wisconsin. The staff did have many events going on but if you were early, you wouldn't even know the events were going on. They showed up right on time and then had to set up. But they did do a variety of races and had a pirates and princess dance. They brought in actual hair dressers to do the little girls hair for them. That was something the girls in the group enjoyed. They also had cartoons playing in the evenings. The kids also enjoyed that. Overall, I would never return, there are so many really nice parks in Wisconsin for way less money. This was not worth it at all.
ScoutThis is a great little park if you need a place to stop for the night. It was very inexpensive for tents ($10 I think) and the tent camping area was very nice with 3 giant pine trees and some picnic tables and fire rings. As someone who bicycle tours I appreciated fire wood being on site and close to where the tent area is. The bathrooms aren’t the best but they worked. Overall its a safe, clean, welcoming campground for both tents and RV’s.
GuideMy friends and I have mixed feelings about this place. We thought it was beautiful. Loved our quick hikes (don’t need more than 2.5 hours here to hike a lot of the trails).
We camped one night here at the cart in campsites. Sites were nice with fire pits , nearby vault toilets (2 of them and super clean with TP and hand sanitizer), and an easy path to get to and from car. Site 4 recently had all the trees cut down.
However, two thirds of us slept no more than 4 hours total. Highway noise from the highway running along the river and from I-90 (while not really noticeable during the day) is ridiculously loud at night. [I live on the main street through Uptown Minneapolis—I can sleep through a lot of traffic noise—but this was loud!] Added to this were the half dozen trains that ran through the night (horns going off too) AND the light aircraft flying into Lacrosse airport (which is only 10-15 mins away).
I would never camp here again. Which is a shame because the campsites are great.
TravelerExcellent staff. One of the best kept campgrounds I've been to. Between the campground and the nearby towns, there is easily two weeks of activities to do. More depending on the time of year you go. They offer canoeing, kayaking, tubing, sand volleyball court, shower facilities, water and electrical hookups, cabins, picnic shelter, and firewood on site. Go to http://www.chimneyrocks.com for more information
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Decorah, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Decorah, IA is Chimney Rock Canoe and Campground with a 4.8-star rating from 6 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Decorah, IA?
TheDyrt.com has all 17 glamping camping locations near Decorah, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
