Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Denison? The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Denison's most popular destinations.
Preparation Canyon State Park, in the heart of the Loess Hills in western Iowa, encompasses 344 acres, including what used to be the town of Preparation. Today, Preparation Canyon is a quiet enclave offering backcountry hiking, picnicking and beautiful views of the unique Loess Hills.
Camp in one of ten hike-in camping sites, which are some of the only hike-in sites in the Iowa state park system. The trailhead to the hike-in sites is located in the southeast corner of the park. The sites each have a table and fire ring, but no bathroom facilities. Registration is on a first-come first-served basis with self-registration in the east parking lot.
$9 / night
$15 / night
Guide
We tent camped in the modern loop. Bathroom was clean, lit, and stocked - even had hand sanitizer! RV loops had flush toilets and showers, but we didn’t stay long enough to make the trek worth it. The walk down to the tent sites was annoying at worst, but plenty doable. Campsites were level enough, and there were a few sites with pads. Lots of ticks to look out for. There’s an airfield nearby so plane noise was regular but not frequent. Wifi didn’t quite reach the tent campsites; nor did Verizon service, but T-Mobile was good. All around a fine campground.
ScoutThis is my favorite place to tent camp! Nice bathhouse, and even the pit toilet is clean and unoffensive. Tent sites are spacious and most are separated by lots of trees so there's plenty of shade, privacy, and wildlife. Firewood is available and hiking trails are nearby. Unfortunately, I have to find a new favorite spot because I can no longer lug my gear up and down the hill between my car and my tent.
Traveler
I arrived just in time to see the beautiful sunset over the small lake near the primitive campground closest to the Park Office. It only cost $10 for tent camping and $3 for a vehicle pass. Campground and vault toilets were pretty clean. There is a fire ring and picnic table at each tent campsite and there are plenty to choose from near the water. You can bring your own kayak or canoe and even fish here. We had a nice encounter from the campground employee who explained how to put the stake out to claim our campsite. Right away, I saw abundant wildlife, including turkey, deer, black squirrels, woodpeckers, geese, ducks and bats. Come prepared for the mosquitoes but overall I would highly recommend this place!
GuideOur family and another family shared a primitive tent site near the back of the park. We were first and foremost impressed with the freedom we had in choosing our site. Tent camping here is non-reservable, but once you enter the park, you may choose from any spots containing a fire pit outside of RV loops. Tent sites range from lake-front, to playground side, to more private sites on the outer rim of the park. We chose a large, private site at the back of the park. This site was well maintained and had enough space to easily accommodate two families of four. We even had a picnic shelter all to ourselves. Our site was lined by woods and farmland and had a good view of a small pond. The night was full of exciting animal noises from both the nearby farm and pond. Vault toilets were a short walk away with clean shower facilities just a few loops away. The kids enjoyed riding bikes up and down gravel roads, looking for frogs, and playing on the playground. Canoe and paddle boat rental is extremely reasonable. Hiking trails near the park entrance are rugged. The staff was incredibly kind and easy-going, yet attentive. Just a short drive from neighboring towns, this is a good starter campground for families with younger kids. We hope to return in winter to check out the camping cabins.
TravelerWe camped in a tent and it was $10 so great and the bathrooms were super clean
Legend
Nice smaller park with good tent sites on Missouri River and next to DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.
Traveler
Was it expecting how nice this campground was compared to more primitive ones in the area. Beautiful site! Has tent camping, full rv hook ups, and a nice playground for the kids.
TravelerA nice campground . The tent sites are nicely spaced. The rv sites are pretty close together. Nice clean showers and toilets.
TravelerThe park has cabins, rv sites, tent camping and backcountry hike in camping. The nature center is a nice place to cool down the the summer and learn about the loess hills. The backcountry campsite have pads with pea gravel for tents and fire rings. Nice and quiet.
ScoutI like that you can tent camp anywhere in the Camp area down by the lake with all your friends close by. the trails and playground equipment is nice and the fishing is great! Great Lake for kayaks or canoes as well.
GuideThe people who run this campground are really nice! There are really none camping and only 10 dollars a night with electricity for a tent site. Showers and large campsites.
LegendThe sites for tent camping are okay pretty close together and down a hill, no parking next to your site. There are also pack in sites available and depending on location very nice. There are electic hook ups and cabins to. The bathrooms are a vault toilet.
GuideOne of our favorite places to camp when we don't want to go too far from home. We've RV camped there several times and I plan on doing some tent camping there as well. Nice little hiking trails and a fun Geocache find (if you're into that sort of thing). Great prices!
Scout
Perfect place to get away for the weekend. Grounds are clean bathrooms are clean. Shout out to Dave the park ranger for being very generous. We drove from Davenport to stay here for Father’s Day weekend and we will definitely be back. You also can tent camp right next to the water as well. Love it!
RangerThe campsite seems to be more for RVs. Tent camping is just a field with a few picnic tables in it and has a bit of a walk from the parking lot with your equipment. The shower house was nice and clean. There is a barn there to use as a picnic shelter which is very pretty. The overall campground is pleasant and in beautiful country.
Guide
We've tent camped twice at Springbrook, and though it's not perfect, it's a nice campground we plan to keep coming back to for a number of reasons.
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, a nice place to fish (but don't expect to catch anything) and its beach is fun on the hot summer days, and tends to not be too busy. Has lots of benches around to sit and enjoy the view.
-No cell reception, which could be a "con" but we like that it forces us to unplug
Cons:
-Tent camping spots are clustered mainly in the middle of a loop, which feels a bit like a fishbowl with no privacy
-It's mainly an RV/camper campground, which can be loud/rowdy at night for tent campers. Lots of parties happening the two weekends we were there. Definitely don't recommend if you want a peaceful weekend away from the world.
-Other than hiking and a bit of swimming/fishing, there's not much to do
-Firewood is a short drive from the campground, which can get inconvenient
ScoutArrowhead campground has 60 RV sites that support both 30 and 50 amp hookups. They have several well water stations to take on water and a sewer dump station. There also lots of tent camping sites. All sites come with picnic table and fire ring. There are numerous nature trails to hike ranging from easy to hard. There is also a nice sized lake for fishing, canoeing, and paddle boats. The lake has a boat ram for small fishing boats. Very well maintained, managed, and friendly atmosphere.
LegendThe tent campsites are close together in the campground all of them have fire rings with grates. There is a vault toliet just up from the site. There are also a lot of hike in sites that are equiped with a fire ring, no bathrooms though. Tons of hiking trails ranging from hard to easy. Plenty of RV spots and they have cabins
TravelerStayed here for one night while on a road trip. Not a bad place to stop for the night, we were able to take the dogs hiking and didn’t have a problem. The tent sites are open but they aren’t on top of each other, the RV sites seemed close together but we only walked by it so I can’t say for sure. Everyone was super friendly and we didn’t have any issues even though it was a very busy weekend, would definitely recommend this place!
Ranger
Just 2 miles south of I80 but a world apart. This is a great stop if traveling I80. It is a bargain at $20 for full hookups. They have tent sites also.
The park is clean and clearly under utilized as there were only 3 of us in a park with more than 40 sites.
It is very quiet, right in small town America. I saw two tractors driving through town and only a few more cars.
Best of all we had a full 5 bars of ripping Verizon service. What's not to like?
Guide
Our family of four tent camped one night at an electric lake front site. Sites are close together, but we had no neighbors so we had our privacy. The outhouse style bathroom was clean, but flies were abundant. The grounds were well maintained and DNR staff was very helpful. They even helped us with a small bike repair. The kids enjoyed biking and swimming. The whole family enjoyed prairie wildlife such as a blue heron, geese, bald eagles, frogs etc. The hiking trails were well cut out and offered views of the lake, woods, and natural prairie. Showers, no wake boating, and fishing were also available. We would have been happy to stay a few more days!
TravelerStopped overnight in late August. Did not want to drag our gear up/down a hill to the tent campsites in the lower loop. Paid more to stay in the upper RV loop where we listened to a neighbor's generator all night. Pretty buggy. Showers/toilets okay. Note there are at least 2 railroads running nearby in the wee hours of the morning. Also, this is on the flight path for jets leaving (I assume) the Omaha airport. Not a restful night--won't be back.
Guideso glad to get off the road! and it is a sweet spot and affordable. it’s full with lively folks who are seeming not to take covid-19 too seriously. but we are outdoors, so hearing the happy sounds of family and friends, over decent country music feels like a balm tonight.
this morning i see what the 5 star reviews are about — the tent camping and the setting. just day use getting off the road for a rest or picnic, this is a 5-star recommend.
also, ideal for kids, fishing, and combination of the two.
why 4 stars? many rv sites like the one i got are right up next to each other. people take the entire site with rugs, dogs, tents, you name it. so zero privacy, zero peace and quiet.
TravelerStayed here for one night on a cross country trip the Monday before Labor Day. RV sites were fairly full already. We arrived early afternoon and opted to cook dinner at our tent site before setting up camp for the night. Good idea since the nearest day-use picnic shelter was occupied by a rather loud drunk couple who kept shouting at us they were leaving soon—they did leave once but only to buy more liquor! We packed it in and found a more secluded site. A huge storm rolled through the area and we ended up sleeping in our van. Really appreciated the clean shower house (single occupancy/locking) with plenty of hot water! Would like to come back and spend more time.
Scout
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.
GuideWe stayed during the campground's last weekend in October, and loved it. It was so gorgeous with all the fall colors, and it's really a gem of a campground.
Pros:
-Beautiful, huge lake with lots of pretty views
-Primitive spots are separated from electric spots, which is great if you're looking for quiet, peaceful tent camping
-Primitive spots are relatively private and generously sized, you don't feel like you're right on top of your neighbors
-Decent portapotty in close distance
-Plenty of picnic spots
-Electric spots are right along the lake, which offers beautiful views
-On-site firewood
Cons:
-Full modern bathrooms are a long walk/drive away
-Not much for activities
-Water hydrants are right in the middle of people's camping spots, so it feels awkward to grab water
-The only hiking trail is EXTREMELY poorly marked and when it ends (it doesn't tell you it's ending) you either have to just turn around or walk a mile along the busy highway with very small shoulder. We mistakenly took the highway expecting the trail to continue, but it didn't and it was very scary, 0/10 don't recommend.
-Not many walk-in spots
-Lots of primitive spots are on a hill, so your tent is a little sideways
-Not many dumpsters
-No lights in the portapotty, so you'll need a headlamp at night
EDITED TO ADD: We stayed again in May, and it was a great place to spend a weekend. Quiet, friendly but not a party crowd, and a nice, relaxing environment overall. Word on the streets (from the DNR warden) is that they’re looking into creating 2 more hiking trails too.
Traveler
Well kept & family friendly camping in Iowa! We were able to reserve an electric unit (#30) right off the lake and across the road from the large playground (~5 setups for different age groups). We could watch the kids play while getting food ready or preparing a line to throw in the water. Short walk to the very clean restrooms with flush toilets & showers. Will come back!
Tent camping near Denison, Iowa offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the scenic beauty of the region. With a variety of well-reviewed spots, campers can find the perfect setting for their outdoor adventures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Denison, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Denison, IA is Preparation Canyon State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 6 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 8 tent camping locations near Denison, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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