Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Dyersville, IA

CG offers gravel pads, tables, fire rings, electric, sump station, water, small pond with fishing, paddling, dog park. Close to stores for supplies, dining, fuel.

CG lies within Maquoketa and is seasonal. Has pond for fishing, shelter, dog park, playset, disc golf course. Sites are pulling, have electric and fire pits. Camp supplies including wood in nearby stores. Prairie Creek runs along south of CG.

I enjoyed my 5 night stay at Oelwein City Park Campground. It's located on the south end of town, there is only one business within walking distance. It's a great restaurant (Oelwein Family Restaurant) and it's about a 15 minute walk.

There is one shower house, and several vault toilets throughout the park. The shower house is old and a little run down but was very clean. I had no problems using it.

The city park is adjacent to the campground and has picnic shelters, a playground, and a dog park.

There are electric and water hookups at most sites, and there is a dump station. The park was pretty full on the weekend as you would expect, but very quiet during the week.

I had great Verizon and T-mobile service here.

Came in late but found a spot, only 6 first come fist serve camping sites. I was a quarter mile from the next nearest site. Certainly a tent oriented campground, RV’s would have a difficult time. Will certainly stay here again. The hiking trail was perfect for a morning stroll with my dog and coffee and there certainly is a petting zoo (my German Shepard was a little uncertain about the goats)

This is one of our favorite parks in the Midwest. We usually make a day trip from Chicagoland, but this time we camped at the park. We are glad we did!

You really can't go wrong with any trail or cave. The kids enjoyed hiking between Lower- and Upper-Dancehall Caves. The trail goes underground and through some water. Window Cave was also a hit. You can climb up about 5-7 feet and out the "window". The kids felt like real spelunkers!

While the park is usually crowded during the day, we find it nearly empty beginning in the late afternoons on the weekdays we visited. It felt like we had the place to ourselves.

The campground is about a five minute walk to the park's main entrances. The campground was very quiet... just the way we like it. There is a family of cats that hang around: they visit from a nearby dairy farm. The kids loved this added attraction. The dog did not.

The bathroom and shower house is clean. There is only one. So it gets pretty busy during "flush hour". Our campsite was right next to the bathroom/ shower and dumpster. We noticed flies and the occasional whiff of trash.

We'll continue visiting this park. And we look forward to camping on site.

Great campground near Dyersville, IA (home to The Field Of Dreams site). The campground is a lollipop loop with sites on one side along the creek and on the other along woods. All of the sites are large and well spaced with good hammock trees, fire pits, and picnic tables, and nice gravel parking pads. The sites are so large you have lots of places to pick from to pitch your tent on the level grassy sites. The center of the loop has a few campsites and a nice playground. The campground has a nice, newer shower house with free showers. The local sheriff's office regularly sends a trooper through to patrol the campground and collect the fee envelopes from the drop box. It was nice visiting with him. The RV sites are primarily along the “stick” portion of the lollipop loop as well as clustered near the shower house. Outside the campground there is a nice park with pavilions, picnic spots, and creek access for fishing.

General: Very popular state park with a small, 30-site campground (five walk-in tent sites and the rest electric). I read somewhere that the campground was recently upgraded, and I did see some evidence of upgrades. We were dismayed when we arrived at 3 pm on a Sunday to find the place packed with day-use visitors. The campground provided a quieter respite and when we returned after dinner (around 7 pm) to explore the caves, most everyone had gone home! The good news is that likely due to the bats, there were no gnats or mosquitos but there were many annoying flies! 

Site Quality: Gravel pads that all appeared to be level. Although not exceptionally long, we did see quite a few big rigs fit into the spaces. The campground is wooded and there is some separation between sites, but you could still see (and hear) your neighbors. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring with a grill. 

Bathhouse: This did not appear to be part of the campground upgrades. The handicapped stall was closed and because the cave trails were muddy, there was a lot of mud tracked into the bathroom (not the fault of the park). Apparently, people have taken their pets into the showers because there was a sign letting people know they could not do this! 

Activities/Amenities: Explore the caves! Some require spelunking but others have stairs and/or walkways for easy exploration. I had read on the All Trails app that the trail system was confusing and easy to get lost on, but I did not find this to be the case when we were there. There was good signage and if you pick up a map (there were plenty at the entrance to the campground), you should not get lost. There was a naturalist station with several activities that would be good for families. At night, the fireflies are abundant and put on a great show! 

Maquoketa Caves has long been on my list to visit and I’m glad we finally made it!

Caves were closed but we had a great time hiking the trails. Very clean campground. Plenty of wood for campfires, just had a donation box. Electric campsites have plenty of shade. The ground is gravel, which my dog hated. Next time we plan to try the primitive sites. First time camping at an Iowa state park and we were impressed!

Easy drive in spot. We only stayed one night (dog friendly!). Camp sites are pretty spread out so you have your own privacy.

My dog and I are traveling full time, currently making our way down the Mississippi River. We stopped at the Rustic Barn because it was away from the city (Dubuque), priced very reasonably, and seemed like a good spot for a one night stay. Some neighbors at a previous campground spoke highly of the Rustic Barn when I told them where I was headed.

We ended up staying a second night, partially because of the excellent hiking trails at the Mines of Spain in Dubuque, but mostly because of the Rustic Barn. I considered an additional couple nights, but reluctantly decided to get on with our journey.

Everything was in it placed and worked. Showers and restrooms were cleaned and well maintained.  Sites are a combination of cement pad and crushed gravel. Hookups are a little inconveniently placed, but not a concern. There's a very large grassy area for dog-walking - always a concern for me as my dog is older and has the need to go frequently.

The owners are very nice and friendly, seeming to always stop and chat with folks as they go about their daily chores. And as an added "nice touch" they were currently placing Halloween themed decorations around the park.

Quiet, unassuming, a pace to catch your breath. I'm prompted to write a review because rarely do "value" and "quality" appear together in such a friendly combination

We are staying here specifically to visit the monument. It is crowded with older people like us,in the electric sites, and their older dogs. Level sites. Showers. Concession stand at the picnic area. There are stunning views of the Mississippi River Valley too. Many trails will lead you by ancient Native burial mounds, including an Effigy of a bear (probably a bear.) Heard an owl close by last night. We're not fans of side by side camping sites, but we are at Effigy Mounds or hiking this park most of the time.

Decided to randomly pick out a state park to visit and this is what I picked. Wanted to get away for a few days with Dexter the dog and check out the area. Very relaxing, aside from the bugs; mosquitoes and gnats seemed to be on steroids those few days. Other than that not bad at all. Picked a campsite on the ridge, unfortunately the view was mostly trees blocking the view of the Wisconsin River, but can’t complain. Campsites next to me further down had more of an unobstructed view though. Had a bald eagle sitting in the trees 50ft away from the site so that was cool.

When we showed up, it was in an inconspicuous Iowa woods. The park was incredibly beautiful for the middle of nowhere in Iowa. However, my friend and I were hoping for a possibly short cave or two to get him accustomed to the feel of caving. Unfortunately, the caves were very casual caves and there was only one worth actually calling a caver's cave. With all that being said, it was an absolutely stunning surprise of a park, and for free, you can't beat the price

Lots a hiking trails... nice trout fishing. Kids love the river crossing. Be aware of night life, the raccoons like to come and join you at the camp fire.
All been said., nice little gem in Iowa.

didn’t do much here the day we went. not sure what trail it was but one of them had a great look out spot. you can see clear over to Iowa.

Dusty gravel roads lead you down to the middle of cornfield Iowa. Nice, quiet little park with 3 spots next to a creek. Quiet (unless the camper next to you is snoring). Outhouse wasn’t too scary.

This nice SP is located on the Iowa border. It was a quiet nice little get away with several trails that challenge anyone in your group. Campground was clean and well maintained.

A very nice park located close to the Iowa border. Close to Effigy Mounds & Pikes Peak! It has great trails & campsites & lots of geocaching! Come one New Years for the annual carp drop :)

I have visited a lot of Iowa parks and campgrounds. Backbone is one on my favorites. Backbone is the oldest state park in Iowa. You can take your canoe out on the lake or hit some of the hiking trails. There are cabins for rent if you don't want to sleep in a tent.

Click on the following link to download the trail maps: www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/parks/trailmaps/trails_backbone.pdf

This is a great place to stay but make sure you get your reservations in early if you plan on staying on the weekend. If you want it to be quiet and prefer less crowds but you still want to enjoy the park, I highly suggest taking some time off of work during the week and avoiding the weekend.

This is a special place, the facilities, the showers, the campsites, the trails, and the lake are top quality.