Best Campgrounds near Elkader, IA

General: This is a small (29-site) county park campground situated along the North Fork Maquoketa River. Nine of the sites are reservable, and the rest are first-come, first-served. Some sites are primitive, and some have water and 30-amp electricity hookups. There is one ADA-accessible site with a paved camper pad. 

Site Quality: Most sites are level. The camper pads are gravel/grass, but not all are clearly defined. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. 

Bath/Shower: The bath/shower house was closed when we were there in November but there are vault toilets about a quarter mile from the campground (in the day-use area) that were very clean and well-stocked when we were there. 

Activities/Amenities: Many activities including disc golf, three hiking trails, volleyball, two playgrounds (one in the day-use area and one by the campsites). There are two reservable picnic shelters. There is also a dump station. 

We were tent camping in November on a backpacking trip so we didn’t take advantage of any of the activities but would return in our van on a future camping trip. We were the ONLY ones in the campground at this time of year!

Took my 5 year old son camping here in early April of 2024 and it was fun. We were at site #125 which has fantastic views of the river and surrounding area's, but the wind is stronger at this spot because it's open. The entire campground is situated on top of a bluff so this compounded our wind issue. I also need to note that the majority of these campgrounds don't have much privacy or lack it entirely. This site was very open and I would opt for a little more tree coverage in the future.

There's some really nice trails and cool rock formations, couple this with the playground and nice bathrooms it makes for an ideal campground for families with younger children. Just keep in mind that it's on a bluff so there are some steep drop-off points that children could take a pretty nasty fall from. Cellphone coverage wasn't a problem either.

It was a Colder night as we camped in 30 degree weather and freezing rain came into our campground. This along with the wind made our situation feel pretty cold and we left early in April. We would stay here again but probably opt for a slightly more warm month. Over-all it's a good campground for the area.

On a side note, I bet this place looks tremendous in the fall with the changing colors.

Was very thankful to find a place to overnight in mid-November. Not a lot of free parking options in this part of Iowa. No water, electric, or dump station, so very much like a parking lot overnight from that perspective. However, the park is situated on the valley bottom of the Yellow River Forest with beautiful tall trees, and there are fire rings. Fee was $12. First come first served basis from November through March.

I’ll begin by saying this is by far the cleanest campground I have stayed at. The facilities were well kept including the vault toilet houses. We stayed in a walk to site and the views were incredible. Our tent pad was quite rocky so I would recommend sleeping pads or you will be very uncomfortable. Our site was also extremely dusty which wasn’t a problem at all just be prepared to be a little dirty. The campground was quiet except for the occasional train that rolled through those are quite loud due to how close they are to the campground. I would definitely come back to Nelson Dewey and stay again. There was not a ton to do in the area so a short weekend stay was perfect. A highlight is that the park provided cart to use to haul all your stuff to the walk to sites. There is 1 designated parking spot per walk to site as well. The walk to sites are small and only accommodated our one (6 person) tent which was not a problem for us as we knew this ahead of time.

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.

I had good Verizon signal here (70 down, 20 up) but zero T-mobile signal.

The campground is close to down, there are two museums within walking distance (just steps from the campground entrance). Across the street is a walking & biking trail that will take you straight to downtown, where you'll find a coffee shop, a few restaurants, and other shopping. It's less than a 5 minute bike ride to get there, and very scenic as it follows the river.

The facilities are newer and pretty nice. The showers are the single-button kind with no temperature adjustment. If you wait a while, the water does get barely warm enough for a comfortable shower.

This is not a quiet campground, it has a well traveled highway on one side, and a city main street on the other side that semi trucks use during the day. Sometimes there are highschool football games at the stadium next to the campground. Late at night it does get quiet.

The sites are grass or gravel. There are electrical hookups at most sites, with water faucets spread throughout the campground. The sites are mostly shaded.

I enjoyed the George Maier Rural Heritage Center and Museum ($5 admission) and the Elkader Depot Museum (free) which are located right next to the campground.

The downside to this campground is the dump station. It is just a hole in a manhole cover. It's in a dirt/weedy area and smells terrible. It's located across the street from the campground.

Nice sites, trails and facilities. Stayed during the week in mid September. Beautiful sites overlooking the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers. Great hiking with clean bathrooms and toilets. Private with plenty of room from neighbors for our teardrop.

Two hour float trips on the North Fork Maquoketa River are available directly from the campground. There is a mix of permanent and temporary campers. The tent sites, nearest the river, are well spaced with flush toilets. Apparently there are also good trails, as many of the campers have ATV’s parked at their sites. The shower house, under the office, was spacious and clean.

I was hitchhiking thru, was dropped off by a ride that said he was buying a $14 tent site for me, come to find out he never did, I just was honest with sandy and the gentleman worker and offered the only 8$ I had, no sir, they said please stay for free and just enjoy. WONDERFUL PPL THAT CARE ABOUT OTHERS!! THANKS YALL

 Please do not ignore the negative reviews written by people on other sites regarding the owners. My husband and I drove almost 2 hours to check out the campground. We are looking for a permanent site for our RV next year. When we arrived we called the phone number listed on the closed gate. The owner, Joyce came out and said we would need an appointment to drive thru and she did not have time to show us around. The owner was very rude. We had been on their website and it did not state appointments were needed. Yes, I guess we could have called ahead, but as seasoned campers its never been a problem to check out a campground ahead of time.. Just beware owner unfriendly:( NO WE WONT BE RETURNING, WE WOULD NEVER STAY HERE

This is a really nice and clean campground! The sites are very spacious and the food is good!! Really good Friday night fish fries! We will definitely be back!!

Came to learn more about Tenkara fly fishing. Had a ball. Visited the 3 lookouts including Iowa only Fire tower. Bird life is colorful. Lots of places to hike. Scenery is lush. I had no phone service. Campsites are well mown, have a picnic table and fire ring. Pit toilets. Easy access to water. Drink water and firewood are at the host A frame. There is no dump site. Everyone was very friendly. Helpful. Nights were quiet. Very relaxing.

Loved this campground but it does have some drawbacks. Set up a lot for rv camping with site layout and connections. Some sites have the fire ring very close to the parking area and some spots have limited shade (compared to the majority of the campground that is in the trees). The bathrooms and showers are in good condition. The Mississippi River overlooks are a short walk away. There were lots of birds and spiders around the campground. There are a good number of hiking trails in the park.

This campground is a short hike away from beautiful trails that overlook the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. The boardwalk trails also lead to a small falls and more. Site 51, where we stayed, is near trailhead but on a slight slope. Showers, water, dump station available here, no playground