Best Glamping near Elkader, IA

This campground has it all. Easy access for kayaking and tubing on the Upper Iowa River.

We visit on memorial day weekend with a large group. Camp right along side the Upper Iowa River....80 foot limestone bluffs! Campground shuttles and rents canoes/kayaks.

I camped in the family campground for one night on a bike trip through Wisconsin and Iowa. I enjoyed conversing with neighbors. The campsite itself was nice. I was able to hang my hammock between two large trees and stay dry during an insane thunder and lightening storm. The bathroom facilities were nice as well. I will return to Cassville someday.

Campground is well maintained, restrooms, showers, recycling station, fire wood available, campground host onsite, resident park ranger, standard RV sites, some electric tent sites otherwise primitive with fire rings and tables. Trout stream (Catfish Creek) runs through campground and park and is stocked by Iowa DNR, has Swiss Valley Nature center with trails.

I have been visiting Chimney Rock Camp and Canoe for 20 years. Every time I visit I have a wonderful time enjoying the scenic Upper Iowa River. This part of Iowa is a treasure. Deb and her crew are always helpful and accommodating. They run a great canoe/kayak/tube rental with shuttle service. This is a private campground. I appreciate the laid back vibe. We have been here during the week and have had the place pretty much to ourselves. The weekends are a bit more lively, but with friendly folks. Some of my favorite memories are on the shuttle bus up to the drop in and laughing with fellow campers/ river floaters. We love Chimney Rock and pray this little slice of heaven is available for us to enjoy for years to come. We prefer to stay down by the river sans electricity. We have done this for years in a tent and now in our hybrid camper. There are cabins, electric sites, showers and a dump station.

Nelson Dewey State Park is located about 1 miles north of Cassville Wisconsin in the Southwestern corner of the state on the border of Wisconsin and Iowa. Across the street from the park is The Stonefield State Historic Site which is worth checking out if your visiting the park. This park is a quiet park and offers spectacular overlook views of the Mississippi River and wonderful hiking trails. When entering the park you will check in with the small but welcoming park office. This road will take you straight to the campgrounds! The group campground is on your right before just before the long climb up to the family campground and walk in sites. The group camp is primarily open camping with some trees but I would say these are some of the smaller group camps I have seen. There are pit toilets and multiple water stations on the grounds. As you climb up the hill and make it to the top, you will either take a left to the lookout areas or right toward the family campground. The family campground does have 4 walk-in sites also. I prefer to camp the 24-31 loop but I can't say this park offers the best campsites. The restroom were recently remodeled and are modern an welcoming especially the showers. The showers are in the same building and room as the restrooms but don't let that discourage you, there is still privacy. To sum this campsite up, it is smaller than its northern sister park, Wyalusing, but on a much smaller scale and much less to do. There is no boat launch or swimming and other than flush toilets and showers this campground offers the minimal. If you like small, quiet and camping this park is perfect. Just bring what you need as there is not much in the area for necessities.

Stayed here for a socially-distant weekend with friends at the beginning of summer. We had a site in the family campground. Sites were nicely spaced with lots of tree cover in June. Bathrooms were very nice and clean. The whole park offers beautiful views and nice trails of varying ruggedness. I was hope to camp at one of the walk-in sites to enjoy the great views.

Had a hike on site on the bluff. Stunning views and very secluded. Carts available for hauling in your gear. Hiking trails, fire wood for sale on site. Bathrooms very nice, showers like new! Lots of picnic sites along the bluff.

Most campsites have privacy and are quiet due to being a smaller park. Bathrooms and showers are modern and clean. Grant River near by to go tubing on hot summer days.

Stayed here at site D for two nights - the site was great, with gorgeous views of the Mississippi, tons of different birds coming by, and just enough room for our giant tent and a couple of hammocks. Even got a nice view of the milky way! The site is maybe 200 feet or so from the parking, and there are big plastic wheelbarrows you can use to haul your gear. The park had the perfect number of trails for us to tackle with our 5 and 10 year old, but not much else to do (which was fine with us). We did end up doing a short canoe trip on the Grant River which was also great. There's an agricultural museum across the way, but was closed due to covid. There were a lot of trains, but that never really bothered me - but it was noticeable if you're sensitive to that kind of thing.

Clean restrooms, park and trails. Good views of the Mississippi while hiking. Trails are good for beginners and moderate hikers

Just south of Wyalusing near the Mississippi. Far less people (which we prefer) with great sights and incredible views of the Mississippi. We did switch sites once we got there bc the electric was on the opposite side, but if you have an extension cord, not a big deal. We were there early in the season so everything was incredibly clean! We drove up to Wyalusing to check out for future camping and it was a lot more crowded. Nelson Dewey is also in the town of Cassville which looks to have an incredible swimming pool if you are there in season.

There were bugs but we use a fan at the campsite which really kept most of them away. I think it’s to be expected when you’re that close to the Mississippi.

We stayed in walk-in site C, which the furthest site from the parking lot. Arrive before dark!! The wheelbarrows provided are a lifesaver, the trail to the site is manageable until the last 50 feet, which is steep and rocky.

It is a smaller site and mostly slanted so we had to use our backpacking tent (90"x70") on the small patch that's sort of level, as our car camping tent (10'x14') was entirely too huge.

The views are stunning. There was a pair of bald eagles in a nest down by the river - bring binoculars!

HUGE caveat - this site sits on a ridge above a county highway and freight train tracks. There are also train tracks on the other side of the river. When trains are blowing their horns miles away, the sound carries. When they go past the site, it's incredibly loud! I was amazed at the racket - we live in Chicago on a busy street, a block from the L and the Metra tracks. 

Bring ear plugs, trains rolled through until just after midnight and started up around 5am (that I noticed anyway).

While Site C is incredibly difficult to reserve (best dates I could find were a Mon-Wed in October which I booked in APRIL), it's worth the views and the privacy.

Site D is the first of the four walk-ins, huge, level, has a wide view, and  a bend in it's trail so isn't exposed. A great choice if C is booked.

Site A is next, least amount of privacy, medium sized, looked level. Sites B was occupied our entire time there so wasn't able to check it out, but it's a bit more private.

Pit toilet by the walk-in sites was as nice as pit toilet gets, it even has a urinal. Water is conveniently located near the parking.

Shower house with flush toilets was really nice, 2-3 shower stalls and 4 toilets. No pay, just have to push the button over and over since the water only stays on for 10 seconds.

The electric and non-electric sites are well spaced and on the larger side. A nice campground overall.

For supplies and firewood, I recommend the Okey Market. It's convenient and has everything you need, huge beer cave too. If you want some local flavor, stop into the Silver Spigot Saloon, cheap beer, tasty fries, and they have a dog-friendly patio.

Very quiet, small campground (possibly more quiet than usual being the 1st weekend of the season).  Most sites are relatively private.  Nice hiking trails within a short walking distance from campsites.  There are 4 walk-in sites overlooking the Mississippi River.  Clean restroom/showers.

There are 4 walk-in campsites that overlook the Mississippi River (A, B, C, & D). We stayed at campsite D, which had the most incredible view! The trails were enchanting and abundant in life. It flash stormed around sunset, which is not uncommon for summer in the Midwest. The sunset seemed to last for hours as the light danced in the storm clouds. It was one of those, “wow I am grateful to be alive” experiences. Couldn’t have asked for a better bedtime show than a powerful and beautiful display of nature, it was such an unexpected delight. As the storm dissipated, the pitter-patter of the raindrops was the perfect audio to fall asleep to. Despite the humidity, we managed to get a fire going pre-storm and cooked some nice grub. There is a shed with firewood on the way into the campsite, you can pick some up for a small fee. Be prepared for humidity and bugs, it’s right by the river so it’s kind of inevitable during the summer. Insect repelling incense and spray kept us comfortable. There’s a train track right next to the river, which you may hear toot it’s horn occasionally, but it didn’t really bother us. The lovely small town of Cassville is close by may you need any creature comforts. Overall, an amazing place to camp and I can’t wait to go back!

Friendly Crowds and secluded spot despite us staying next to the main road for the camping area. Sunsets were beautiful looking west over the Mississippi River. The Driftless region is fun to explore and nearby parks that are more popular for camping are close by to hike.

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.

The site we chose (41) was set back from the road a bit, and the tall ground cover provides some privacy. However, the main road to the campground and picnic area runs behind the site and can get busy during the day.

The firewood onsite is reasonably priced and stored in a shed, so it's dry as can be. Dont pick up wood in Cassville... it's low quality and was damp the day we visited.

The flush toilets and showers were clean, and the showers have been recently remodeled. The showers are free, too, which was a welcome change over the campgrounds we've visited in the past.

The most unexpected and negative thing about this campground was the nearby trains. There are trains running nearby with blaring horns 24 hours a day. Train horns nearly on the half-hour did not make for a restful night. 

The views of the Mississippi are incredible, and the park is well-maintained, but I would honestly recommend this as a day trip stop rather than a campground.

Ranger Mark is awesome! He helped me with firewood and helpful facts for the weekend. Like Walmart is 40 min. - 20 miles away. Lol Cassville is a small and expensive town.

The walk-in, non electric campsites are gorgeous!! Campsite C and D are my favorite. Putting the view of the Mississippi River in rare form...if you are looking to get either site book it now.. it fills up fast! I had my site reserved for 6 months!!

I camped in 18 in early August. The site itself was sloped away from the road making it feel tucked into the trees. The downside was that the only flat space for the tent was very close to the fire pit. As a hammock camper, this was not a good site. The trees were far from the cleared area making a hammock hard to set up. Facilities were great and the mosquitoes we're almost non-existent. Great location for a larger group or multiple tents.

The only thing you need to be aware of: there is a train track very close. The train runs very regularly and can be loud. For me, it was the city noise I needed to fall asleep.

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This was our 2nd time camping here and it did not disappoint. It’s a lovely state park with some beautiful lil trails. Campsite Ds views were unbeatable. A storm rolled in over the Mississippi as we were heading to bed; it was a magical experience

Passing though the area and this park was on my list to check out. Drove though and found a pretty amazing overlook view. There were wildflowers that smelled amazing. It was really cool to see the hawks flying below the overlook. Driving through the campsites they do look pretty nice and larger than normal. Some do look like the have a “mound” on them, which was interesting. I did get great cell service, LTE with us cellular. Overall, I would visit again!