Best Cabin Camping near Hamburg, IA

If you are looking for a place to stop for a night of for a few nights with family or traveling alone along I-80 don’t miss Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. There are challenging trails overlooking the Platte River and railroad line. Bring your camera. Visit the horseback riding area ($), water park ($), nature center, and newly added Zipline and treeline obstacle course ($$). There is a nice place to eat at the clubhouse. The staff are friendly and helpful. Cabins for rent can facilitate even large families or get togethers. Book cabins well in advance for holidays. Fishing and kayaking opportunities also exist. Visit the Marina for paddle boat rentals also. The only downside to this park is its proximity to I-80. You will hear interstate road noise at night but if you’ve camped right you will be too tired to care.

The state park is well maintained but doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles! Sites are flat, mostly pull through. Bathrooms and showers are nice and clean. Pool was closed for construction when we stayed, but looked nice. They have really nice little cabins for rent is camping isn’t your strong suit! Not much in the area to visit if fishing isn’t your thing though! There is a drive through nature preserve fairly close but we didn’t go do it. Kayak rental is available but if fishing isn’t your thing this might not be the park for you. Lots of flat roads for biking though!

We stayed in the recently renovated Owen #4. The renovations really updated it and they need to update the pictures they have on the web, with what it looks like now. New appliances, new furniture, fixtures, new bunk beds, etc. The cabin was very clean and organized upon arrival. They supply most everything thing you need i.e. dishes, cookware, etc. The one thing it does need is a corkscrew! We forgot ours and went without the wine we brought for dinner. With that bombshell though, it was beyond worth the getaway. The winter hiking was fantastic and it was quiet except for the wildlife, but that is why we went out there!

Waubonsie State Park near Hamburg, Iowa is under construction. That is the road was when we visited. The workers were not the most helpful either. That being said the park employees were very informative, if you could find one.

We visited enroute through the area and enjoyed the trails most of all. Though my map skills are questionable I had a more then usual difficult time navigating by the map supplied. The signage was close to non-existent. I fell back on the tried and true , always go left. Which worked well enough for the ridge line we hiked. Some awesome views.

I often have the problem of comparing places I’ve been. You can’t do this state to state I’ve learned because they all run, staff and take care of their natural resources in different ways. I do my best to base my opinion on face value and impressions of my visit to that park. Waubonsie SP is my first Iowa Park , I was not impressed. BUT it was in the style I like, sparsely used, I saw few campers or employees. Of course school was in and harvest going on and I know that makes a huge difference in certain states. Mostly just blue-hairs camping right now, soon to snowbird to the south :) I aspire to that life someday.

Other then the roadwork the park looked to be somewhat maintained. The cabins I saw need some updating but were functional. The campground was basic, grill, fire ring , picnic table, electric on designated sites. Needed some clean up and graveling on the pads. The facilities were not ancient and were maintained okay. The visitors center looked brand new but was closed so no souvenirs goodies.

I would not consider this a destination campground, but the view is worth an overnight enroute somewhere else.