Best Campgrounds near Independence, IA

This is one of our go to parks. Even when we don’t camp, we love to swim here.

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!

This is a lovely park. It is fairly quiet, you can hear some highway noise in the distance. The lake is lovely and clean. The spots are gravel, most sites will require some leveling but are not too bad. 

Each site has a newer electric pedestal with 30 and 50 amp service, and each site has a water spigot, as well as a picnic table and fire ring.

There are a few sites that back up directly to the lake. There is a swimming beach and a dock. There is a city park adjacent to the campground with a playground and picnic shelter.

I had 3 bars on on T-mobile which got me 64 down and 18 up. On Verizon I had 3 bars which got me 65 down and 12 up.

The shower house was pretty bad though. It was older, which doesn't bother me, but it was dirty. There are camp hosts on site but I guess their duties do not include ever cleaning the restroom. There was food trash in there all week, and if you look around you'll find feces, blood, and personal hygiene trash including used condoms.

I would stay in this campground again because I have a self contained unit and do not need to use the on-site shower house.

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.

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.

Loved this campground! We just stayed for one night, but wish it had been two. Small and quiet. A few trails to hike and a horse camp that I didn’t have time to explore. Nice lending library as well. Bathroom/shower combos are nice (1 is ADA). Not far off the interstate. Some sites are off with level & weird (ie stairs/door open on an incline and away from the table), and our picnic table was sloped. So pick your site carefully. 19E was ok - table not level and high stairs required from TT but good for Starlink connection and close water spigot (elec only at these sites)

I loved this campground. There are a variety of sites to choose from, nice trees, and a beautiful wildflower field to walk through. Bathrooms are stationed without so it’s never a far walk and the shower house was really nice. You can hear the highway, but overall the campground was very quiet.

 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 newer campground so is a mixture of mature and young trees. It is very clean and well cared for. Lots of opportunity to ride the numerous bike trails nearby and hike in wanatee park and nearby pinicon. The Cedar river and the wapsicon for fishing. This area has something for everyone.

Stopped here for the night as a layover and had a great site. Everything you need in a campground. Bathrooms and showers are clean. Water and electricity at site, along with picnic table and fire ring. Trails close by and only about 5 min from expressway.

This is a beautiful scenic view right next to the river and there are picnic tables fire rings and a trash can and porta potty with a water spigot for fresh water