Best Tent Camping near La Motte, IA

Nice quiet little primitive campground next to the Wapsipinicon River. Unfortunately, when I was there the last weekend of May, the gnats were bad, and the mosquitoes were just starting to gear up. HOWEVER, take bug spray and enjoy the rustic peacefulness of this "best kept secret" for primitive and inexpensive camping sites. Beautiful location, ranger close by, wood for sale just across the bridge, fire pits and picnic tables at every site. Good for RV, trailer or tent camping… level ground and lots of shade. Primitive bathrooms, no showers or running water.

One of the 6 campgrounds that you will have to choose from here at Scott County Park, Bald Eagle CG & Cabins is one that is more geared for the RV driving and trailer toting tribes as each site has FHUs with electric, water & sewage, fire rings and picnic tables; however, if you wanted to pitch a tent here, you could, although I would recommend nearby Incahias as an alternative. Unlike some of the other campgrounds here, Bald Eagle kind of lives up to its name as there’s not much in the way of tree cover or brush, so the land is somewhat BALD. The land is incredibly flat, back-in slots are spacious, hard and very level grounds are incredibly well-organized and the bathroom / shower facilities with great HOT running water and are about as impeccably clean as can be.

Near by Bald Eagle is Pride Lake, which makes this pet-friendly CG your top pick if you’re an angler or looking to get some decent oaring with your kayak or canoe. Sitting in front of Pride Lake are 2 very large shelters – Whispering Pines and Hickory Hills – as well as a playground for the kiddos and a restroom facility that is also spartan-clean. Surrounding Bald Eagle is also no shortage of hiking / biking / horse trails. We found the CG itself to be fairly quiet, although lacking in privacy without the benefit of any real brush or trees to blot out our next-door neighbors, but that said, everyone was incredibly friendly with full displays of Midwestern hospitality that this area is known for. There is also a single large cabin available for rent that has capacity for 10 people.

We loved Scott County Park so much because there is a lot that this gem offers up, from fresh water catch & release lakes, a combination of topographies (from woodlands, wetlands and prairie grasslands), a beautiful 18-hole championship golf course, outdoor exercise areas, club house and concessions, stand-alone cabins for rent, designated dump stations and trash receptacles, numerous picnic areas, a massive heated swimming pool complete with a snake-like water slide, volleyball court, ranger stations, seasonal on-site hosts, firewood available for purchase at entry stations, Walnut Grove Pioneer Village and St. Anne’s church at the park’s NW perimeter, 7 community shelters, designated picnic areas, a memorial park, equestrian area and an incredibly well-paved network of roads that allows you to easily access just about every corner of this park.

Happy Camping!

Very nice park. Well marked and maintained trails. A large lake with boat launch and beach area. Separate pet area.

We spent the weekend at site 101, which is a tent site. I wouldn't recommend this site. based on a quick walkaround, it seemed a bit smaller than other sites. That's not really a deal-breaker, but it didn't really have any flat spots to pitch the tent. We ended up pitching it up on the parking area, but it was still a bit slanted and we could feel the tire divot a little through the air mattresses. Aside from that, it was great. The site had a picnic table and fire ring that we used a lot. It was secluded from the surrounding sites.

We hiked the Windy Ridge trail and the Prairie Loop trail. both were well maintained and enjoyable trails. We also spent some time on the beach.

I wanted so badly to love this campground experience, but just didn't. Site 19 was an easy walk-in that theoretically had nearby vault toilets, parking, and water.

Each site only had space for one car to park before walking in. Not a huge deal, but annoying as there were 2 of us who drove separate and we had to problem solve. When we got to the site I was shocked to see that what was labeled as a tent site had literally NO flat space to actually set up a tent. Spacious site, but fully sloped.

Also, what I would have loved to know, is that the vault toilets are closed because they are doing construction to build something new in that space. Construction that starts loudly each day at 7am. Honestly every site from about #35 down was affected by the noise because the construction is happening in the middle of the loop (and actually blocking some of the one-way road as well).

The park in general was okay. Per the usual, the pet areas were lacking. No beach at all, just grass covered in goose poop and one cut out on the raised shore between tall grasses and foliage where a dog could potentially jump in. Certainly nowhere for a human to enjoy the water with their pups unfortunately.

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 campground also goes by the name of Holbert. Small campground but free with a handful of picnic tables and campfires. The vault toilets were cleanish, thou older. This campground is next to a pretty little creek that you can play and fish in. The campground is really just a series of campsites strung out along the creek and road. It was pretty quiet while I was there, not many campers at all. There are no hookups for RV’s/campers so it is primarily tent camping or dry camping. There is an interesting story about how this camping area has come to be: the land was donated by Ella Ellis in memory of her husband William Ellis. They apparently loved the land and wanted to make sure it was never developed and could be enjoyed by all. A lovely story.

first timers/ young kids- yes. Primitive campers- no. My husband had never been camping. I grew up with very primitive camping- no electricity, only pit toilets, sometimes fresh water, and no showers (milk jug showers!) Little by little, I’m warming him up to camping. This is a great place for new campers, families of young kids, or just looking for an easier trip. There’s a shower house with flush toilets, warm showers, and surprisingly CLEAN! The site was medium size. Enough room to spread out. Ground was flat so finding a tent site was no problem. Electric hookup worked. Picnic table was good. Check your site before booking! One section of sites is like an open field? No trees and full view of others. But these surround a playground- also very nice. Glamping with young kids? These sites would be a perfect. AT&T and Verizon cell service worked fine