Best Campgrounds near Mason City, IA

We have stayed at this campground many times as we have traveled the "Avenue of the Saints." Highway 218.  R Campground is just a few miles off of the saints highway on the south eastern side of town.  Interior roads and sites are gravel, many with 50 amp full hook ups.  Our favorite sites begin with "OB" for out back. These all have a view of the river. Not all of them will accommodate our 44" Blue Bird.

We have watched this campground grow from the beginning with yearly improvements and upgrades made. Laundry facilities and restroom/shower house on the grounds.

Don't miss the pedestrian bridge over the river,  the walking/bike path that runs behind the campground and a casual lunch or dinner by the main street dam.

Sites are approximately 2 miles from parking and the hike it relatively easy with minimal elevation change. You have a choice between a grassy walk or walking mainly on tar and gravel as part of the Blazing Star Trail. They are also accessible by boat.

There are 4 backpacking sites and they are well-spaced so you each have privacy. #3 and #4 are close enough that you could be in a group together but #1 and #2 are pretty isolated. Each site has a fire pit, picnic table, wood cabinet/fish cleaning table, at least 1 flat spot for a tent, and a nearby porta potty.

Views of the lake are amazing with a variety of birds making appearances. Harvesting season may bring some farm sounds but otherwise, aside from the occasional train, you'll mainly hear the sounds of nature around you.

If you can make the walk carrying everything, including water, on your back, definitely check out one of these sites.

We tend to stay at campgrounds during the off or shoulder season for a quieter experience so it was with some apprehension that we reserved this campground for a summer weekend so that we could meet friends for Paddlefest. We were happy to discover that despite being a full campground, it was quiet at almost all hours of the day and night. It was, however, an entirely different story on the lake itself, where boats gathered all day to party!

There is little separation between the sites but there are trees located throughout, some of which provide shade to the site. The camper pads were a mix of dirt and gravel and mostly level. We were lucky to snag Site 34 (reserved about three months in advance) – it was on the end, making it a much larger site than the interior sites (all end sites in our section were larger) and we had plenty of shade trees, a welcome relief on a very hot weekend. 

The paved roads leading to the sites are very narrow and would appear to be one-way but are not designated as such, resulting in some confusion. The site numbers are only listed on one side, even though most of the sites appeared to be pull-through. 

The restrooms and showers were clean and had soap and (dated) air dryers. 

Overall, we had a very pleasant two-night stay even though we were prepared for a different experience.

I only drove through here I did not camp. It was quiet and the sites were shaded. I saw water, electricity and a picnic table at every site. The pads are gravel and very level.

You can easily bike into town.

There is a dump station.

I had 3 bars of Verizon 4G which provided 70 down and 12 up.

On T-mobile I had 5 bars of 5G and 100 down and 7 up.

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.

We stayed in White Fox Site 97 from September 13-15. No one was nearby until late in the evening on the 14th, so it felt very private and quiet. Although I know that is because the people in the campground were quiet... thank you! Tons of trails; paved, gravel, or grass; you can explore the entire park. We had a bit of rain and then it got hot again so it was super muggy. Of course that is the weather, not the park. The ranger was friendly and helpful. Great worry free trip, just like camping should be!

Standard site without electric was only $10.00 a night which includes a nearby water spigot to fill your tank with. Put toilets and showers available. The friendly hosts made a point to come by to chat. Two fawns were born there, under one of the picnic tables and they were around all weekend. I’ll be back !

Nice place to spend the weekend or a week! Came in late and a resident helped me find a great spot. When driving to my site two fawns were laying near the playground.

Nice campground with grassy pull thru sites. But very close together. If full, you would have no privacy. Fortunately, it was 1/4 full, so no problem. Bathrooms clean, nice warm showers! Nice beach, lots to do. Would be a fun place if you don’t mind camping next to neighbors!

Roomy gravel sites. A mix of electric and non-electric sites. Commercial fire rings. Electrical needs refreshing. We had an issue with the 30A breaker not resetting on site 46E; eventually relocated to 47E. Park employee Noah was very accommodating and pleasant to deal with. He came out to the site to discuss options with us and eventually made some site reservation changes to resolve the situation. Close to town, nice historic district.

Beautiful large sites along the river so you can fish as well as has a pond that you can swim in with three beach entry areas. Large bath house with restrooms and showers and a little free library inside. Very long parking pads- big rig friendly and very roomy sites. Nice walking trails on the east and south side of the park. Very creative natural play park for children to play on. Full hook up sites with a very reasonable nightly rate. It appeared that some of the campsites were seasonal but couldn’t confirm that.

Randy was amazing and very attentive to my questions. Check in was super easy and the directions for check in were clearly spelled out. Everything was mapped out and the website was easy to use as well. The pond itself was pretty to look at and made for great photos, however it was loaded with geese which made it not user friendly. I would recommend this campground, and I will definitely go back to camp again!

We visited in early April so the sites were quite exposed, I can imagine they would be more private in the summer. Water and showers were not open yet as it was too cold but the vault toilets were well maintained.

30/50/110 power. Drinking water and dump onsite but not on sites. Wifi! Hot showers, playground,boat launch,fire pits,grills,good camp host.town is right there 2 bars and restaurants. Gas station I think was 8 blocks up to the right. Been hard to find all this for 15 bucks a day!

It's a nice spot off of the main road. It's pretty quiet, but there aren't many spots to camp. When you come in on the dirt road, it hooks to the right, and you'll come upon a dirt cul-de-sac. On the right, you'll see a grassy area set into the woods where you could camp. Other than that, your parking in the perimeter. There's enough room that virtually any size camper could navigate into this spot, but if there are other people, that will really complicate your life.

There is a boat launch and paths down each side of the launch you could fish. On the way in, you'll see a deck to the left, providing a scenic overlook. There's also a spot there you could potentially park, but you'll be very exposed if there is any foot traffic.

This spot is exposed with virtually no privacy. (Winter/ early spring) It's about a 1/4 mile off of the dirt road and makes a left towards the end with water access that is great for a kayak. During the summer, when the corn is in, it's looks like there would be plenty of privacy. There are NO amenities here. There's plenty of room here for any size rig.