Best Glamping near New Albin, IA

The cart in sites all have a fire pit with a grill, picnic table, and are a short walk from the primitive toilets. There is a water spigot in the parking area. They have 4-5 wheelbarrows to use as carts to get your stuff to the site. Each site could comfortably hold 3 to 4 tents. They are on a path for an out and back hike so expect some passers by. Cart in 1 and 2 are fairly close to the parking area and are less secluded from each other. 3 and 4 are more secluded. Site 3 offers more shade and 4 looks to have recently had some trees cut down and is fairly open air. Overall the trails are well maintained and accessible from the cart in area. They provide some nice views of the river and you can easily hike the area in a day. It’s by no means a secluded area if you’re looking to get away from road noise or other people. All in all it makes for a nice weekend getaway.

What's Appealing?

This campground is nestled in the woods above the Mississippi River. There's a beautiful view from King's Bluff Overlook which is about a 2.5 mile roundtrip from the parking area. You could make it about 5.5 miles if you hike from campground. There are also short walks to a few other overlooks.

We were just spending the night but I'm not sure there's anything else to do. The information sheet says there are 7 miles of hiking trails, but there really isn't anything interesting other than the overlooks. It was a quiet place for a one night stay.

I think fall would be the best time to visit after the mosquitoes are gone and when the leaves have turned. Winter would also be good. There are 9 miles of groomed X-country ski trails; you need a MN Ski Pass.

The Basics

There are 31 pull in/back in sites (38 is the highest number but some numbers are skipped), 4 cart in sites, and 5 sites for bicyclists (off the Great River Road bike route below the campground across from the Mississippi River). The sites are spacious and shaded and have a picnic table and fire pit.

Very Basic Campground

There's a bathroom with toilets, showers, and sinks. The showers are push button so you get no heat control and the water shuts off after about 30 seconds. There are also pit toilets that may be closer to your site. Drinking water and trash dumpsters are near the bathroom.

Cost

It's $19 plus the $7 MN state park fee. There was no camp host on site, but I saw a ranger drive through. We have a MN parks sticker on our window and paid online the day we came in because the office was closed. There was no online reservation fee when we paid online on the day of our stay.

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I enjoy camping away from the hub bub of the family campground and opting for the backpack or cart in sites. Luckily, Great River Bluffs has some of the nicest cart ins I have encountered.

The 5 sites are well spaced out with lots of trees, nice flat tent pads, a newer clean vault and good fresh water both within a short distance of all the sites.

The surrounding hiking trails feature incredible views of the Mississippi River valley, high upon a bluff. The sites are away from the heavy foot traffic of picnic areas and primary hiking trails, though during the day there will be a few hikers walking the trail down the middle of the cart site trail to get to a fantastic lookout site. There weren't tons of people but it might bother those that don't want to see anyone while there.

There are two vault toilets. One at the parking lot and one between camp site 3 and 4. If you want a shower, you have to drive up to the family campground which is a good half mile away.

We stayed over Memorial Day Weekend at site 183. It was spacious and very well kept, with a great view of the lake. Wry easy to back in and get set up, almost level and took very little adjustment to get our spot in order. Neighbors were friendly, kids found other kids to play with, and lots of activities to keep them busy. We found the seasonal campers super friendly and nice to chat with. The sites are all flat with a gravel pad, some also have concrete patio and all have nice fire pits. While there aren’t a lot of trees or shade, it was a great site with our awning out. There is a nice sized heated swimming pool with a kid splash pad area, and you can boat on the lake. Bathrooms are well kept and clean, with nice shower facilities that area accessible. We have camped here before, and have already booked again for Labor Day weekend. The staff are helpful and friendly, and the outdoor movies on the weekend are a fun way to wind the kids down. Nearby recreation of the LaCrosse River trail for biking is a short drive away, and plenty of exploring can be done within a 30 min drive. Bring your bikes and enjoy this gorgeous area.

Stayed here in the fall. Had a site right next to the bathroom big enough for 2 tents and 2 vehicles. Hikes here offer great views of the river and bluffs and the fall colors are gorgeous!!! site came with a fire pit with grate and a picnic table. I did not use the grate for cooking as I camp with a blackstone as grates tend to be dirty. When I do use the fire for cooking, I always use a cast iron pan rather than cooking directly on the grate. pictures are from before my friend arrived with their vehicle and tent. They parked directly in front of my car and put their tent near the parking barricade close to the bathroom. My dog enjoyed all the room he had at this site!

This park fell short in so many ways. Having stayed in other Yogi Bear's we were expecting similar accommodations. I will say they had a lot of rain and it did affect most of the campground. We booked over the phone for two nights. It was nearly $90 for those two nights. This is pretty spendy for us but we were meeting friends there. We arrived at the campground and were given site 14. It as across from our friends cabin so it should have been good. However, we got to our site on a very poorly maintained road only to find the site did not have a fire pit or a picnic table. It was extremely tiny, barely big enough for our truck and definitely not enough room for our two tents. The site was covered in sticks and debris and there was trash bags in front of the cabin across the washed out road. We went down to voice our concern that this was just not going to work and they said to try site 13. Even worse then 14. It was a grass spot, mowed out, no place to park a vehicle, which I'm glad I left at the bottom of the hill, extremely narrow, washed out road going to site 13. There still was no picnic table but there was a fire pit. Stated this is just not going to work. We paid way too much for so little accommodations. They said they couldn't refund or move us to an electric site (we didn't need electric but the two previously mentioned sites were not going to work) without talking to their boss. After already spending 28 days in a tent, across the country, I was pretty upset that this yogi bear was so bad. They did end up moving me to site 17, which was one of the few that did not have a completely flooded fire ring. Which leads to the next things, almost all of the grounds were completely flooded. Fire rings couldn't even be seen they were so far under water. To walk to any part of the park involved getting your feet wet. The playground swings were above water making it difficult for the kids to reach them without getting really wet. There had been no attempts to move any water from the storms making it difficult to enjoy parts of the park. The pool was pretty cold but I suppose it is Wisconsin. The staff did have many events going on but if you were early, you wouldn't even know the events were going on. They showed up right on time and then had to set up. But they did do a variety of races and had a pirates and princess dance. They brought in actual hair dressers to do the little girls hair for them. That was something the girls in the group enjoyed. They also had cartoons playing in the evenings. The kids also enjoyed that. Overall, I would never return, there are so many really nice parks in Wisconsin for way less money. This was not worth it at all.

This was our second visit to this park. On both occasions we wanted to canoe the scenic Kickapoo river. Our first trip was five years ago and we got portage service for our canoe from Titanic Rentals in Ontario. We went from there (bridge 1) to bridge 12 Which took nearly all day, but we were able to have lunch at the park's Wildcat landing, the only real and equipped picnic site along the river. NOTE; Google maps makes it look like the campground and landing are near each other. They are not. It's three miles of very steep roads, so don't think you're going to fetch anything you left behind.
 The campground is on top of the ridge, which means in the morning you will look out over a fog shrouded valley through the trees. The views from the overlooks, which are a short hike, are worth checking out. Campsite 15 is the only one with a clear view.
There are walk in sites and the paths are wide and clear. The park provides large carts for your stuff so you can really pack stuff in and get away from it all. But the family tent and RV sites generally well spaced, check the map as some are more private than others.
 Our second trip was in August, 2023 and we canoed from bridge 12 to LaFarge (bridge 21). It was later in the season than our previous trip, and in the slightly less scenic stretch of the river. As a result, we didn't see any other boaters.
Campsites have basic fire ring, and there are pit toilets as well as one Full facility with running water and hot showers. Firewood is available at the Ranger station.
There's also Equestrian camping elsewhere in the park and lots of trails for both hikers and horses.
 The town of Ontario has a good general store and a couple bars, but this is pretty much wilderness and small farms. Two unique places however are Wild Things Furrier near bridge twelve. Want a coonskin cap or some smoked trout? This is the place.
 More unique than that if you want to treat yourselves, go 34 miles south to the St. Frances Hermitage restaurant. It's run by a small order of French Monks and Nuns who raise their own animals and grow the vegetables they serve. Their bakery is also delicious. This is not fast food, this is a gastronomic experience.