Best Camping near Nora Springs, IA

Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Nora Springs, IA has a lot to offer. Nora Springs is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Nora Springs camping trip.

Best Camping Sites Near Nora Springs, IA (99)

Showing results 1-10 of 99 campgrounds

Pet-friendly camping near Nora Springs

Recent Reviews In Nora Springs

190 Reviews of 99 Nora Springs Campgrounds


  • Camper-submitted photo from White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park
    September 16, 2024

    White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Beautiful and Quiet

    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!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve
    September 16, 2024

    Pilot Knob State Park — Pilot Knob State Preserve

    Great place!

    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 !

  • Camper-submitted photo from Pilot Knob Campground
    September 14, 2024

    Pilot Knob Campground

    Great site to camp - non electric sites are $10.00 -“and electric are $18.00

    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.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Eagle City County Park
    August 26, 2024

    Eagle City County Park

    Good for an overnight stop

    First, there is no pit toilet. Second, you need to pay ($10) via a website. Scan the QR code by the entrance. I couldn't get it to work.

    Sites are fine. A couple of options for hammock camping. Nothing special.

    We stopped driving cross country.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Clear Lake State Park Campground
    August 15, 2024

    Clear Lake State Park Campground

    Nice but crowded campground

    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!

  • Camper-submitted photo from White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park
    August 13, 2024

    White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Wooded hideaway

    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.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Oakwoods Trails Campground
    August 12, 2024

    Oakwoods Trails Campground

    Really Great Campground

    The owners Jan and Brian are super nice. The campground is a ways from their home and quite secluded and quiet. There weren’t any kids when we were there though, I imagine they could change the quiet aspect. The bathrooms and showers are very nice as are the sites. Well worth the $25 we paid!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Eagle City County Park
    August 7, 2024

    Eagle City County Park

    Fee required now

    Note that they do now require a permit to stay here. Sites are first come first served with no reservations. Cost is $10 and you can pay up to 30 min after claiming your site. Great camping area, pit toilet, regularly mowed, great riverside view, level spots for tent and vehicle camping with fire rings.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Oakwoods Trails Campground
    July 29, 2024

    Oakwoods Trails Campground

    Late weekend excellence

    Arrived Sunday evening and found the campsite mostly empty, (season pass members had campers here but there was only one other active camper). Staff was very friendly and helpful. TOILETS FLUSH! Showers clean, basketball court, horseshoes, and volleyball all provided. Could see the sites being kind of close and it being a little pricey but more than worth it in my mind. Site 6&7 were perfect for hammocks

  • Camper-submitted photo from Riverside Co Park
    July 22, 2024

    Riverside Co Park

    Great little city/county park!

    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.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park
    July 18, 2024

    Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park

    We loved it

    We were here mid week and pretty much had the place to ourselves. Beautiful old growth forest with lots of shade. For July the bugs weren’t bad. After traveling across South Dakota and dealing with 100 plus temperatures with no shade this was a welcome change. The rangers and hosts were welcoming and helpful. The bathrooms and showers are ultra modern and clean. We are planing on stopping back here on our way home.

  • Camper-submitted photo from R Campground, Inc
    July 15, 2024

    R Campground, Inc

    Very clean, friendly owners, great co-campers

    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!

  • Camper-submitted photo from White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park
    June 15, 2024

    White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Early Spring Camping

    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.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park
    June 2, 2024

    Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Nice Campground

    Ok cell coverage for Verizon, no issues web surfing. Site 7E was larger with a good size and distance from others. Not the fault of the campground, bugs were in full force. Tons of tree coverage and very humid making it a great place for the little buggers. Would probably visit October/November when cold gets rid of them and the tree coverage. Hard to see the amazing views in the summer. Again, no fault of campground, just a consideration. Also, no real potty spots for pups. Either weeds/woods or muddy spots attempting to be grass/weeds. Best was around the showers/restrooms. Those were by far the shining gem of this campground. Fantastic bathing facilities. We’re self contained, so didn’t need it but my spouse did go use the restroom there instead of waiting. We peeked in the showers and they were really nice looking.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Alden riverview campground
    May 5, 2024

    Alden riverview campground

    15$! Alden Riverview Campground

    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!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Camp At The Woods
    May 3, 2024

    Camp At The Woods

    Open year round

    Very accommodating super nice people helped us back in and set up in middle of winter after dark after we had drove 2 days from the east coast. Our spot was on an incline but the water worked when temp was below freezing the camp was nice with new park for kids new basketball court new pavilion wish we could have been there in the summertime I’m sure the pool is nice when uncovered. I saw laundry and bathrooms by the river.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Twins Campground
    May 3, 2024

    Twins Campground

    Serene

    Serenity, nature at its best, birdsong all day long wildlife at every turn our campsite was level the owners and manager were great hosts. We stayed several weeks the price was very reasonable, honey wagon service was included ; riding/ hiking trails from campsite.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Twins Campground
    April 13, 2024

    Twins Campground

    Twins campground- cresco,Iowa.

    Very friendly and helpful owner. He even drove to town so we could follow him in. Has playground community area fire pit and a structure built to cover picnic tables. atv trails. Turkey river right there was 20 feet from my site. Porta potty and shower water is hot. 30/50 amp power with water on each site. Water fill station and dump station. Garbage .

  • Camper-submitted photo from Rice Lake Wildlife Management Area
    March 30, 2024

    Rice Lake Wildlife Management Area

    Good spot, but not exactly private

    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.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Eagle Lake State Wildlife Management Area
    March 29, 2024

    Eagle Lake State Wildlife Management Area

    Nice spot at the end of the dirt road

    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.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park
    December 6, 2023

    Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Great Campground, Even in 20° Weather

    We arrived after dark last night so we weren't able to see the gorgeous view until the sun rose! Luckily we woke up early and went for a walk right as the sun was coming up. It was quite cold, a little over 20°, but that meant the lake was frozen solid so we got to walk around on it! Tons of fun. Unfortunately the bathhouse, water spigots, and dump station were closed. That is not a super big deal since we have a camper. And it was publicized on their website about the dump stations being closed. The sites were spacious, the one we were in was non electric and a back-in site. But for $24 a night it was pretty nice! Especially would be worth it if more of the amenities had been open, but with how cold it is, it's very understandable that they would have them closed. There was still an outhouse with a vault toilet that was open. Unsure if there is a working sink because we did not use it. We had to call to make a same day reservation which was a tad bit annoying but the man on the phone was very helpful and nice so not bad at all.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Cedar Bend Park
    September 7, 2023

    Cedar Bend Park

    Peaceful place

    It was so clean and peaceful. Not overly crowded. The camp host was so friendly and helpful.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Cedar View Park
    September 3, 2023

    Cedar View Park

    Wonderful Find!

    Great find! We thought we would be dry camping because it was Labor Day weekend. We found this Park on the app and thought we would check it out. It’s first come first serve. I really never thought there would be any hookups because of what I had read, but they had electric and water! We found a spot right on the Lake! Very busy but wonderful view, location and was only $20.00!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Oakwoods Trails Campground
    August 29, 2023

    Oakwoods Trails Campground

    Lovely campground with lots of trees!

    This is a great campground with lots of shade and spacious tent pads! The large oak trees throughout the campground made for beautiful scenery and nice spots to string a hammock up. My site was right next to the bathroom building which did have a light on all night, but I had an eye mask so that didn’t bother me. $25/night for a tent site

  • Camper-submitted photo from Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park
    August 22, 2023

    Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Great spot in SE MN

    We stayed at the Big Island Campground in the beginning of August. The sites seemed pretty large to us. My kids loved skipping rocks at the little shore at the entrance to the big island. You cannot swim in the lake but there are canoes and kayaks to rent. We really enjoyed our time here. Rangers were super nice and helpful. We hiked about 5 miles, saw a few deer and other animals. Bathrooms were very nice and clean. All of us that remembered to reapply bug spray didn't have any bites.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Interstate Co Park
    August 10, 2023

    Interstate Co Park

    Empty but lovely.

    Here on a Wednesday (which is the only night the nearby restaurant is closed). It was empty. It's on a lovely river with swimming. Mostly people here for day use putting boats in.

    Showers have hot water.

    They don't take reservations. Would definitely stay here again if I'm in the area.

  • Camper-submitted photo from White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park
    August 5, 2023

    White Fox — Myre-Big Island State Park

    Quiet private campsites

    Great spot for nature seekers. Great bike trails. Well spaced, quiet sites. Electric hookup for RV and easy dump station. Showers were what you can expect but good pressure and hot water. No where to swim in the lake.



Guide to Nora Springs

Camping near Nora Springs, Iowa, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventurous getaway, there are several campgrounds to choose from.

What to do:

  • Hiking and Biking: Explore the scenic trails around the area. One camper mentioned, "The trails were in great shape and beautiful with past-peak grasses and developing colors in the trees" at Myre-Big Island State Park.
  • Fishing: Enjoy fishing in nearby lakes and rivers. A visitor at Pine Lake State Park said, "Fishing is good here, as are the hiking trails."
  • Cave Tours: Check out the cave tours at Forestville Mystery Cave State Park. One reviewer shared, "Love the cave tours! Some trails in the park are horse trails also."

What campers like:

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. A reviewer at Big Island Campground noted, "The bathrooms and showers are ultra modern and clean."
  • Spacious Sites: Many campgrounds offer roomy sites. One visitor at Maple Springs Campground mentioned, "Really nice campground. Well maintained and level sites."
  • Friendly Staff: Campers often highlight the helpfulness of campground staff. A guest at Waterloo - Lost Island Waterpark KOA said, "Staff was very friendly and helpful."

What you should know:

  • Bug Season: Be prepared for mosquitoes, especially in warmer months. A camper at George Wyth State Park warned, "There were tremendous amounts of mosquitoes at the campground during our visit."
  • Reservations: Some campgrounds require reservations, especially during peak seasons. A visitor at Pulpit Rock Campground mentioned, "There was only one site available when we made the reservation."
  • Limited Amenities: Not all campgrounds have full amenities. A reviewer at Eagle City County Park noted, "There is no pit toilet."

Tips for camping with families:

  • Playgrounds: Look for campgrounds with playgrounds for kids. A camper at Clear Lake State Park mentioned, "The playground was fun for the kids, nice beach access!"
  • Group Sites: Consider campgrounds that offer group sites for family gatherings. A visitor at Forestville Mystery Cave State Park said, "Campsites are flat and grassy. They back up to each other so good for groups camping together."
  • Activities for Kids: Choose campgrounds with activities like fishing or swimming. A reviewer at Pine Lake State Park shared, "Paddle on upper or lower Pine Lake."

Tips from RVers:

  • Level Sites: Look for campgrounds with level sites for easier setup. A camper at Big Island Campground noted, "Site 7E was larger with a good size and distance from others."
  • Dump Stations: Check if the campground has a dump station. A visitor at Maple Springs Campground mentioned, "The dump station was in an odd spot."
  • Cell Service: Be aware of cell service availability. A reviewer at Pulpit Rock Campground noted, "Cell signal was good-2 bars most of the time."

Camping near Nora Springs, Iowa, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Enjoy the great outdoors and make some lasting memories!

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What camping is available near Nora Springs, IA?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Nora Springs, IA offers a wide range of camping options, with 99 campgrounds and RV parks near Nora Springs, IA and 6 free dispersed camping spots.

  • Which is the most popular campground near Nora Springs, IA?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Nora Springs, IA is Clear Lake State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 11 reviews.

  • Where can I find free dispersed camping near Nora Springs, IA?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 6 free dispersed camping spots near Nora Springs, IA.

  • What parks are near Nora Springs, IA?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 5 parks near Nora Springs, IA that allow camping, notably Saylorville Lake and Coralville Lake.