Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Ocheyedan? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Ocheyedan, including sites, reviews, and tips. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Ocheyedan's most popular destinations.
ScoutTent camping spots are large and separate from RV spots .$15 a night for tents. Only problem was the distance to the bathroom. We had a very nice spot on the lake. Large grassy campsite with shade.
Traveler
We had a great view of the lake from our tent site. Sites were very large for a state park. We had many lovely walks on the trails around the campground. Loon Island was a cool walk on a hot day. Lake Shetek had a fish kill over the winter, so our boat only got one trip out on the lake. I would definitely recommend.
Guide
Decent size spots with lakefront views at just about all of them. There is a swimming hole with a little beach and walking/bike trail. They have tent sites that you have to walk to but they are right on the water away from all of the RV sites. The town of Rock Valley is small but very quaint. I'd reccomend the coffee shop Rooted. Will definitely be coming back here.
Guide
This park is a CCC built park. Lots of twists and turns for an RV to get to their spot. We have a longer TT, and it was tight and nerve wracking to navigate. We had reserved a spot that was supposed to be long enough for our trailer, but was not. They were luckily not full but the spot we found was on a slope and uneven. I thought about driving 4 hours back home rather than continue to try to get the RV level. Someone across the way took pitty and helped us. I think the best RV spots are up the hill by the bath house.
On Lake Okoboji but heavily wooded no view, acorns dropped on our roof every 10 minutes, I was afraid it would bust the skylight. Marshy area by the tent sites tons of mosquitoes. If you can get a spit at Emerson down the road, do that. Bath house and playground ok. No one answered the phone, no one at the ranger station. Rode our bikes down the road to get the bike trail.
Guide
A hidden gem in Northwest Iowa. It is Memerial Day Weekend and on Friday night we had one other tent camper on Friday. None on Saturday.
The bathrooms are the old hole going down into a pit. They are very rustic.
There are plenty of trails in the park. The big creek that runs through the kiddos can play in. It is not deep but it’s water. There are some other small little creeks too.
Around the camping area, the kids rode their bikes. We did ride around the roads as a family.
The camp site are dirt.
There are permanent fire rings and grills at each site. Only place to get firewood was at Hy-Vee. Our site had electricity with 50, 30,& 20 amps.
There is only one water spot in the campground. We drank the water and didn’t die.
There is a golf course next to the park that is fun.
My only real complaint would be there is a lot of people just driving through.
ScoutThere are 8 spots at this campground for RVs to tents.
Scout
Campground Renovation: The campground will be closed from April 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019.
Marble Beach`s campground is the largest in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. The campground is well shaded and features paved roads, boat ramps, modern restroom and shower facilities, as well as a sanitary dump station. The campground includes non-electric sites and sites with electrical hookups.
Spirit Lake is the largest natural lake in Iowa and provides some of the best fishing in the state. Anglers will find challenging sport pursuing a variety of game fish including walleye, northern pike, muskellunges, largemouth and smallmouth bass, white bass, perch, bluegills, crappies, catfish, and bullheads.
Traveler
Emmerson Bay is the Best for Tubing on tbe Iowa Great lakes so access for your boat here too is also amazing, However theres not a place here to park it. But this place is awesome for icefishing as well!
Guide
Very cheap , 15$ a night for rv with electric and water, 5$ for tents. Huge swimming area with slides for kids, and river with a lot of fish!!! Brand New shower houses .
ScoutCamp sites for tents are super tiny and irregular shaped. Lots of sloping on sites. Generally tight quarters to other campers and plenty of road noise until about 10 PM. A few good options for fishing, boating and hiking near by.
TravelerFound a site with no problem but clearly this is an RV focused campground. I did find a nice grassy area for my tent but my neighbors aren’t far. The river is nice and the walking trails are ok.
ScoutThis is a small little kmown spot in the small town of Alton Iowa. It is $10 and there are a couple spots that have electric hook ups, a water pump hydrant, And a dumpsite. The camping fee is $10 per spot self-pay.
Guide
Really nice spot almost overlooking the lake (Through the trees), had fire ring, picnic tables and room for quite a lot of tents! For me and my family it was perfect!
Scout
It was serene and beautiful. The sunset over the water was absolutely amazing. Breathtaking scenery. There is a shower and toilets. And it costs $20 for a tent sight, $25 for a power hookup sight. We'll worth the stop, I almost didn't want to leave. I would stay here again!
GuideNice state park campground in West Okoboji Iowa. Close enough to the action of Lake Okoboji yet has a fairly remote feel. After doing some looking around the area, I believe that this is probably the nicest campground in the area. Sites are fairly close but not super tight. This is a good place to stay for a few days if you want to explore all that Okoboji has to offer. It was full the entire time that we were here and it does fill up quickly so book your trip well in advance.
TravelerFort Defiance is a forresty natural state park in Iowa. There is Electrical Hook ups a picnic Table and a charcoal Grill already at the camp site. The valley has a small river or a big creek, idk you tell me the difference, what you can cross over a few times on the trails. Depending on the time of day, generally in the morning you can cruise through at day break and find deer on the roads to watch out!
Legend
6/12/20-6/14/20 cart in 3
Lake Shetek State Park is located in the SW corner is Minnesota and on Lake Shetek. They have 4 campgrounds. We always up for the more private sites and stayed in the cart-in campground. There are carts available to haul your gear if you choose. The cart in sits sit up on a ridge and had some views of Lake Shetek. Our campsite (3) was spacious with a tent pad large enough to hold 2 tents and had a spot for a hammock. It had a fire ring and picnic table. The vault toilet was right across from our campsite, so we had a lot of foot traffic. It was not the most private site of the bunch, we liked 5 and 7 better.
Lake Shetek allows motor boats and there was a lot of boat traffic. There are other resorts on this lake so it’s very active. We brought our kayaks and enjoyed kayaking the lake, though there was always a pretty big wake and we stayed near the shoreline. We kayaked (a short Portage) to 2 smaller lakes that had no one on them. We were able to tie our boats to a tree below our campsite and scaled up the embankment, there was a path already there. There are a few hiking trails in the state park (roughly 4 miles of hiking tidal) but I wouldn’t say it’s known for its hiking. We enjoyed the causeway that led to the 1-mile Loon Island Trail. We saw turtles, deer, waterfowl and eagles during our stay. There is a “beach” locates near the Oak Wood campground however it was underwater, people still enjoyed swimming as it was shallow and warm in June. We did find another beach within the state park that was a longer walk to reach, but MANY boats were docked and “partying” here. There is a nice fishing pier and a dock within the park.
Due to all the boat traffic, I would say this is a much less private and serene state park.
GuideWe spent three nights at the Oak Woods campground at Lake Shetek State Park in May 2022. The six non-electric campsites are along one edge of the campground, across the road from the park’s four camper cabins. All of the campsites are large and open and grassy. They lack privacy but have good spacing, tall trees, and lake views. One of the two bathroom-and-shower buildings is nearby. We were there in early May and were the only tent campers in the park at that time.
The park is lovely. We saw and heard many birds including songbirds, woodpeckers, geese, turkeys, pelicans, turkey vultures, and a nesting swan. We saw deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and a mink. We heard coyotes the first night. There are some nice hiking trails. We especially enjoyed the Loon Island loop, which is accessed by a causeway across the lake. There is an observation deck with a viewing telescope at Eastlick Marsh, which is where we saw the nesting swan and a beaver dam. In season there are recreational rentals (canoes, kayaks, etc.), but we were a little too early for them to be available.
LegendRatings are really subjective. What are you after?
~A secluded spot in nature? 0 stars.
~A small campground inside a small town with flushing toilets and showers (albeit not new, super clean, or extremely nice), a lake with docks and boat ramp, large playground (with the cool old structures AND new ones), a baseball diamond, football field, city pool, creek with fish, and a tennis/basketball court? 5 stars. Yes, ALL of those things are right next to the campground.
I grew up in Lake Park, and I've stayed in this campground as an adult with kids (simply to visit family, certainly not to "get away" and enjoy nature). Lake Park is a small, rural town, and the current local passtime appears to be driving around town in ATVs and side-by-sides. It is noisy and extremely annoying. Every single person that drives by will stare at you; welcome to a small town.
There are a couple tent spots (one of which we utilized) that have some shade, a picnic table, and a fire ring. There's also a small RV area where people live in their RV's (complete with decks) for the summer.
If you stay here, perhaps to visit the lakes area without the crowds or at a lower cost, perhaps to fish in Silver Lake, or... well I don't know why else you would stay here... you should definitely try the breakfast or taco pizza at Stans Corner -- the local gas station/convenience store. You could also walk to the 2-block downtown on Market Street and try out one of a couple restaurants or a few bars. If you want to swim in the lake (I really don't think it's good for swimming anymore, but if you want to try your luck) you can go to the boat ramp by the bridge by the city park, the dock at the end of Trappers Bay, or to the public access area (dock and boat ramp) on the west side of the lake, accessed via 110th Ave (go west on Hwy 9, and turn left onto 110th st., it's a mile or two in on the right side of the road.
Regardless of the passtimes of driving around and staring, the people of Lake Park are generally very friendly, so you should definitely walk around and meet some people.
ScoutThere doesn't seem to be any overnight camping at this spot. There is no indication that there is any spots to do any camping. Don't stop here.
GuideContacted the office that manages these campgrounds and was told that the Olson Park campground is the only park with camp sites in Worthington…
Traveler
Though we didn’t stay long, this campground was tidy, well marked, and a perfect stop for the night. The campsites were clean, facilities were top notch, and the park and walking path provided a great spot to wear kids out before continuing on.
TravelerWe stayed at this very clean, small city park campground. Hardly anyone was there I think I counted 5 other there. We stayed on our trip out west. Would recommend.
TravelerElectric $28. Warm showers
Guide
Great stop for one night. It’s a gas station, U-Haul, Bait and Tackle, Mini-Campground. None of the back in sites are numbered.
GuideOverall a good experience. The location, sites, amenities, shower rooms are clean and great. I don’t know why the vibe feels a bit off except to say the people. Seems a little unfriendly. People cutting through sites. Parents not being kind, some kids being over the top.
ScoutThis campground is right on the lake! The spots are spacious, the bathrooms are clean, and the price is right. There are a few docks available for boating, fishing or just lake gazing. This is a great location as a home base to everything in Okoboji. Start the morning with coffee at the beach, hop on the Great Lakes bike trail and everything is nearby.
All the campsites are on crushed gravel so be prepared to sweep frequently or leave your shoes outside.
Dog friendly, lots of places to walk the dogs. Can't leave the dogs unattended in the camper, so keep that in mind when planning trips. Boji Bark has doggie daycare.
Tent camping near Ocheyedan, Iowa offers a variety of options for outdoor enthusiasts looking to enjoy nature and the great outdoors. With several campgrounds in the area, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
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