Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Oelwein, IA

I enjoyed my 5 night stay at Oelwein City Park Campground. It's located on the south end of town, there is only one business within walking distance. It's a great restaurant (Oelwein Family Restaurant) and it's about a 15 minute walk.

There is one shower house, and several vault toilets throughout the park. The shower house is old and a little run down but was very clean. I had no problems using it.

The city park is adjacent to the campground and has picnic shelters, a playground, and a dog park.

There are electric and water hookups at most sites, and there is a dump station. The park was pretty full on the weekend as you would expect, but very quiet during the week.

I had great Verizon and T-mobile service here.

Great RV park. Lots of room and cabin rentals for folks that don’t have an RV. The fenced dog park was fantastic for those of us with dogs. A lake with beach area and an area for fishing founded it out! Would recommend!

Came in late but found a spot, only 6 first come fist serve camping sites. I was a quarter mile from the next nearest site. Certainly a tent oriented campground, RV’s would have a difficult time. Will certainly stay here again. The hiking trail was perfect for a morning stroll with my dog and coffee and there certainly is a petting zoo (my German Shepard was a little uncertain about the goats)

Oelwein City Park campground on the shore of little Lake Oelwein is a great place to stay on ‘your way’ or for a week. $17 or $15 (senior)/night. 30/50 amp service with city water and dump station. Spacious wooded gravel sites. Older shower house but clean. Quiet and picturesque. Camp host on site. 2 pull thrus available. No reservations. Cash or check.

We stayed in Spot #1, which is by the water. We were in a tent, so it was warm, but overall it was a great stay. Very well maintained and a couple nice trails. Dog friendly.

We are staying here specifically to visit the monument. It is crowded with older people like us,in the electric sites, and their older dogs. Level sites. Showers. Concession stand at the picnic area. There are stunning views of the Mississippi River Valley too. Many trails will lead you by ancient Native burial mounds, including an Effigy of a bear (probably a bear.) Heard an owl close by last night. We're not fans of side by side camping sites, but we are at Effigy Mounds or hiking this park most of the time.

Decided to randomly pick out a state park to visit and this is what I picked. Wanted to get away for a few days with Dexter the dog and check out the area. Very relaxing, aside from the bugs; mosquitoes and gnats seemed to be on steroids those few days. Other than that not bad at all. Picked a campsite on the ridge, unfortunately the view was mostly trees blocking the view of the Wisconsin River, but can’t complain. Campsites next to me further down had more of an unobstructed view though. Had a bald eagle sitting in the trees 50ft away from the site so that was cool.

We stayed at started at the Lost Island water park KOA for just one night while passing through the area. We were in our class C while slowly making our way across the country. We had no problems getting a spot here. Sites are gravel for the RV, reasonably level, and very well maintained. Most sites are pull through. Hookups are in very good condition. Each site had a grassy area with a picnic table. Staff was very friendly and helpful. There was a playground, beach and fenced dog area. Cost was very good for the amenities provided.

The campground had a store, gas station and propane available.

We had 4 bar LTE with Verizon. Our hotspot was usable and performed very well. We enjoyed our brief stay at this campground. We will stay again when traveling this way.

We camped here to try a new place (we try to pick one new place each year). We were a little underwhelemed when we first pulled in but that changed pretty quick. There weren't many other spots occupied, those that were looked fairly permanent. We had the RV and used the electric hookup. We found that it was quite a peaceful campground when we went. There was a giant wood pile where you could grab wood for a donation in the box and a wheelbarrow was provided to use which was quite convenient. The trails and hiking was the best part though. We went for hours with our dogs and had so much fun. They were easy. Some right along the river, some grassy and along fields, others ran though the woods. There were shelters and restrooms (I did not check them out having the RV) some play equipment as well as a chapel area which was interesting. It turned out to be a nice little campground.

Lots a hiking trails... nice trout fishing. Kids love the river crossing. Be aware of night life, the raccoons like to come and join you at the camp fire.
All been said., nice little gem in Iowa.

I have visited a lot of Iowa parks and campgrounds. Backbone is one on my favorites. Backbone is the oldest state park in Iowa. You can take your canoe out on the lake or hit some of the hiking trails. There are cabins for rent if you don't want to sleep in a tent.

Click on the following link to download the trail maps: www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/parks/trailmaps/trails_backbone.pdf

This is a great place to stay but make sure you get your reservations in early if you plan on staying on the weekend. If you want it to be quiet and prefer less crowds but you still want to enjoy the park, I highly suggest taking some time off of work during the week and avoiding the weekend.

This is a special place, the facilities, the showers, the campsites, the trails, and the lake are top quality.

didn’t do much here the day we went. not sure what trail it was but one of them had a great look out spot. you can see clear over to Iowa.

Dusty gravel roads lead you down to the middle of cornfield Iowa. Nice, quiet little park with 3 spots next to a creek. Quiet (unless the camper next to you is snoring). Outhouse wasn’t too scary.

This nice SP is located on the Iowa border. It was a quiet nice little get away with several trails that challenge anyone in your group. Campground was clean and well maintained.

Backbone State Park is unlike any other place in Iowa, having geological features uncommon in Iowa.

There are two campgrounds. I have camped in both:

Modern Campground: This is a large, modern campground with all of the standard amenities found in a modern campground… electric hookups, flush toilets, water. I have camped here twice, both times in my travel trailer. Overall, it is a nice campground with decent space in between campers, however, I tend to avoid it during the busier summer and fall colors seasons.

Primitive Campground: This is my favorite at Backbone for camping, especially in the autumn after the leaves have fallen off of the trees. As this campground is non-electric, there are not many people camping after it turns colder. I have spent many nights there alone in the primitive campground, watching RVs pull in and then leave after realizing that it has no hookups.

Nearby trout fishing: Backbone is home to one of the more popular trout streams in Iowa. The fishing is easy as most of the fish are stocked (April-October). Still, it is an enjoyable fishing trip as the stream itself is mostly rocks and gravel, with several deep holes. The water is cold and clear.

Other activities: Hiking is very popular in Backbone. I have also seen rock climbing and rappelling. There are some nice spots away from the trout stream for wading and a little swimming. Backbone State Park also has a small lake with a swimming area and boat rentals during the summer. Several nice cabins are available for those who do not want to camp.

Linn County, Iowa, county pack in Primitive site is near nature scape, pit toilets, offers fire pit with sitting blocks and firewood included with camp fee, nature center just yards away, trails, forested areas, ADA platform for tent,

A very nice park located close to the Iowa border. Close to Effigy Mounds & Pikes Peak! It has great trails & campsites & lots of geocaching! Come one New Years for the annual carp drop :)

Iowa tends to get a bad wrap but this particular park should be love by many. I have family in Iowa and visit often. I decided on one trip to get out exploring a bit and stumbled upon this gem. Now, while there might not be mountains and alpine lakes and such, this is a beautiful park. We decided to picnic and quick day hike, but there are opportunities to do much more. There are designated trails for mountain biking and if kayaking, canoeing, or boating is your thing this place has you covered. Fishing is available for those so inclined. While we didn't stay the night, we did spy the campsites and checked out what they have to offer. They sell bait, firewood, rent boats, have concessions, a real bathroom (and some pit toilets!) and places for your trash. There is the opportunity to go rock climbing and even swimming in the lake. There are standard campsites as well as cabins to rent. While this place is not as primitive as I generally like, and was really busy, it is one heck of a park.

Hiked into this Camp that includes 5 primitive sites: fire rings and benches. Lush dense forest with intermediate hiking including typical summer insects. Leave No Trace ethics include: minimizes fire impacts by gathering only dead, down, wood. Sounded by nature atop of hill hike near Fire tower ( only fire tower in Iowa), cell reception is found up here.

Just stayed one night passing through Iowa. Very pretty Campground with colorful Kabin’s and a lake for swimming or paddle boats. Level sites but not much shade.

Surprised we did not get an escort to our site as is usual at KOA’s. Did not use bathroom facilities. Laundry needed attention as it was a bit unkempt and one machine was broken and half full of dirty water.

Would stay again to try some of the other amenities.