Looking for the best campgrounds near Rockford, IA? Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Rockford, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Rockford. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
"Big grassy field surrounded by huge (walnut) trees. There a gravel track that goes along a large river. Trees everywhere so bring bug spray. Quiet, peaceful. Not private but worth it."
$17 - $35 / night
"We love coming to Clear Lake! The campgrounds are always very well kept, bathrooms very clean! Easy access to the lake, and the town has so much to do during the summer months!"
"Clear lake state park is a nice campground. It does get very busy during peak season and traffic is continuous. It is clean and close to the beach. Down town and other shopping is a short drive away."
"Dump station and dumpsters near the exit. Clean bathrooms and showers. Lots of space at each campsite. Good hiking and horse trails."
"Kids had a great time playing in the water, our site was about 20 ft from the waters edge."
$10 - $28 / night
"Located by New Ulm, MN this campground has plenty of activities in the park or very near the park."
"When driving to my site two fawns were laying near the playground."
$15 - $23 / night
"**
- Iowa state parks are a bargain! This one is $11 for a non-electric site, $16 for an electric site. (Rates go down to $6 and $11 from 10/1-4/30.)"
"On Cedar Valley bike trail (100+miles of interconnecting bike trial. major Hwy on two sides of park, sleeping in a tenet it was very noisy at night. and a train track close by (again at night)"
"The group sites are close by and they were quite loud, but the rest of the park was nice and quiet. There is horse camping here, and the lake is nice for swimming."
"Our group of 12 stayed at one of the two group sites at Lake Louise State Park. Our site holds up to 30 and the neighboring site holds up to 50."
TravelerYou will love this park. There are about 20 self-serve sites with electric and water. Self serve firewood. Dump station and dumpsters near the exit. Clean bathrooms and showers. Lots of space at each campsite. Good hiking and horse trails. Sitting right on the Cedar River, it’s a great location to kayak and tube. Cheap at $20 a night. We showed up at 8:00 on a Fryevening and spots were available!
GuideGood time! It rained and was a little muddy, but it was nice. Site 11 is kind of small for a large tent like we have. The group sites are close by and they were quite loud, but the rest of the park was nice and quiet. There is horse camping here, and the lake is nice for swimming.
LegendWhy Should You Camp Here?
Iowa state parks are a bargain! This one is $11 for a non-electric site, $16 for an electric site. (Rates go down to $6 and $11 from 10/1-4/30.) There is no separate park entry fee (unlike some states).
You can rent kayaks, canoes or pedal boats near the campground at Wyth Lake. And there are 3 other nearby lakes.
There's a small beach at Wyth Lake.
The Cedar River is on the edge of the campground.
You're so close to Cedar Falls and Waterloo which means there are craft breweries!
We were only there for a night but I saw this on reserveamerica.com: "The Lake-to-State Park Bike Route is a 50 mile route connecting Pine Lake and George Wyth State Park. The route primarily utilizes county highways and established bike routes and paths once inside Cedar Falls/Waterloo."
We didn't do everything we could do there, because we were just passing through. Check this out: https://iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/george-wyth-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=IA&parkId=610125
Amenities
The usual fire ring and picnic table
Dump station and potable water
Flush toilets and running water in bathrooms along with push button showers. Ok, push button showers are not ideal. Just keep pushing that button and hopefully you'll be okay with the temperature that you can't control!
ScoutIt’s quiet, clean, and has some pretty views of the Iowa nite sky
ScoutNice park with some easy hiking trails and great bike paths. Both also good for any runners. All are really flat and would be easy for older people or young children to do. There is also a beach that is open seasonally and docks dotted throughout for fishing boats or kayaks. Really nice for kayaking and paddleboarding. Not much if any current (unless your in the river portion) which makes it smooth for anyone to do including kids. Campground isn't bad. Usually very clean and the hosts are nice. There is a nice playground in the middle and we've rarely had any noise problems. If you plan it right you can get a site right next to the Cedar River. Really pretty in the evening. That being said, because it is so close to river anytime it rains heavily there is flooding in several areas of the park. And almost every year (usually late summer, early fall) it rains enough to flood a good portion of the park. In 2 out of the last 3 years it's even been bad enough to close the park completely. And it is fairly close to the highway. That's good for convenience sake of getting in and out of the park, but it does mean there is some road noise in the parts of the park.
LegendGeneral: A mixture of tent (non-electric) and electric sites, mostly arranged in several rows.
Site Quality: Mixed. Not all sites are level, and most do not have delineated parking pads (there is a small pavement indent to show where to access the site). A fire pit and picnic table complete the site. Most of the sites are too close together for our liking, however, when we were there (a Monday at the end of August, the day before school started), we were only one of three sites occupied so for our stay it didn’t matter.
Bathhouse: Basic but clean. My biggest complaint is there were no hooks or shelves for toiletries by the sinks. The showers looked nice but we did not use them.
Activities: Horseback riding (there are trails for this), hiking, fishing. Although we did see several trailheads, I did not have a map so didn’t explore them. There is an observation tower, but it is a two-mile walk/drive from the campground (on paved roads; I didn’t try to find hiking trails to get there).
Misc: A shout-out to the great host, Pam, who greeted us as we arrived. The observation tower, entrance gates, and picnic shelter were all constructed by the CCC and were beautiful. It almost seemed like the campground was an afterthought as it is outside the entrance gates and nowhere near the tower. The layout of the campground would be challenging if all sites were occupied.
LegendOur group of 12 stayed at one of the two group sites at Lake Louise State Park. Our site holds up to 30 and the neighboring site holds up to 50. Our site was a beautiful spot with large shade trees, three picnic tables and two fire pits. We also had a large grassy area to play and an area to put up our tents that was away from the activities. A vault toilet was beside us but it was also for the other group site so they had to constantly walk thru our site to get to it. The trails were nice but small and the beach is not recommended. Even though it's part of a river it was very stagnant yucky water and dirty sand.
GuideOur sight overlooking a small grove of trees. Several species of birds I don't recognize kept us entertained the whole time. Bathrooms were exceptionally clean best I've encountered. We got bikes from nearby LeRoy city hall ($5.00 donation) really great program. The bike path traverses through the campground (shooting star trail). One drawback is the faint highway noise. I would visit this campground again.
TravelerLocated by New Ulm, MN this campground has plenty of activities in the park or very near the park. Plenty of hiking trails, playground for the kids, and an amazing sand bottom swimming pond surrounded by sand beach. Golf is also nearby at The New Ulm Country Club which is open to the public. Nice level sites with electric, picnic tables and fire rings.
Horse camping in Iowa offers a unique experience for equestrian enthusiasts, combining the beauty of nature with the joy of riding. Several campgrounds cater specifically to horse campers, providing amenities and activities that enhance the outdoor adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Rockford, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Rockford, IA is Shellrock River Co Preserve with a 3.3-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Rockford, IA?
TheDyrt.com has all 8 equestrian camping locations near Rockford, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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