Best Tent Camping near Ruthven, IA

Recent Tent Reviews near Ruthven, Iowa

119 Reviews of 7 Ruthven Campgrounds

• 

  Joshua D.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 2, 2024

  Silver Sioux Recreation Area

  Hidden gem

  Was it expecting how nice this campground was compared to more primitive ones in the area. Beautiful site! Has tent camping, full rv hook ups, and a nice playground for the kids.

• 

  Mara F.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 29, 2016

  Silver Sioux Recreation Area

  Meh for tent camping

  The campsite seems to be more for RVs. Tent camping is just a field with a few picnic tables in it and has a bit of a walk from the parking lot with your equipment. The shower house was nice and clean. There is a barn there to use as a picnic shelter which is very pretty. The overall campground is pleasant and in beautiful country.

• 

  Roger A.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 20, 2020

  Siems County Park

  Beautiful Park and campground

  I stumbled across this Park traveling through and looking for a place to spend the night. I drove in and saw the beautiful lake and the campground so I talked to the camp host, told him I just needed a primitive spots I didn't need electricity or water is it all good just grab a tent site, they are $6 a night and 30 amp electric with water is 15 tonight. And if you rent for 7 days you only pay for 6 and it's a beautiful quiet I'm sure there's fish in the lake you can swim in it's a wonderful place I'm so happy I stumbled across this Jewel

• M

  Mia L.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 9, 2019

  Gull Point State Park Campground

  Not a great spot for RVs

  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.

• B

  Bradley B.

  Traveler

  

  May. 30, 2022

  Iowa Lake Co Campground

  Grea for tents

  I found this to be a great little spot to stay bike touring through Iowa. It is right in a lake, has water, and a nice vault toilet. Unlike the other reviewer I was literally the only one there. That’s always a bit odd but in this case it didn’t bother me at all. I highly recommend for tents. RVs not so much.

• T

  Tim

  Guide

  

  May. 30, 2021

  Fort Defiance State Park Campground

  A Hidden Gem in Iowa

  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.

• 

  Abby F.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 11, 2018

  Smith Lake County Park

  Tent Hill

  This campground has RV sites along the edge with all the tents on a hill by the lake. Every time we go camping here we make a new friend, get some great camping recipes. There is a beach near the camping area and another one for the park. The tent area is nice and big for several tents, but could use a few more trees for shade.

• 

  Mick P.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 4, 2018

  Marble Beach State Rec Area

  Great place to stay around the Okoboji area

  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.

• 

  Adrian D.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 5, 2020

  Emerson Bay State Recreation Area — Emmerson Bay State Recreation Area

  Since I was a wee lad!

  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!

• 

  Wally B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 16, 2020

  Bright Lake Co Park

  Awesome Sunset!

  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!

• 

  Dan C.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 4, 2022

  Marble Beach State Rec Area

  Good, but not great

  Camp 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.

• c

  clair W.

  Scout

  

  May. 29, 2024

  Everett Park

  Beautiful, peaceful, not too far out of the way.

  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!

• 

  Pam H.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 5, 2023

  Grotto Campground

  Nice quiet camping

  Stopped for the night , so I could see the Grotto in the morning. Very clean restrooms/showers. Only one other camper here. Shaded spots, great Wi-Fi, good cell service. Next to train tracks but only one train came by and it wasn’t loud. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area. You pay at the gift shop across the street. $20 for RV and $10 for tent.

• 

  Adrian D.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 5, 2020

  Fort Defiance State Park Campground

  Great Hikes

  Fort 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!

• 

  Annie C.

  Legend

  

  Jun. 27, 2019

  Reiff Park

  A quick layover

  Out in the farm fields in the middle of nowhere is this tiny little park and campground. When I first pulled up I didn’t see the campground, just the park. The park is actually divided in two parts with a wooded area in between. On the left is the park with bathrooms, meeting building and playground and on the right is the campground. The campground is really just a place for rvs to pull up and have some power and water. There are only about a dozen of these pull thru’s and no designated tent area. There are some trees that are well spaced for hammocks but you would be right next to someone’s RV. You have to walk to the other side of the woods to access the bathrooms. It was mown and maintained, but nothing special. Thankfully the place was empty so I could hang my hammock between two sites to relax and no one was around to care that I put my tent up in the grass instead of in a pull thru.

• 

  Opus 15 !.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 28, 2022

  Emerson Bay State Recreation Area — Emmerson Bay State Recreation Area

  Nice State Park Campground

  Nice 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.

• 

  Veronica S.

  Legend

  

  Mar. 18, 2022

  Silver Lake City Park

  It's a city park

  Ratings 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.

• 

  Adrian D.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 5, 2020

  Kearny Park

  This Place Was Fun!

  Fishing from the Island is awesome here! Even if your catching nothing theres a great view!

• Z

  Zach E.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 1, 2022

  Wolden Recreation Area & Campground

  Great for Kids

  Good sized park with easy access to a swimming beach and multiple playgrounds for children. Also includes a sand volleyball court and a basketball hoop.

• C

  Chad P.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 5, 2020

  Minnewashta Lake

  Small town camping

  It a boat launch with a couple campsites. They do have power. Open space. Great to get a nights rest. Shower and restrooms worked well.

• 

  Petra H.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 22, 2021

  Emerson Bay State Recreation Area — Emmerson Bay State Recreation Area

  Beautiful Area

  Overall 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.

• 

  Samantha B.

  Scout

  

  May. 14, 2018

  Emerson Bay State Recreation Area — Emmerson Bay State Recreation Area

  The best place in town

  This 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.

• 

  Alec S.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 30, 2020

  Emerson Bay State Recreation Area — Emmerson Bay State Recreation Area

  Great site to spend a week

  I can not say enough about this campground. The sites are well maintained, bathrooms are IMPECCABLE someone was out cleaning the shower house at 11pm one night. The staff are extremely friendly and there is so much fun for the kids to bike, swim (sand beach), and fish. The surrounding area provides so much entertainment you can easily spend a week.

• 

  Samantha S.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 30, 2019

  Emerson Bay State Recreation Area — Emmerson Bay State Recreation Area

  Great experience

  Spaces were clean, bathrooms were nice. Beach is very close. Showers were private. Close to many amenities and quiet overall

• 

  Deborah

  Scout

  

  Aug. 3, 2021

  memoirs park

  Beautiful

  Don't know yet. I'll find out tomorrow but it was beautiful clean I think I'll love it peaceful

• D

  Daniel N.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 16, 2020

  memoirs park

  Awesome campground

  New paved roads, boat landing to river and frisbee golf connected. No water hook ups at each site. Has one in central location so luckily I had just enough hose to fill up the camper. Close to state park with trails and bison so had a great weekend!

• A

  Amy K.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 7, 2020

  memoirs park

  Beautiful grounds

  The grounds are beautiful. We went on a weekday so we were the only ones around. We had site C14. Bathrooms were decent. Playground is kind of small and old. However we had a great time and will probably be back next year when sibley farm is open again. The electric hook ups are really far from the pad so bring an extension. Frisbee golf course within walking distance. Bugs were bad I guess, maybe a tad worse than elsewhere we have camped but not bad enough to keep us from sitting outside in the evening.