Best Tent Camping near Sabula, IA

Tent campsites near Sabula, Iowa range from primitive riverside setups to established walk-in sites within county parks and wildlife areas. The region offers several tent-specific options including Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area along the Maquoketa River and Castle Rock State Park Campground, which provides unique boat-in tent camping approximately 100 miles west of Sabula. Lock and Dam 13 serves as a hidden tent camping location near the Iowa-Illinois border that requires about a mile hike from parking.

Most primitive tent campgrounds in the area offer basic amenities with variable access methods. Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area features tent sites with fire rings, picnic tables, and a basic latrine, but requires hikers to pack in all supplies and follow Leave No Trace principles. The area is accessible via two parking locations with trails leading to the riverside campsites. Castle Rock's tent sites are accessible only by canoe or kayak, with campers needing to paddle approximately two miles downstream from the boat launch to reach the primitive campground. Sites typically include fire rings and picnic tables, but campers must bring their own drinking water as none is available on site.

Tent campers will find these areas provide genuine seclusion not commonly available in more developed campgrounds. At Castle Rock State Park, the canoe-in requirement creates a uniquely quiet experience, with one camper noting that "despite being what the park calls 'primitive' sites, there were picnic tables, fire pits/grates, and a cute little outhouse." The boat-in requirement means fewer neighbors and more wildlife viewing opportunities. At Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area, the walk-in sites offer direct river access for fishing and paddling while remaining relatively undiscovered. A visitor described it as a "unique hike or paddle primitive site with native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area." Both locations appeal specifically to tent campers seeking authentic outdoor experiences away from RV hookups and more developed facilities.

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Best Tent Sites Near Sabula, Iowa (12)

    1. Lock and Dam 13

    1 Review
    Fulton, IL
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 259-3628

    "You have to park off a gravel road on the iowa side and its about a mile walk and a half mile off the tracks. Very beautiful and peaceful place. Great fishing, especially along the spillway."

    2. Wapsi River Environmental Ed. Ctr.

    6 Reviews
    Wheatland, IA
    38 miles
    Website
    +1 (563) 328-3286

    $70 - $80 / night

    "Charcoal grill, fire ring with wood supplied, picnic table, covered porch, trail head right next to cabin. After hours offers quite park, dark skies, and trails with wildlife."

    "Cabin offers modern amenities: stove, oven,micro, dishwasher, refrigerator, coffee pot, toaster, ADA access, shower. AC/heat, covered porch, firewood, picnic table, Charcoal grill, trails."

    3. Joinerville County Park

    1 Review
    Baldwin, IA
    29 miles
    Website
    +1 (563) 652-3783

    4. Castle Rock State Park Campground

    7 Reviews
    Oregon, IL
    41 miles
    Website

    $6 / night

    "Located about 100 miles West of Chicago, Castle Rock State Park features one of the ONLY campgrounds that I've visited this close to the city in which I was completely alone."

    "Site selection is first come, first serve and the registration and payment is done on the honor system, and they do have rangers that monitor."

    5. Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area

    1 Review
    Monmouth, IA
    36 miles
    Website
    +1 (563) 652-3783

    "Unique hike or paddle primitive site. Native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area. Two parking sites to hike in or access by river. Site is along river, has table, fire ring, latrine."

    6. Blackhawk Memorial Park

    4 Reviews
    Blanchardville, WI
    44 miles
    Website

    "Pit toilets/shelter/playground near the entrance.

    Two boat launches.

    Variable availability for firewood; the Cenex on the west end of Argyle reliably sells it if there isn't any at the park."

    7. #JTRidge Sites/Clothing Optional

    1 Review
    Wyoming, IA
    44 miles
    Website
    +1 (319) 350-3881

    $20 - $45 / night

    "Jungletown Ridge is perfect for those looking to get some space from others and enjoy some quiet nights int he woods. Check them out and share some pics from your stay!"

    8. Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center

    1 Review
    Oregon, IL
    43 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 732-2220

    "Sometimes there are family retreats planned where you can bring your tent or trailer and camp in designated campsites in a tranquil meadow."

    9. Franklin Creek State Natural Area Equestrian Campground

    1 Review
    Nachusa, IL
    45 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 456-2878

    $4 - $8 / night

    "are one of those primitive campers who want to take their noble steed(s) with them for the night in order to gallup along some pretty amazing horse-friendly trails."

    10. Goatland

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    Orangeville, IL
    37 miles
    +1 (815) 206-8292

    $35 - $55 / night

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Sabula, IA

5 Photos of 12 Sabula Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near Sabula, IA

567 Reviews of 12 Sabula Campgrounds


  • James M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 16, 2022

    Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area

    Unique County wildlife site along Maquoketa River

    Unique hike or paddle primitive site. Native forbs and wildlife surrounding the area. Two parking sites to hike in or access by river. Site is along river, has table, fire ring, latrine. Pack in, pack out and Leave No Trace.

  • Stuart K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 7, 2025

    Bald Eagle Campground and Cabins

    Barren RV-Riddled Campground Outpost

    One of the 6 campgrounds that you will have to choose from here at Scott County Park, Bald Eagle CG & Cabins is one that is more geared for the RV driving and trailer toting tribes as each site has FHUs with electric, water & sewage, fire rings and picnic tables; however, if you wanted to pitch a tent here, you could, although I would recommend nearby Incahias as an alternative. Unlike some of the other campgrounds here, Bald Eagle kind of lives up to its name as there’s not much in the way of tree cover or brush, so the land is somewhat BALD. The land is incredibly flat, back-in slots are spacious, hard and very level grounds are incredibly well-organized and the bathroom / shower facilities with great HOT running water and are about as impeccably clean as can be.

    Near by Bald Eagle is Pride Lake, which makes this pet-friendly CG your top pick if you’re an angler or looking to get some decent oaring with your kayak or canoe. Sitting in front of Pride Lake are 2 very large shelters – Whispering Pines and Hickory Hills – as well as a playground for the kiddos and a restroom facility that is also spartan-clean. Surrounding Bald Eagle is also no shortage of hiking / biking / horse trails. We found the CG itself to be fairly quiet, although lacking in privacy without the benefit of any real brush or trees to blot out our next-door neighbors, but that said, everyone was incredibly friendly with full displays of Midwestern hospitality that this area is known for. There is also a single large cabin available for rent that has capacity for 10 people.

    We loved Scott County Park so much because there is a lot that this gem offers up, from fresh water catch & release lakes, a combination of topographies (from woodlands, wetlands and prairie grasslands), a beautiful 18-hole championship golf course, outdoor exercise areas, club house and concessions, stand-alone cabins for rent, designated dump stations and trash receptacles, numerous picnic areas, a massive heated swimming pool complete with a snake-like water slide, volleyball court, ranger stations, seasonal on-site hosts, firewood available for purchase at entry stations, Walnut Grove Pioneer Village and St. Anne’s church at the park’s NW perimeter, 7 community shelters, designated picnic areas, a memorial park, equestrian area and an incredibly well-paved network of roads that allows you to easily access just about every corner of this park.

    Happy Camping!

  • Stacie H.
    May. 29, 2022

    White Pines Forest State Park Campground

    Lovely natural scenery; campground leaves something to be desired

    Let's start with the good stuff:

    • The park is beautiful. Lovely trees, lots of shade, the hiking trails are nice, well marked, and they even have an accessible trail for those with disabilities!
    • There is a restaurant and gift shop on site. Gift shop sells wood if you run low or forget.
    • The bathrooms and shower house are relatively clean and well kept.

    Now for the not so great stuff:

    • Many of the campsites are sloped and some are sloped A LOT. This isn't obvious from the booking page.

    • The campground is absolutely jammed with camp sites- it's ridiculous. I've never been to a campground where the sites were so on top of one another.

    • We stayed in the Sunny Crest loop and the drinking water well was broken so we had to travel to other parts of the campground for water. When carrying a 10 gallon jug full of water back, that really sucked.

    • The sites that are marked as "hike in" aren't secluded and away from other sites at all, as one might expect. They are jammed in with all the others but there just isn't any parking nearby.

    • It had rained the day before was went and so the road to the campgrounds was blocked off (presumably because the creek was running too high), but there was NO SIGNAGE telling us how to get there another way. There was no one in the park office or in the camping registration station to ask. We finally figured out that we had to take an emergency road/auxiliary road to get to the campground, but that was after about 30 minutes of confusion.

    • The breakfast buffet at the restaurant is mid but very pricey- $50 for 2 of us.

    • The quiet hours and no alcohol policy are not enforced at all. While we were there, there was a very loud group playing beer pong into the wee hours of the morning.

    • About half of the fire rings don't have grill grates so bring your own or bring a camp stove (See pic). Also, when you book your site, there is no way to know if your fire ring will have a grill grate or note.

  • Alex H.
    Sep. 26, 2022

    Yellowstone Lake State Park Campground

    No Flat Spots

    Very nice park. Well marked and maintained trails. A large lake with boat launch and beach area. Separate pet area.

    We spent the weekend at site 101, which is a tent site. I wouldn't recommend this site. based on a quick walkaround, it seemed a bit smaller than other sites. That's not really a deal-breaker, but it didn't really have any flat spots to pitch the tent. We ended up pitching it up on the parking area, but it was still a bit slanted and we could feel the tire divot a little through the air mattresses. Aside from that, it was great. The site had a picnic table and fire ring that we used a lot. It was secluded from the surrounding sites.

    We hiked the Windy Ridge trail and the Prairie Loop trail. both were well maintained and enjoyable trails. We also spent some time on the beach.

  • Sarah B.
    Jul. 19, 2024

    Yellowstone Lake State Park Campground

    Def do not recommend for summer 2024!

    I wanted so badly to love this campground experience, but just didn't. Site 19 was an easy walk-in that theoretically had nearby vault toilets, parking, and water.

    Each site only had space for one car to park before walking in. Not a huge deal, but annoying as there were 2 of us who drove separate and we had to problem solve. When we got to the site I was shocked to see that what was labeled as a tent site had literally NO flat space to actually set up a tent. Spacious site, but fully sloped.

    Also, what I would have loved to know, is that the vault toilets are closed because they are doing construction to build something new in that space. Construction that starts loudly each day at 7am. Honestly every site from about #35 down was affected by the noise because the construction is happening in the middle of the loop (and actually blocking some of the one-way road as well).

    The park in general was okay. Per the usual, the pet areas were lacking. No beach at all, just grass covered in goose poop and one cut out on the raised shore between tall grasses and foliage where a dog could potentially jump in. Certainly nowhere for a human to enjoy the water with their pups unfortunately.

  • James M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 5, 2021

    Swiss Valley County Park

    Great County park, preserve, campground

    Campground is well maintained, restrooms, showers, recycling station, fire wood available, campground host onsite, resident park ranger, standard RV sites, some electric tent sites otherwise primitive with fire rings and tables. Trout stream (Catfish Creek) runs through campground and park and is stocked by Iowa DNR, has Swiss Valley Nature center with trails.

  • Amy W.
    Apr. 2, 2022

    Morrison-Rockwood State Park

    Family friendly; great first timers

    first timers/ young kids- yes. Primitive campers- no. My husband had never been camping. I grew up with very primitive camping- no electricity, only pit toilets, sometimes fresh water, and no showers (milk jug showers!) Little by little, I’m warming him up to camping. This is a great place for new campers, families of young kids, or just looking for an easier trip. There’s a shower house with flush toilets, warm showers, and surprisingly CLEAN! The site was medium size. Enough room to spread out. Ground was flat so finding a tent site was no problem. Electric hookup worked. Picnic table was good. Check your site before booking! One section of sites is like an open field? No trees and full view of others. But these surround a playground- also very nice. Glamping with young kids? These sites would be a perfect. AT&T and Verizon cell service worked fine

  • James M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 28, 2024

    Sherman Co Park

    Scenic County park along Wapsipinicon River

    The campground offers to camp areas: one better suited for RVs, and the other area is better suited for primitive tent, camping. Sites have picnic tables and fire rings, our recites include electric. There is a campground host, shower house, shelter and playground area there too. The tent sites are prone to flooding occasionally from the gun river. There is a boat ramp with access to the river for fishing and paddling.

  • Becca Z.
    Aug. 30, 2020

    Lowden State Park Campground

    Great camping spot!

    We were so happy with the size of the tent camping sites. They were mostly all flat, plenty of space and gave privacy from the neighbors. We were at site 28 which had both sun and shade. Right across from the pit toilets which I wouldn’t pick next time. There was no shower house or running water in the loop we were at. Across the street were the electric rv sites and a few tent sites. Only compliant is even from the middle of the campground we could hear the road noise. Otherwise great!


Guide to Sabula

Tent camping near Sabula, Iowa offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the tranquility of the outdoors. With a variety of campgrounds nearby, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.

Local Attractions for Tent Campers

Activities to Enjoy While Camping

  • Enjoy fishing and peaceful walks at the Joinerville County Park, where you can also take advantage of the river access for a day of paddling.
  • Experience the unique wildlife and hiking opportunities at the Buzzard Ridge Wildlife Area, perfect for nature enthusiasts looking to explore the area on foot.
  • Take a canoe or kayak to the secluded Castle Rock State Park Campground, where you can camp right by the river and enjoy the serenity of the surroundings.

Tips for Tent Camping Near Sabula

  • Be prepared for primitive camping at the Illinois Lock and Dam 13, which offers a peaceful atmosphere but lacks amenities like trash disposal and showers.
  • If you're looking for a more social camping experience, consider the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center, which hosts family retreats and offers various outdoor activities.
  • For a unique experience, check out the Jungletown Ridge, known for its clothing-optional policy and spacious sites, allowing for a more relaxed camping atmosphere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Sabula, IA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Sabula, IA is Lock and Dam 13 with a 5-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Sabula, IA?

TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Sabula, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.