Best Campgrounds near Shell Rock, IA

We have stayed at this campground many times as we have traveled the "Avenue of the Saints." Highway 218.  R Campground is just a few miles off of the saints highway on the south eastern side of town.  Interior roads and sites are gravel, many with 50 amp full hook ups.  Our favorite sites begin with "OB" for out back. These all have a view of the river. Not all of them will accommodate our 44" Blue Bird.

We have watched this campground grow from the beginning with yearly improvements and upgrades made. Laundry facilities and restroom/shower house on the grounds.

Don't miss the pedestrian bridge over the river,  the walking/bike path that runs behind the campground and a casual lunch or dinner by the main street dam.

This is one of our go to parks. Even when we don’t camp, we love to swim here.

We tend to stay at campgrounds during the off or shoulder season for a quieter experience so it was with some apprehension that we reserved this campground for a summer weekend so that we could meet friends for Paddlefest. We were happy to discover that despite being a full campground, it was quiet at almost all hours of the day and night. It was, however, an entirely different story on the lake itself, where boats gathered all day to party!

There is little separation between the sites but there are trees located throughout, some of which provide shade to the site. The camper pads were a mix of dirt and gravel and mostly level. We were lucky to snag Site 34 (reserved about three months in advance) – it was on the end, making it a much larger site than the interior sites (all end sites in our section were larger) and we had plenty of shade trees, a welcome relief on a very hot weekend. 

The paved roads leading to the sites are very narrow and would appear to be one-way but are not designated as such, resulting in some confusion. The site numbers are only listed on one side, even though most of the sites appeared to be pull-through. 

The restrooms and showers were clean and had soap and (dated) air dryers. 

Overall, we had a very pleasant two-night stay even though we were prepared for a different experience.

I only drove through here I did not camp. It was quiet and the sites were shaded. I saw water, electricity and a picnic table at every site. The pads are gravel and very level.

You can easily bike into town.

There is a dump station.

I had 3 bars of Verizon 4G which provided 70 down and 12 up.

On T-mobile I had 5 bars of 5G and 100 down and 7 up.

This is a lovely park. It is fairly quiet, you can hear some highway noise in the distance. The lake is lovely and clean. The spots are gravel, most sites will require some leveling but are not too bad. 

Each site has a newer electric pedestal with 30 and 50 amp service, and each site has a water spigot, as well as a picnic table and fire ring.

There are a few sites that back up directly to the lake. There is a swimming beach and a dock. There is a city park adjacent to the campground with a playground and picnic shelter.

I had 3 bars on on T-mobile which got me 64 down and 18 up. On Verizon I had 3 bars which got me 65 down and 12 up.

The shower house was pretty bad though. It was older, which doesn't bother me, but it was dirty. There are camp hosts on site but I guess their duties do not include ever cleaning the restroom. There was food trash in there all week, and if you look around you'll find feces, blood, and personal hygiene trash including used condoms.

I would stay in this campground again because I have a self contained unit and do not need to use the on-site shower house.

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.

Nice campground with grassy pull thru sites. But very close together. If full, you would have no privacy. Fortunately, it was 1/4 full, so no problem. Bathrooms clean, nice warm showers! Nice beach, lots to do. Would be a fun place if you don’t mind camping next to neighbors!

Loved this campground! We just stayed for one night, but wish it had been two. Small and quiet. A few trails to hike and a horse camp that I didn’t have time to explore. Nice lending library as well. Bathroom/shower combos are nice (1 is ADA). Not far off the interstate. Some sites are off with level & weird (ie stairs/door open on an incline and away from the table), and our picnic table was sloped. So pick your site carefully. 19E was ok - table not level and high stairs required from TT but good for Starlink connection and close water spigot (elec only at these sites)

 Please do not ignore the negative reviews written by people on other sites regarding the owners. My husband and I drove almost 2 hours to check out the campground. We are looking for a permanent site for our RV next year. When we arrived we called the phone number listed on the closed gate. The owner, Joyce came out and said we would need an appointment to drive thru and she did not have time to show us around. The owner was very rude. We had been on their website and it did not state appointments were needed. Yes, I guess we could have called ahead, but as seasoned campers its never been a problem to check out a campground ahead of time.. Just beware owner unfriendly:( NO WE WONT BE RETURNING, WE WOULD NEVER STAY HERE

Randy was amazing and very attentive to my questions. Check in was super easy and the directions for check in were clearly spelled out. Everything was mapped out and the website was easy to use as well. The pond itself was pretty to look at and made for great photos, however it was loaded with geese which made it not user friendly. I would recommend this campground, and I will definitely go back to camp again!

30/50/110 power. Drinking water and dump onsite but not on sites. Wifi! Hot showers, playground,boat launch,fire pits,grills,good camp host.town is right there 2 bars and restaurants. Gas station I think was 8 blocks up to the right. Been hard to find all this for 15 bucks a day!

Easy in and out late fall camping.  I got a great tent spot next to the river.  This is a fine campground that I much prefer during the off season (it gets too busy during the warm season for my liking).  The connection to hiking trails throughout the park is fantastic.