Join the fun near Shell Rock. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. Find the best campgrounds near Shell Rock, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
$11 - $16 / night
Clear Lake State Park offers diverse activities on one of Iowa’s most popular lakes. The 3,000-acre lake is a draw for boating, fishing and windsurfing. The park features 50 acres of open spaces and mature oak trees along with a highly popular campground. Several acres of picnic grounds with tables and grilles are available for day-use. The nearby town of Clear Lake is a summer tourist destination with numerous stores and restaurants.
Camp in one of the most popular campgrounds in Iowa’s state park system. The campground contains two modern restrooms, shower facilities and two dump stations. A quarter of the campsites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and advanced reservations can be made online through the online reservation system for Clear Lake State Park.
As of June 2023, Otter Creek Lake & Park has reopened to the public.This reopening includes all camping area, roadways, trails, etc. Though the refilling process has begun, the lake is still mostly empty. Fishing, swimming, boating, and other water activities are unavailable, as the lake has not yet filled with water. Restoration includes establishment of excellent fish habitat, improved angler access, removal of sedimentation, irrigation improvements, and more.
Seventy (70) acre lake hosting quality fishing, boating, and swimming.
Two open air shelters with approx. capacity of 72 persons each.
Electric camp section with 65 unit capacity.
Tent section with 18 sites, 45 tent capacity
Swimming beach offered at no charge
Picnicking. Tables to entertain up to 400 persons
Concrete boat ramp providing safe and convenient access to lake
Fish cleaning station located next to boat ramp
Sanitary dump station for trailer units using campground
Modern showerhouse (for campers)
Six vault latrines scattered throughout park
Two acre native prairie (never tilled by man)
Headquarters for maintenance operations
Two play areas with assorted play equipment including swings, jungle gyms, spring toys, slides.
3.0 mile loop scenic hiking trail around lake
Handicap access provides safe and easy access to beach play area.
Tama County Nature Center houses main office, 5,600 sq. ft. on main floor, 2,600 sq. ft. in basement, handicap accessible building. The Nature Center is popular for social events including weddings, receptions, family reunions, and workshops.
Visitors kiosk with vending machine is located directly south of the concrete boat landing.$10 - $20 / night
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!
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.
This is our second time camping at the Clear Lake State Park. The park is clean, the shower house is nice. It’s hard to control the temperature in the showers, too hot for little kids to stand directly in the water. The playground was fun for the kids, nice beach access! Limited full hook up sites. I wish there were more full hook ups that you could reserve. Paved roads are great for bike riding. Great shaded spots. DNR cruises the park daily which is nice to see.
Overall nice place to stay. We stay each year with family so there are about 4 of our campers all there together.distance between sites can be wide or narrow depending on which site you’re on.
Pros: Clean/well maintained, easy short path through the trees to get to the beach, sturdy picnic tables all around, long “driveway” for campsite
Cons: pads are gravel and not very level, pads are very narrow, beyond the trees on one side of the campground is a major road so you’ll hear cars passing by, not a lot of restroom/bathhouses
We spent 4 days here and the park is a busy place! Very clean!!!!! Dump station was easy access! We were right by the shower houses. Check in and out was simple. We made our reservations online. The park had paved roads, great for bike riding, playground was a hit! The sunset was gorgeous in the evenings at the beach! We will be back!
Be sure to go to Diner 63 for lunch or dinner while you’re there. Outstanding food great value
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!
This is a great little park if you need a place to stop for the night. It was very inexpensive for tents ($10 I think) and the tent camping area was very nice with 3 giant pine trees and some picnic tables and fire rings. As someone who bicycle tours I appreciated fire wood being on site and close to where the tent area is. The bathrooms aren’t the best but they worked. Overall its a safe, clean, welcoming campground for both tents and RV’s.
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.
Perhaps it is just a season, but there were tremendous amount of mosquitoes at the campground during our visit. Lots of stagnant water, lake, etc. Reasonably priced, however, and close to Cedar Falls. The bathroom were a little sketchy and the noise from the highway was quite loud. OK stay for a night.
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. Lots of families camp here. Spots are nice.
We camped with family in the group circle site. The circle group site has a nice big area for the kids to play. The playground and lake was also fun for the kids too.
You 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!
this park has hiking(on path or off), fishing in multiple lakes and the cedar river, and a beach!!! maxx rentals will rent you from float mats to double kayaks. i suggest if you like well kept campgrounds try a weekend here
Nice, quiet campground. Very low cost ($15/night with water & electric). Not a far drive off of I-35. Has a pool if you’re into that kind of thing.
Nice campground with some non-electric sites on bank of Cedar River, clean shower house and flush toilets. 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)
Loved this state park. Sites not too level, but spacious. Camped in mid April and park was not very busy which was nice. Full hook up sites and W/E only sites. Close to town and lots to do.
If you're looking for a wooded campground that offers you both quiet sites to relax but also offers a variety of activities for all ages, this is the place for you to setup your tent, or RV. For little ones, there is a large sand playground area with slides and swings. There is a sand beach to swim, where they also rent kayaks & canoes. The campground is located along the Cedar river, for those who want to boat and fish on a river, as well as multiple lakes to fish and a lake to ski. There are numerous soft bike trails throughout the park. And a hard trail that is part of 150 miles of bike trails in the Waterloo & Cedar Falls area.
The campground's shower house is handicap accessible. All sites have 50 amp service and the water provided is from the city of Waterloo. There is an onsite dump station.
Hidden gem in Iowa
Camper spots were huge with plenty of space between sites. Fire ring was on a cement slab. Bathrooms were clean. Good cell phone signal. Small lake for fishing and swimming working walking distance
We like this campground a lot, very nice shade, playground area, as well as nice trails. Clean restrooms and shower stall
It was kind of loud, but it was busy. The lake for swimming was a little gross but we did it anyway. The bike trails are excellent and same for hiking. Bathrooms were a little old but clean when we were there, but there were massive hornets all over the bathroom area. It's also pretty bright here at night because it's right in the city. But overall, a decent, cheap place to tent camp if you want to explore Cedar Falls.
Nice county park along the Cedar river. Boating and fishing was fun. Had a small swimming beach, nice bathrooms and showers dump station. Saw many people swimming off their boat/pontoons as the bottom is sandy and the current is very very slow. PS Don't try to tube down the river at the end of July-- too slow. It had a nice boat ramp with 3 docks and has nice big campsites. The only down side was the noise from the traffic going over the bridge nearby. There is also a nice walking trail a couple miles away on the river by Mitchell that we enjoyed.
This is a quiet county park with beautiful views of the Turkey River valley!! Best for self-contained campers and tents if you don’t mind roughing it.
Exceptionally clean. New basthroom/ shoer house. Water electric at each site. Dump station on site. Nice swimming beach and many fishing jetties.
Very nice park in the center of a semi-urban area. Lake access, good kayaking and canoeing, bike and hiking trails, and decent campsites.
This is a very nice quiet campground close to a nice small lake. We stayed in space 30 and this area has just had the electrical updated and the are adding some new spots right by the lake. There is a boat dock right there and benches to sit and fish or watch the geese or loons from
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Shell Rock, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Shell Rock, IA is George Wyth State Park Campground with a 4-star rating from 13 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 10 glamping camping locations near Shell Rock, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
