The best DRIVE IN camping near
Spillville , IOWA

From someone who typically prefers backpacking and sleeping in remote areas, this campground facility, pretty much in the city, is okay.

The facilities are nice, bathrooms were clean. What I didn't enjoy was how close each RV site is. The sparks from our fire were making their way to our neighbors site.

The campground is situated next to the Trout Run Trail, providing quick and easy access to the 11-mile loop or in to the city center of Decorah.

Overall, decent for a city campground, but very crowded. The tent sites near the river look more spaced out.

One of the best state parks we've stayed at. We were on the bluff across the street which is no biggie. Site 124 the highest point there for camping. Restrooms were very clean and no bugs in the first of October.

Wen I lived in Minnesota and my boyfriend was living in iowa, this was our go-to meeting place for our weekend getaways.  We only had a few issues over the 6 times we stayed there relating to reservations….but overall, it was a positive experience.

Great camp site girlfriend and I stayed here last summer it was great friendly staff and very clean also very spacious definitely recommending

There’s a new children’s play area and and a very nice American wars memorial. The driveways are gravel and pretty level. 3 drive through sites and 4 back in spots with a few nice trees. Water electric and sewer connections at each site with a separate dump station. A shelter with men’s and women’s rest rooms. No showers. Pretty wide open and close together sites, but the sunset over the cornfields was very pretty.

This was a nice campground with private sites. We were in site 70e and was very private and close the the showers. Lots of great hiking and forestville is very charming but tours were not running due to COVID. There was no AT&T cell coverage.

The campground was quiet And clean- bathrooms extremely clean with facilities being closed for 2 hours each day for cleaning. 2 different camping areas one more woods, one closer to your neighbors but AMAZING bluff top views.

The hiking is awesome- prairie trails, woods trails, waterfalls, caves- take your pick. Concessions have what you may want for a treat, woods is reasonably priced at $4/ bundle. Though there is a stand right outside of the park where bundles are $3.

There are two campgrounds at this park (the first state park in Iowa): a primitive one and a “modern” one. The primitive one (Six Pine) only has a pit toilet and each site has a fire grate and a picnic table. The modern campground (South Lake) has 30 amp, 50 amp, and tent sites. The electric sites are very close together (too close for our liking) so we opted for a tent site. We were in a loop with about six sites, and while the site size was generous and spaced a decent distance apart, there was no delineation between sites and no specific place to park your vehicle (and you cannot park on the road). These sites were also decidedly bumpy and not level; it took us about 15 minutes of maneuvering our van around to find a reasonably level spot. 

The restrooms were six separate rooms, each complete with toilet, sink, and shower; they were clean. 

We drove around the park and saw the balanced rock (meh) and I walked the short distance to the mouth of the cave. There was good signage to find the cave but once there, no information about the cave and its safety (or not) was available so I opted not to explore its dark and wet interior! There are seven trails in the park; the East Lake trail was a treat to hike. It hugs the lake for about two miles and while you can veer off onto the Bluebird Trail, I enjoyed hiking out and back for a different view. You can also hike from the South Lake campground to the beach– about a mile but the trail does start and stop, and you have to walk on the road for a bit. You can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats but we did not take advantage of this. We also did not swim so I cannot speak to the quality of the lake (other reviewers took issue with this). There is also a CCC museum, but it was not open while we were there. 

We stayed one night which was sufficient for us. It might have been nice to stay longer if we decided to rent kayaks or hike different trails.

There are about 30 electric site big enough for RVs, and about 35 non electric site. All are very nice sites with fairly level gravel pads. There are lots of trees for shade making the sites really beautiful if not spacious. We had a tight fit with our travel trailer on site 33e, but once we squeezed in it was excellent. Two bathrooms one with showers, and well kept. The best thing about this park are the wonderful hiking trails. Some are ADA accessible near the camp store, but most are a good climb with lots of ups and downs. Town of McGregor has a few cute restaurants and bars, but enjoy the park and the amazing views of the Mississippi and the Wisconsin rivers. Several big rig RVs were there, but call ahead if you’ve got a big RV to make sure you’ll fit.

There are some fantastic cycling routes near the river, with stops in all the little towns along the way. A wonderful place to spend a weekend, with apple orchards nearby.

Out in the middle of bluff country. This nice campground plays to the active bodied person well. From golf to tubing to an indoor swimming pool and restaurant. This place has a lot to offer.