Escape into nature and disconnect from daily life with glamping near Waterville. Glamping is not only a fun alternative to traditional tent camping, but also allows you to pack more or less gear as you see fit. You're sure to find glamping for your Iowa camping excursion.
$33 / night
Red Barn Campground and Restaurant is a cozy hideaway in the hills of Iowa. People come for the scenery, the fishing and the fun. We welcome seasonals, weekenders and locals alike.
It’s a great place to relax with family, make new friends and just take a break from the day to day. Enjoy solitude walking on nature paths and trout fishing. Join friends around the community fire pit. Let the kids play in the arcade or on the playground. Finish the day at our full service bar and grill.
Families have been coming to Red Barn Campground and Restaurant for generations. Season after season, they return with their RVs, boats and fishing poles. Some guests have been coming to Red Barn since they were kids, and now come with their grandkids. There’s no shortage of campfire stories or fisherman’s tales.
$25 - $39 / night
Nestled in the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley, in Wisconsin's Grant County, Boulder Creek is the place for your next camping adventure!
Our campground is conveniently located near Wyalusing State Park, as well as local restaurants, bars, and shops. We are close to ATV/UTV trails, historical sites, wineries, beaches, public boat launches, and SO much more!
Our spacious campsites, and amount of on-site amenities, make us the perfect destination for your next outdoor adventure. We have 180 sites, including 20/30/50 Amp sites with full water, electric & sewer, to cozy Canyon Chateau Cabins that sleep up to 10!
***We can't wait to welcome you to Boulder Creek in Bagley, WI! ***
$32 - $260 / night
Chimney Rock campground has medium service private campground with cabin rentals, canoe, and kayak rentals. Primitive and electric sites and livery service. Located along the gorgeous upper iowa river. Chimney rock campground 5 small (six person) cabins and 2 Large (12 person) cabins. All have heat and air conditioning. All include: stove, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, toaster, pots and pans as well as complete table service. You do need to bring your own bedding. There are full sized bunk beds in the lower level and queen beds in the loft. There is also a water storage container and sink for washing dishes. For bathing we have a community bath and shower house. There are porta potties located very near the cabins as well.
Formerly Randy's Bluffton Store and Campground - under new ownership
$25 / night
Located just three miles east of Lanesboro, Minnesota, Eagle Cliff Campground & Lodging offers something for everyone. Accommodations include riverfront tent sites, electric-only sites, water-electric sites and full hookup sites and a five-room motel on site. Eagle Cliff offers group camping, a picnic area, private canoe launch and wonderfully-clean central restrooms.
$30 - $46 / night
Esofea/Rentz Memorial Park is Vernon County’s oldest and most historic park. Situated on 148 acres in the Town of Jefferson, Esofea Park has 16 rustic sites, 2 electric and water sites, and 10 full hookup RV sites - advance reservations require a two night minimum. Esofea has more than 3 miles of hiking trail, a picnic shelter, a spring trout pond, large open areas for softball or kickball or volleyball, and an incredible section of the North Fork Bad Axe River running through the property. Esofea Park has something for everyone! Just down the road on the adjacent property is the Bad Axe River Country Club, featuring a nine-hole golf course, mini-golf, and disk golf.
$20 - $40 / night
Guide
I’ll begin by saying this is by far the cleanest campground I have stayed at. The facilities were well kept including the vault toilet houses. We stayed in a walk to site and the views were incredible. Our tent pad was quite rocky so I would recommend sleeping pads or you will be very uncomfortable. Our site was also extremely dusty which wasn’t a problem at all just be prepared to be a little dirty. The campground was quiet except for the occasional train that rolled through those are quite loud due to how close they are to the campground. I would definitely come back to Nelson Dewey and stay again. There was not a ton to do in the area so a short weekend stay was perfect. A highlight is that the park provided cart to use to haul all your stuff to the walk to sites. There is 1 designated parking spot per walk to site as well. The walk to sites are small and only accommodated our one (6 person) tent which was not a problem for us as we knew this ahead of time.
Guide
The park is on the beautiful might Mississippi river. It’s 2 miles from Potosi, WI with a large brewery with good food as well. Army Corps so half price with America The Beautiful senior discount card. If you like trains you will see many, close and going fast.
TravelerI was hitchhiking thru, was dropped off by a ride that said he was buying a $14 tent site for me, come to find out he never did, I just was honest with sandy and the gentleman worker and offered the only 8$ I had, no sir, they said please stay for free and just enjoy. WONDERFUL PPL THAT CARE ABOUT OTHERS!! THANKS YALL
Traveler
Very cool secluded walk in sites, pet friendly, awesome trails.
Scout
If you want to experience very rude and unfair treatment where you will be mistreated and ripped off by the staff and ow era you must come to Eagle Cliff campground. Was double charged for the room without any options and negotiations and knees delivered to us after we already left the campground. Staff is very rude and unwilling to be reasonable, professional and understanding. Campground looks good but rules are ridiculous and staff and owners are very shady and make non sense decisions. Stay away if you want nice peaceful stay and don’t want to be ripped off.
ScoutIf you want to experience very rude and unfair treatment where you will be mistreated and ripped off by the staff and ow era you must come to Eagle Cliff campground. Was double charged for the room without any options and negotiations and knees delivered to us after we already left the campground. Staff is very rude and unwilling to be reasonable, professional and understanding. Campground looks good but rules are ridiculous and staff and owners are very shady and make non sense decisions. Stay away if you want nice peaceful stay and don’t want to be ripped off.
Scout
Free firewood, free wifi, water and electric at each campsite. Found a nice shady site for tent camping.
Scout
Dre, the campground manager, is a stellar guy to talk to. Excellent customer service! Gorgeous bluffs and river to camp right next to! Can’t wait to go back!
Ranger
We loved it here! What a gem! The views go on and on!
Huge open sites. Not a lot of trees for privacy but the sites are huge so it’s all good! Hot water and flush toilets and hot showers (need quarters). $40 for a yearly membership (covers your camping fee and then any time you return in the year the camping is only $20).
Feel like you can write your long overdue novel here. Perfect setting and very relaxing. We would stay again for sure. Lots of bugs at night to be expected being that close to the driftless. We awoke to such views - hard to beat!
GuideThis is a smaller campground but makes up for it with all the access around it. Ice Cave trail was a neat, quick walk. The trails around have gorgeous views of the driftless area and Kickapoo river. I stayed at site 1. While it is right next to the campground road and a trail, trees block the views from people looking in and there was not that much traffic. It is a tent only site and can fit one tent. Was a good site for just me and would stay at this site again as most of the other sites are very explored.
Traveler
Nice grassy sites next to a cool creek. Electric but no water hook up. There is an RV fill up and a dump. Stayed in site #34 which has shade all afternoon. Also very level. Showers are not great but they work. Nice 2 mile trail around the lake. Close to the cute town of Viroqua and 20 min. Drive to the Mississippi River. Beautiful country.
GuideVery nice hosts. Army camping. Nice view at the Mississippi River $20 per night with electrical hook up. 
LegendNice campground, quiet would come back! It was our first time to WI so the scenery to the park was just beautiful.
Our campsite was nice. Spaced out enough from neighbors that we were comfortable. Do not like the nickel and diming of WI state parks. Charge the site fee which is reasonable enough but then a $8 reservation fee that gets you to $40 and then another $11 to NR's for the vehicle pass. You can get an annual pass for $38 but when you are just passing through it's not worth it. Brought us to $51 for the stay and it was worth it since we needed a place to camp, but I've stayed in better places for less. This park was much better than Rocky Arbor.
Bathrooms were super clean for a campground. Good shower with directions on wall, which was a nice touch. The cement in shower is stained so it looks dirty but it's really pretty clean. Enjoyed my hot shower here.
Hiked the Old Settlers Trail. It was nice, some elevation changes that get you attention. It was muggy and hot as I hiked right after the rain, so temperature was miserable at times, but it is July! The entire trail was about 3 miles round trip from the campground. Definitely check out observation point! Beautiful view!!!
GuideNice campground. Cement pads and blacktop roads. Clean shower houses. Train tracks border the campground and train horns are loud. Has sites with views of the Mississippi.
GuideGreat spot in the Root River Valley. They offer lots of extras including tube rental and transport, bike rentals, bingo and live music. Our site was right long the river where we saw turtles, bald eagles and lots of other wildlife. Facilities were clean and well-maintained. Not a lot of trees between sites but still far enough apart for privacy.
RangerThis huge campground had the best lush looking grass I ever saw. There is every kind of camping to be found here, including seasonal camping. Close to Lanesboro. If I needed bathroom or showers, I would have been disappointed at the port a pots and showers far away from my site.
GuideThe campground had quite a few geese when we went so lots of honking and goose poop which dont work out if you want peace and quiet and clean shoes. The camping sites also have large tall trees where a camper should be parked which causes you to park way to close to the fire pit. Luckily we were camping in a group and could hang out at another campsite with better placement. On the plus side, the view is beautiful and the bar is nice!
TravelerThere are 4 walk-in campsites that overlook the Mississippi River (A, B, C, & D). We stayed at campsite D, which had the most incredible view! The trails were enchanting and abundant in life. It flash stormed around sunset, which is not uncommon for summer in the Midwest. The sunset seemed to last for hours as the light danced in the storm clouds. It was one of those, “wow I am grateful to be alive” experiences. Couldn’t have asked for a better bedtime show than a powerful and beautiful display of nature, it was such an unexpected delight. As the storm dissipated, the pitter-patter of the raindrops was the perfect audio to fall asleep to. Despite the humidity, we managed to get a fire going pre-storm and cooked some nice grub. There is a shed with firewood on the way into the campsite, you can pick some up for a small fee. Be prepared for humidity and bugs, it’s right by the river so it’s kind of inevitable during the summer. Insect repelling incense and spray kept us comfortable. There’s a train track right next to the river, which you may hear toot it’s horn occasionally, but it didn’t really bother us. The lovely small town of Cassville is close by may you need any creature comforts. Overall, an amazing place to camp and I can’t wait to go back!
LegendThis was our second visit to this park. On both occasions we wanted to canoe the scenic Kickapoo river. Our first trip was five years ago and we got portage service for our canoe from Titanic Rentals in Ontario. We went from there (bridge 1) to bridge 12 Which took nearly all day, but we were able to have lunch at the park's Wildcat landing, the only real and equipped picnic site along the river. NOTE; Google maps makes it look like the campground and landing are near each other. They are not. It's three miles of very steep roads, so don't think you're going to fetch anything you left behind.
The campground is on top of the ridge, which means in the morning you will look out over a fog shrouded valley through the trees. The views from the overlooks, which are a short hike, are worth checking out. Campsite 15 is the only one with a clear view.
There are walk in sites and the paths are wide and clear. The park provides large carts for your stuff so you can really pack stuff in and get away from it all. But the family tent and RV sites generally well spaced, check the map as some are more private than others.
Our second trip was in August, 2023 and we canoed from bridge 12 to LaFarge (bridge 21). It was later in the season than our previous trip, and in the slightly less scenic stretch of the river. As a result, we didn't see any other boaters.
Campsites have basic fire ring, and there are pit toilets as well as one Full facility with running water and hot showers. Firewood is available at the Ranger station.
There's also Equestrian camping elsewhere in the park and lots of trails for both hikers and horses.
The town of Ontario has a good general store and a couple bars, but this is pretty much wilderness and small farms. Two unique places however are Wild Things Furrier near bridge twelve. Want a coonskin cap or some smoked trout? This is the place.
More unique than that if you want to treat yourselves, go 34 miles south to the St. Frances Hermitage restaurant. It's run by a small order of French Monks and Nuns who raise their own animals and grow the vegetables they serve. Their bakery is also delicious. This is not fast food, this is a gastronomic experience.
GuideWe stayed in walk-in site C, which the furthest site from the parking lot. Arrive before dark!! The wheelbarrows provided are a lifesaver, the trail to the site is manageable until the last 50 feet, which is steep and rocky.
It is a smaller site and mostly slanted so we had to use our backpacking tent (90"x70") on the small patch that's sort of level, as our car camping tent (10'x14') was entirely too huge.
The views are stunning. There was a pair of bald eagles in a nest down by the river - bring binoculars!
HUGE caveat - this site sits on a ridge above a county highway and freight train tracks. There are also train tracks on the other side of the river. When trains are blowing their horns miles away, the sound carries. When they go past the site, it's incredibly loud! I was amazed at the racket - we live in Chicago on a busy street, a block from the L and the Metra tracks.
Bring ear plugs, trains rolled through until just after midnight and started up around 5am (that I noticed anyway).
While Site C is incredibly difficult to reserve (best dates I could find were a Mon-Wed in October which I booked in APRIL), it's worth the views and the privacy.
Site D is the first of the four walk-ins, huge, level, has a wide view, and a bend in it's trail so isn't exposed. A great choice if C is booked.
Site A is next, least amount of privacy, medium sized, looked level. Sites B was occupied our entire time there so wasn't able to check it out, but it's a bit more private.
Pit toilet by the walk-in sites was as nice as pit toilet gets, it even has a urinal. Water is conveniently located near the parking.
Shower house with flush toilets was really nice, 2-3 shower stalls and 4 toilets. No pay, just have to push the button over and over since the water only stays on for 10 seconds.
The electric and non-electric sites are well spaced and on the larger side. A nice campground overall.
For supplies and firewood, I recommend the Okey Market. It's convenient and has everything you need, huge beer cave too. If you want some local flavor, stop into the Silver Spigot Saloon, cheap beer, tasty fries, and they have a dog-friendly patio.
TravelerThe tent site that we were at was very specious for my dog to run freely with his long leash. A lot of shade and space for everyone. We stayed right by the bathrooms. Showers have a push button so water pressure and temperature was not very great. The river was a great view and campground was big to walk around. Plenty of people coming through but a quiet neighborhood. Other than the train passing right by us, we enjoyed our time there.
GuidePassing though the area and this park was on my list to check out. Drove though and found a pretty amazing overlook view. There were wildflowers that smelled amazing. It was really cool to see the hawks flying below the overlook. Driving through the campsites they do look pretty nice and larger than normal. Some do look like the have a “mound” on them, which was interesting. I did get great cell service, LTE with us cellular. Overall, I would visit again!
ScoutPretty cool state park. Campground is located on the top of the hill. Wish there were more hiking trails. You can also hike on the horse trails if you want. Would highly recommend canoeing or kayaking the Kickapoo River if you are spending a weekend there.
ScoutThis was our 2nd time camping here and it did not disappoint. It’s a lovely state park with some beautiful lil trails. Campsite Ds views were unbeatable. A storm rolled in over the Mississippi as we were heading to bed; it was a magical experience
ScoutGreat camp ground along the root river. Very clean and quiet.
TravelerNice and relaxed campground
More then enough space for rv’s and tents.
Showers were fine, operated by quarters. Unfortunately I had none. No machine to change bills and office was still closed early in the morning. I was saved by a really friendly guest
ScoutThis is our second visit in this campground. The grounds are Immaculate. The staff is amazing. The restrooms and showers are sparklingly clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Waterville, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Waterville, IA is Nelson Dewey State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 20 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Waterville, IA?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 glamping camping locations near Waterville, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
