Best RV Parks & Resorts near Lancaster, WI

This is an amazing park on the Wisconsin/Iowa border, overlooking where the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers join. I usually try to get in at least 1 trip a year, if lucky enough 2-3. Amazing park with great views, camping, hiking, canoeing/kayaking. Very clean restrooms and showers, tent and trailer camping. If you are lucky enough to get a site on the ridge you won't be disappointed.

This campground offers sites with electricity for RVs but some of the sites seem pretty narrow to use RV awnings. We booked an RV site but decided to camp. The site had a picnic table and fire ring but since it was an RV spot not a lot of good tent placement options. There are numerous pit toilets to use. The park has hiking trails that are accessible from the campground. The lake has a walking trail, kayak ramps and boat ramps.

Very nice county Rv park, best to call for reservations but not heavily used during the week

We stayed here twice over the last several years. It is close to some family friends (whom I like to visit but not stay with! lol) and has a lot to offer. We have stayed in the primitive campsites but there are other accommodations available including full hook up RV sites. Sites cannot be reserved so you need to hope for a walk-in availability. One of the coolest things about this park is that you can see how the river carved into the limestone and shale and created cliffs and canyon. I really get into that type of seeing the power of nature over time kind of stuff. Typical midwestern wild life is abundant. Raccoons, deer, rabbits, squirrels, chimpmunks and a lot of birds will be seen my most who visit I assume. We saw a single hawk the first time but were told there are many (which was confirmed our second visit) and a lot of different birds but we are really slow with learning to identify them. The primitive campsites are what you would expect. There were more rocks on the tent pad than usual but nothing that can't be cleared with a few sweeps of your boot.

We stopped here to sleep on our way home from a long road trip. The electric sites are like a typical RV park, not much space or privace. We had site 40west and it was larger, but too close to the smelly pit toilets. Showers nice, hot and clean. The tent sites looked spacious, but not very private. The campground is in a beautiful setting and not far off The Great River Road. We enjoyed watching a muskrat family playing in the stream by our site. We would definitely use this campground as a layover again.

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.

We love this state park for family camping. The sites for RVs have electrical, but no water. The bathrooms are OK, its what you expect from a state park. But the hiking around the park is amazing. There are tons of trails, and 2 wooden observation towers to climb so you can see all the way to Madison on a clear day! If it's a hot summer day, enjoy the swimming pool or head over to Cave of the Mounds where it's always cool. There's also a biking camp ground right off the Ice Age Trail, which makes it a great stop for an overnight or just a break. You're also close enough to drive to Mt. Horeb if you need more action or beer.

We've always enjoyed this campground because the overnight camping are has fewer sites, and therefore less crowded. It's a nice shaded area with some tight spots. If you are in a tent, some even have gravel pads for a level area that drains well. For RVs, be sure to select a bigger site than you think you need. Sometime's it's tricky to maneuver your camper so big rigs may want to stay elsewhere. Our 30 ft. travel trailer fit fine, with some skilled driving. Lots of trees for shade or hammocks, and bigger fields and picnic areas if you need some space to play frisbee.

Blue Mounds State Park is a great campground.  I love the area all the trees.  They have hike in campsites, bike in campsites and regular campsites.  They also have a group area.  If you are in a tent you will have great luck, I would advise in a trailer or Motor Home to inspect you site closely before you say yest to it, or you may be like us and change it 3 times.  Not very many level sites unless you can get up on the tent pad.  At one we thought was fairly level our tires were a good 3 inches off the ground in front.  We finally found one we could live with.  They have limited sites with Electricity so also if you need that look around.

I will have to say that the facilites are really nice and very clean in fact I have never seen a bathroom floor that clean on a weekend.  

Speaking of weekends it does fill up most weekends so you will need to make reservations unless you want to use the hike in sites.

They have a recreation are also in the park that has a beautiful pool.  Picnic areas that are great and towers you can go up to see the Mounds. 

WE have spent 2 times there this summer and will be back next summer.

If you are there there are a few areas to visit.

Mt Horeb the Troll Capital.  It is a small town about 20 miles if that.  Has a Troll theme and you can see the trolls all over the town.  Some good restaurants and one of the weekends we were there was the Art   Tour it is in the entire area and had some great art studios you could visit.

Cave of the Mounds is another place you have to visit.  This is a great cave during the week they give guided tours on the weekend it is self guided but have docents around explaining everything.  Well worth the money and trip.  This is about 5 miles from the Park.

I will say no internet and cell phone was very spotty. It is also one of the darkest areas if you are into the stars, just put something on for Mosquitos. 

All in all a good solid 4, only down side was we were in a Motor Home and the not level sites was not the best.

The sites are very well isolated and shaded, and have a well maintained gravel and packed earth surface. Not great for staking a tent, but doable. Excellent for RVs but some sites are non-electric. There are no other hookups, but there is a dump station. Every site has a fire pit and a picnic table. Many sites have a slight slope. Trail access to both the state park trails and to the Military Ridge Trail which runs nearby.

I stayed two nights in a tent and really struggled to find an ok spot on my site to pitch it, between the slope and the occasional roots and rocks. I managed to get stakes in but only at great effort. It looked like some other sites may have been better suited.

There is a raccoon problem here. They were definitely snooping through my things on the first night. Heard coyotes during the night in the distance.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my stay due to the location in the park, and most of the issues I had would be moot with an RV.

We are staying here specifically to visit the monument. It is crowded with older people like us,in the electric sites, and their older dogs. Level sites. Showers. Concession stand at the picnic area. There are stunning views of the Mississippi River Valley too. Many trails will lead you by ancient Native burial mounds, including an Effigy of a bear (probably a bear.) Heard an owl close by last night. We're not fans of side by side camping sites, but we are at Effigy Mounds or hiking this park most of the time.

There is a variety of things to do here. You can rent cabins, shelters, tent and RV camp, hike the trails especially the “Backbone”, explore the cave, fish trout streams, visit fish hatchery, swim at the beach, canoe, kayak or just have a picnic. Beautiful park! My sons have even repelled the bluffs.

Easy level sites, and helpful neighbors. Hiking was phenomenal at Pikes Peak! We will never forget those views! Loved this stop over!

Did not stay only rode through and walked around on scouting trip looking for a nice place to camp, just not what I was looking for.

Municipal campground next to a playground with what looked like one long time resident, bathrooms had chains and padlocks on the door due to vandalism (as per the sign).

Around a dozen tent pads with tables and BBQ pits and same amount of RV spots

Nice boat ramp across the street with Pearl River access.

Had pics but phone died, sorry

This campground was large. The lake reminded me of a puzzle I did with my grandma as a kid. It was fall, and it was just gorgeous. There was a wedding the weekend we were there, but we were lucky to explore the tower the day prior. The nearby communities offer ameneties, which were needed as I sprained a knee hiking the backbone trail my third go. Absolutely adored the weekend we spent here. Wonderful neighbors, great spacious, level sites. I want to say we had electric only, and service was definitely spotty in most areas of camp. We used Verizon, and could not hulu.

Loved this campground but it does have some drawbacks. Set up a lot for rv camping with site layout and connections. Some sites have the fire ring very close to the parking area and some spots have limited shade (compared to the majority of the campground that is in the trees). The bathrooms and showers are in good condition. The Mississippi River overlooks are a short walk away. There were lots of birds and spiders around the campground. There are a good number of hiking trails in the park.

This campground is tucked into a little area next to a Walmart, Culvers, and Mini golf course. It sits between east Dubuque and Galena. When we stayed they had a dirt bike rally. They have a lot of property you can't see from the road, and honestly we had driven by this place many times but just never stayed. 

The staff in the store was great and very helpful. They have a ton of sites (125) that range from tent all the way to full hookup. If you get along the outsides you have a lot more privacy and better chance they will be level. If you aren't worried about sharing a conversation with your neighbor then you can pick anything. We were up the street from a "girls" weekend where they had turned the bed of a pickup into their own pool since the properties pool was closed due to the pandemic. 

Lots to do here with the ability to play mini golf on a very nice course, walk through the trees and property, and get ice-cream from culvers. I imagine this place is a great place for group sites. 

They also had some cabins to stay in but we chose not to stay there. Instead we found a partially shaded area at site 109.

Backbone State Park is unlike any other place in Iowa, having geological features uncommon in Iowa.

There are two campgrounds. I have camped in both:

Modern Campground: This is a large, modern campground with all of the standard amenities found in a modern campground… electric hookups, flush toilets, water. I have camped here twice, both times in my travel trailer. Overall, it is a nice campground with decent space in between campers, however, I tend to avoid it during the busier summer and fall colors seasons.

Primitive Campground: This is my favorite at Backbone for camping, especially in the autumn after the leaves have fallen off of the trees. As this campground is non-electric, there are not many people camping after it turns colder. I have spent many nights there alone in the primitive campground, watching RVs pull in and then leave after realizing that it has no hookups.

Nearby trout fishing: Backbone is home to one of the more popular trout streams in Iowa. The fishing is easy as most of the fish are stocked (April-October). Still, it is an enjoyable fishing trip as the stream itself is mostly rocks and gravel, with several deep holes. The water is cold and clear.

Other activities: Hiking is very popular in Backbone. I have also seen rock climbing and rappelling. There are some nice spots away from the trout stream for wading and a little swimming. Backbone State Park also has a small lake with a swimming area and boat rentals during the summer. Several nice cabins are available for those who do not want to camp.