Best RV Parks & Resorts near Mount Hope, 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 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.

Gravel parking spots, fairly level, most without shade unless you get on the "back loop" where you can find 4 with good shade. All manner of amenities (electric only, water & electric, and a few with full hookups). Bathrooms are clean and well stocked. 4 private showers available...clean. Weekends are typically busier than weekdays.

Peaceful area! Esofea campground has a shelter, several ponds and streams, and some nice hiking trails.

The camping options range from full hookups to tent camping. The campground is open for camping between April 15th and October 15th each year. Esofea campground has 27 campsites in total (4 with full hookups, 8 with electricity and 15 primitive sites). Fresh water is available for campers and park users. Reservations are not always necessary but if you a planning on camping on holiday weekends or wanting electric sites book in advanced.

There is good trout fishing at this campground. Recommended spots are one of the 5 ponds or the Bad Axe River.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test awesome outdoor products! At Esofea, I tested out my new 3-1 RōM Pack from RōM Outdoors.

Here’s what I like about the 3-1 pack:

Quality. This poncho is heavy duty. It’s not like the plastic ones that rip when your hiking through brushy areas. The thickness of the poncho is perfect for keeping dry but also very warm. It’s perfect for the northwoods!

Packable. Easy to unpack and great for woodland areas. Comes with instructions on how to pack up but you really don’t need them. The pack folds up in a logical way. I found it easiest to store all my small items in the front zip up pack.

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.

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.

We 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.

Mud Lake is a wonderful county park near Dubuque. Beautiful views of the Mississippi River. We stayed one night on our way to Minnesota. The sites are mostly sunny. The park streets are gravel with gravel sites. The park is quiet except for the occasional train from the nearby tracks. Great value for $21. Electric and water hookups. Marina and boathouse next door.

Stayed in campsite #35 which has no shade. It was a gravel site which shares a pull-through with site 36. There was more than enough parking for my TT and truck and grass on either side. The site included: picnic table and fire ring. Utilities were located in the rear. 20A/50A electric and water. Site was level. Neighbors were nearby.

AT&T had 2 bars of LTE and Verizon 2 bars of LTE service. AT&T Speedtest: 47 Mbps down, 1.3 Mbps up. Verizon data VERY SLOW. No WiFi.

Would stay here again. We camped at Mud Lake Park in a Travel Trailer.