Clear Lake State Park

Pros:
-The lake is walkable.
-The town is very cute, has places to eat and plenty of shopping to pick up groceries or supplies.
-Our spot (12) had 30 and 50 AMP option.
-Gravel pad at spot 12.
-Easy access off the highway, after taking a few small county and town roads.

Cons:
-No arrows on roads indicating what direction to go, and spot numbers only on one side of site (when roads go alongside on both sides), make it hard to navigate.
-Spots are very small in the 10-13 RV loop area.
-Shared electric boxes and tight spaces, allowing for very little privacy.
-The non-pull through spots seems very small. Probably really only ideal for 20 ft or less RV to be comfortable with maneuverability.

We stayed in the full hookup section. For a state park, the sites are awfully close together. Typically state parks have more space and privacy between sites, but I can't complain based on getting a site with full hookups for such a great price. Check in was strange as there was nobody working there. We pulled up to a bulletin board that listed all the check-ins for the day and the site we had. It was very cold while we were there so we didn't spend much time outside, but we did venture down to the lake once and it looked like it would be really nice in the summer. We enjoyed visiting the Buddy Holly crash site and museum, that was very interesting! We travel fulltime and work remotely so internet is important to us; if that is important to you too, here are the details: T-Mobile 64.7 dl/22.6 ul, Verizon 59.6 dl/21.5 ul, AT&T 22.9 dl/5.96 ul.

We’ve stayed here a few times and really love the park by the lake, the families having fun on the water and the general “old school” summer vacation vibe. The campsite sizes vary - but generally pretty large, and some are HUGE - mostly because people bring their boats. The bathrooms are clean, and there are plenty of paths to explore. The town of Clear Lake is pretty cute - don’t expect much from a food perspective other than pizza, burgers and breasted chicken - but the casual atmosphere is charming so who cares?

Many people say this is great for a one-day stay - I think it’s actually worth a couple to explore.

This state park was far enough off I-35 to not have any interstate noise. When we visited (May 4), there were only about 10 campers in the park. We walked around the park and to the beach area (although it was confusing on how to get to the lake). Many of the sites have a steep slope, so make sure you see the details when making reservations online. Connectivity: 20+ OTA TV channels (some were duplicated), AT&T cell signal = 3 bars, no internet or cable (it’s a state park). Site 171 was a level pull-through site with 50amp electric. There are some full hookups in the park if you need them. Recycling options were available in the park as well.

We stopped here for 2 nights in late October 2018 while on an extended Midwest road trip and enjoyed our time here. There were maybe a dozen other campers here during the time we were here and only one of the restrooms / shower houses was still open at this time of year. We left on 24 October and the camp host was just hanging signs advising campers that the water would be turned off and the last restroom would be closed on the 26th, so be aware that there may not be any water or services if you stop by in the colder months.

Our site was a full hookup site and included a perfectly level asphalt pad along with picnic table and fire ring. There weren’t many trees between the sites, and the sites are lined up as parallel pull throughs, so you won’t get much privacy when occupancy is higher.

The park itself is located right on Clear Lake and both the park and lake are surrounded by the very cozy town of Clear Lake. Consequently, this kind of feels more like a city park than what one might think of as a state park. For us, at the time we visited, we had just spent close to three weeks in much more remote areas so we welcomed the chance to spend a couple nights in close proximity to this nice Iowa town.

There is a small grocery store and a nice bait & tackle shop, both within an easy bike ride from the park and we were able to stock up on necessities before heading back out on the road. There are also several locations to fill up on propane in nearby Mason City, Iowa.

We did some fishing from the shore, but didn’t have much luck.

Always interested in American history, we rode our bikes to the memorial where the small airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson ( The Big Bopper) crashed in February 1959 .... the day the music died. You can also tour the Surf Ballroom & Museum which was the final place the three rock and roll stars performed.

All in all, we enjoyed the stay and would gladly stay here again if we are in the area and in need of supplies and a rest.

Verizon cell connection at the campground was very good and more than adequate for some video teleconferencing for work.