Emerson Bay State Recreation Area

The location of this park is great. It is right on the lake with a nice adjoining beach area. Though our site (#5) was on the small side, the campground itself was well kept. It also has direct access to the bike trail and is a short drive to stores, etc. We were traveling through in the summer of 2020 and this was a nice area to stop over. It was pretty full mid-week mid-June and seems like a very popular park.

We love this park! This lovely little park can accommodate the largest of rigs. The 50amp pull-thrus in the center of the campground are HUGE! The bathhouses are incredibly clean every time we have been there. The view of the lake is so nice and there is a sandy beach a short walk from the main campground area, as well as a boat launch. It's not a huge park, and in the summer months it is very popular, as is the whole Iowa Great Lakes area. The park packs up every weekend in the summer and can still be very busy during the summer weekdays. Early fall, on weekdays, is my favorite time to be in Okoboji. The weather is still warm enough to enjoy all the lakes area has to offer, but the crowd has died down a bit.

We paid the off season rate, but even at $14 this is a steal for an electric hook-up. No discount if you don’t need electric. Sites are close together and not much privacy, will accommodate any size rig, mostly back-in on gravel pads. The lake is lovely. There is a playground and boat launch and several fishing docks. Good paved roads throughout . The showers were endless at no extra a charge, hot and clean. They said they turn off the water on Oct 15. The restrooms were spotless and heated! The whole place was spotlessly clean. There was some daytime noise from boaters. The highway is close enough that there is noise from that also.

This is actually in a resort community so if you like it rustic, you might want to go to Gull Point down the road a couple of miles. Still offers same prices and electric and showers in a more natural environment.

This is a great campground. It's close to everything, on the bike trails, on the lake and it's so cheap!

We stayed in a site with full hookup so we didn't have a great view of the lake, but just a short walk in any direction will get you to a dock or the shore. The sites along the shore with great views are electric and water, some just electric, and with no honeywagon service, we'd rather sacrifice the views to not have to tear down and dump.

The downsides: the gravel pads make things a little messy and they have a rule that you can't leave dogs unattended in your RV, so we had to splurge on doggy daycare for one day.

You won't find a better deal anywhere.