Little Paint Campground

Iowa doesn't have a lot of state parks, so what they have they care for meticulously. This is one of the best. Little Paint has creeks that are just the right size for your kids to play in safely. A short hike up the trail and you find yourself along stocked trout streams. Both my sons caught their first fish at yellow river state park. If we ever make it back to Iowa, Yellow River is going to be on our must do again list.

Our site was level, shaded, and backed up to the stream (although bushes separated the site from the stream, so we couldn't see it or access it from our site). The campground, called Little Paint, was busy and mostly full on the summer weekend we visited. There are 2 stream crossings within the campground, but they were shallow, just a few inches, even though it had rained the day before. There is a third potential stream crossing at the very entrance to the campground, but it was completely dry when we visited. Water is available at the park's entrance. No cell coverage at all at the campground. We drove to the top of Fire Tower Road to hike, and there is cell coverage up there.

Our grass site was great. Shaded all day next, to the stream and picturesque surrounds. I could see this site being "cramped" should the sites around it be occupied but we had the loop to ourselves - so no issues. If I was to stay here again I would probably look to get a site further back in the campground (Sites 100 and up) since they seemed to have a greater distance between sites.
No hookups, no signal (T-Mobile), clean vault toilets and a great place to unwind.

Stayed in Little Paint, which is a gorgeous campground with the stream running through and along the edges. There is a 3rd dry creek crossing at the entrance, which by the time we left early Saturday morning was flowing across the cement roadway. We stopped early on Friday of Labor Day weekend and all but 4 sites near the entrance were reserved. Sites at end of campground had some standing water on them when we drove through. Rained heavily that night, and since many were tent camping there were several who left at 1-2am. We left early as more rain was predicted and the area has posted flash flood warning. Other than the rain it is an idyllic setting, heavily wooded, rolling hills, and the stream. Most campsites were grass, a few had gravel pullouts. Our site near entrance was drier than most but had lots of road noise in daytime and early evening. No cell service anywhere nearby.

36 miles from Decorah Iowa, home to Luther College, and coincidentally where our daughter lives. So we drove in from Decorah. It was a very pleasant surprise to drop into the heavily forested rolling bluffs.

75% of this campground is reservable, but it looks like there will always be space available for drop ins. There are four campgrounds. Two are for horse campers, and two are for the rest of us. Big Paint is a smaller campground. We stayed in Little Paint. You will have two water crossings to get to the end of the campground. These are safe and low. All of the roads in the camp areas are concrete.

We had a campsite right along the crystal clear stream. Through our open windows, we could hear it burbling all night. We didn't fish, but people were pulling many trout from the stream.

There are no camping pads. You are allowed to set up your unit any way you like on the grassy sites. This makes for some awesome positioning possibilities. A few sites are situated fairly close to their neighbors, but most have room for privacy.

Opportunities for equestrians on the trail, biking the trails and lots of plain old hiking. There are backpacking campsites. There is a gravel road that climbs at a fairly steep pitch that takes you to two marvelous overlooks.

No hookups, no electricity, no dumpsite. No cell service. Vault restrooms were spotless, with hand sanitizer provided.

We'll back this fall to see the trees in their autumn glory.

We camp here 2 - 3 times a year. My wife loves to trout fish & I love to paint & trout fish. So for us it's the perfect place to camp in Iowa! Tents, trailers & RV's are allowed to camp here. There are no hookups, cell service, showers or pads for tents, trailers or RVs. No dump station. But they have fresh water at the ranger station. Set up camp at your site & enjoy! They have a lot of hiking trails, separate horse camping, horse trails, fishing & pit toilets. Plenty of fire wood you can use as long as it is dead & on the ground.