Pikes Peak State Park

We Usually stay at Yellow River State Park when we are up this way, but during the summer months, it is best to have the electric hookup if AC is needed. And we are not like the jerks that run their generators at campgrounds that are meant to be primitive. This was our first time at the Pikes Peak Campground and heard tell that they had just reopened after being closed due to some construction. They put in new gravel on some of the sites and new concrete on others as well as the roads in. Not all sites had shade, but a lot did. You are steps away from Pikes Peak observation and all its associated hiking and some biking trails. McGregor and Marquette are 10-15 minutes away. Very small river towns, but have gas stations and some restaurants. All the sites at this campground are reserve in advance sites. Their bathroom and shower house are very clean and well kept. They sell bundles of wood in the campground. Some are full hookup, some are just electric sites. The dump station on the way out was easily accessible. Overall we give it an A

This is a tough one. We liked the place, and it was the quietest campground we've ever stayed at. On the one hand, $20 a night (electric) for anyone and no park sticker required is a terrific value. On the other hand, this place could sorely use a facelift. So I'm going to good/bad this review and I hope you find it useful.

The good:
- Did I mention $20/night for electric and it doesn't matter if you're a resident or not? Crazy!
- Quiet as a cloistered monastery. And very little light pollution. Dark skies at night! (The bad within the good is that very few campsites had decorations or fires or anything. Pretty boring that.)
- Very good, easy to hike trails leading to stunning overlooks and a cute little waterfall.
- The shower building was very clean and well maintained.
- Excellent data reception for Verizon. Workampers rejoice! OTA TV reception was very good as well.

The not so good:
- The electric sites had pedestals at every other site, meaning you had a 50/50 chance of needing an extension cord to get to the pedestal. They have to change that.
- The sanitary dump was adjacent to 2 sites and facing the opposite of the traffic flow. And you'll need your own fill hoses for both the fresh and flush spigots.
- Firewood was $5 per the bucket you filled yourself. And the bucket wasn't all that large.
- Pretty compact sites. If this were a private campground, you'd call it spacious, but for a state park it was quite cozy. The good for us was that the site adjacent on our patio side was vacant the whole time, so we had the back corner all to ourselves. Many of the sites were built on platforms, and while that must have been really neat when the park opened 50 years ago, they are quite overdue for rebuilding. Not many sites were suitable for rigs much larger than ours.
- Not much for children to do.

Perched on the bluffs as it is, there is no access to the river below. McGregor is nearby and has a quaint little downtown area with a few cafes, eateries and bars. This is a good campground, but really needs to be updated. As it stands, the only thing bringing me back is the value for money.

Our site was all hard surface no where near level. Electricity was on the right side on this site. Neighbors very close. Wood $5 a bucket so about $1 a piece which I think is expensive. Nice walking paths. Small store with very nice lady working there. There was no state park pass needed at this park, so camping was reasonable. Neighbors left 2 barking dog in camper and left, otherwise quiet..

We really enjoyed Pikes Peak State Park. Our site was level, but many are not and require side/side, front/back, or both adjustments for leveling. Electrical hookup was good, and the dump station and water fill areas are quality. It's a smaller, good campground. Hiking is excellent with access from the campground itself or via short drives to other trailheads. The view of the Mississippi is beautiful, and the bridal veil falls and hickory hikes are great. This park is proof that Iowa is not completely flat!

If your RV is less than 28 feet I recommend site 29 which is 30 amp. This spot needs no leveling but it is a dog leg back in site. The power hookup is on the drivers side so no extension cord needed like many of the sites. Also for the 2021 season, the spot next to you and across from you are closed. Very dog friendly. Easy walk to the trials and lookouts over the river. The host couple were very friendly and helpful. Firewood is $5. Burial mounds located in the park and it is only 13 minutes to Effigy National Monument which also allows dogs on the trials.

This was a nice park, on the small side with sites rather close together. The park has some sites with W/E and W/E/S but It is a state park and therefore on the rustic rather than resort type of park. It was full while we were there on a weekend in mid-June 2020, but it was quiet. It was nice to be able to hike some of the trails overlooking the upper Mississippi right from the campground. Glad we made the stop.

Let me first note that we are more into remote/rustic camping. With that out of the way for what it is the place is nice. Scenic trails overlooking the river and not a spec of trash anywhere. Hosts were nice and had firewood dried and stacked modern toilets were closed but vaults were fine. We used the power but it was on opposite side of our campsite so your standard length hookup will not work. Many of the sites were not level but we had a trailer on the back of our sprinter so that left us nose up a bit. Has water station, trash and dump. Not a bad spot along the way.

Stayed here in the off season. It is very pretty and quiet. One loop of sites overlooks the Mississippi River. Mix of electric and non-electric. We stayed in site 4, a leveled electric site. We were only one of two rigs staying here and the other person was in the other loop, so we had a very quiet stay. There's not a lot of privacy or space between sites so I could see it getting a bit more crowded during peak season.