Dispersed Camping in Marion County, Iowa
Showing 16 locations in Marion County.
Anytime Fitness Pella
A standard commercial fitness center parking lot in Pella. Overnight stays are highly restricted and typically only viable for members with active permission.
Elk Rock State Park Campground
Situated on the scenic shores of Lake Red Rock, Elk Rock State Park Campground features excellent facilities for both equestrian and non-equestrian campers. The park offers spacious sites with electric hookups, gravel pads, and easy access to a boat ramp for direct water recreation. Visitors can enjoy quiet wooded surroundings and abundant local wildlife, making it a reliable destination for rigs of all sizes.
Fifield Recreation Area
Fifield Recreation Area is located on the shores of Lake Red Rock. It features reservable group picnic shelters with electrical outlets, fire rings, and nearby flush toilets, functioning primarily as a day-use and event park.
Grant Nature Area
Grant Nature Area is a scenic county park offering designated campsites with electric hookups, fire rings, picnic tables, and restroom/shower facilities. Note that this area was previously free but now requires a daily fee.
Howell Station Campground
Howell Station Campground sits just below the Red Rock Dam along the Des Moines River. This large developed park features 143 campsites equipped with 50-amp electrical hookups, flush toilets, showers, drinking water, and two dump stations. Campers enjoy easy access to the scenic 15-mile paved Volksweg Trail for hiking and biking, as well as prime riverside fishing.
Miner's Retreat Enclosed Shelter
An enclosed group shelter situated on Lake Red Rock, offering kitchen amenities, climate control, and electrical hookups. Suitable for day-use events and group gatherings near the water.
North Overlook Campground
North Overlook Campground is a popular shady retreat on Lake Red Rock, offering 46 electric sites and 6 primitive walk-in tent sites. Nestled in a mature wooded setting, facilities include flush toilets, hot showers, drinking water, a dump station, a playground, and nearby access to North Overlook Beach.
North Overlook Picnic Shelter
An open-air picnic shelter adjacent to the North Overlook Campground on Lake Red Rock. It provides electricity, picnic tables, a grill, fire ring, water fountain, and flush toilets nearby. Although next to a campground, this specific shelter is reserved for day-use only.
North Tailwater Picnic Area
The North Tailwater Picnic Shelter is located on the Des Moines River at the north end of Red Rock Dam. It is an open-sided picnic shelter offering 20-amp electrical service, picnic tables, and nearby flush toilets, functioning primarily as a day-use facility.
South Overlook Picnic Shelters
Two reservable picnic shelters located on the scenic South Overlook of Lake Red Rock. The area features 20-amp electric outlets, picnic tables, flush toilets nearby, and a large paved parking lot. This is a day-use only area where overnight camping is prohibited.
South Tailwater Picnic Shelter
An open-air, reservable day-use picnic shelter managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, situated on the Des Moines River just below the Red Rock Dam. It features electricity, picnic tables, a grill, and flush toilets nearby. This facility is strictly for day-use, and overnight stays are not permitted.
Wallashuck Campground
Wallashuck Campground is situated in a hardwood forest on the shores of Lake Red Rock, Iowa's largest lake. The campground features 83 spacious campsites with electric hookups, picnic tables, and fire rings, with access to modern amenities like flush toilets, showers, and a dump station. Paved access and level gravel parking pads make this a convenient, comfortable location close to hiking trails, a playground, and water recreation. It is an excellent staging ground for group camping and bicycling along the adjacent paved Volksweg Trail.
Walmart Knoxville
A standard Walmart parking lot located right off Highway 92. Offers a level paved area suitable for an overnight stay, though you should expect some typical highway and commercial truck noise.
Walmart Pella
A standard commercial parking lot that permits overnight stays. The surrounding town features unique Dutch architecture, making for a scenic walk. Rigs are asked to park on the plaza side of the lot.
Whitebreast Campground & Point Shelter
Whitebreast Campground is a premier, large-scale recreation facility situated on a scenic wooded peninsula of Lake Red Rock, Iowa's largest lake. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it features over 130 spacious developed campsites nestled among mature trees. The campground offers concrete pads, a day-use picnic shelter, modern shower buildings, and easy access to excellent boating, kayaking, and hiking via the paved Volksweg Trail.
Whitebreast Campground
A beautifully situated campground on Lake Red Rock, offering spacious campsites with electric hookups. The area features boating, fishing, and a paved multi-use trail.