Campgrounds and RV parks near Monona, IA

Monona sits in Clayton County in northeast Iowa's Driftless Area, a region the ice-age glaciers bypassed, leaving limestone bluffs, cold-water trout streams, and karst features like caves and sinkholes. RV renters use Monona as a base for reaching the Mississippi River corridor around McGregor and Marquette, roughly a 20-minute drive east. Campgrounds in the area range from private, family-run parks to a state park perched above the river. Spook Cave & Campground sits at the base of towering bluffs with a trout stream and natural waterfall, and it has accommodations from tent sites to fully furnished cabins. Pine Bluff Campsites, Deer Run Resort, and Frenchman's Landing Campground round out the private options, most offering full or partial hookups suited to Class C and travel-trailer rentals. Pikes Peak State Park is known for views of the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers and covers nearly a thousand acres. It anchors the public-land side of the region and is the closest Iowa state park campground to Monona.

For Pikes Peak State Park, reservations run through the Iowa DNR system on ReserveAmerica. The campground is 100 percent reservable and accepts reservations March 1 through November 30 until 11:59 p.m. CST the day of arrival. Same-day reservations are accepted, and standard electric sites can be booked up to three months in advance. Walk-ins are directed to make their reservation online while onsite. Private campgrounds book directly. Spook Cave & Campground, Pine Bluff Campsites, Deer Run Resort, and Frenchman's Landing Campground each take reservations by phone or through their websites, and cabins at Spook Cave typically require a phone call. Before hauling firewood into the area, note that emerald ash borer has been confirmed in all 99 Iowa counties. Buy firewood locally and burn it all during the stay.