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Camp Nauvoo is a beautiful 30-acre campground located on the south side of historic Nauvoo. Set on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, Camp Nauvoo offers a spectacular view. Nauvoo’s historic sites are only 1.2 miles away and the LDS Temple is approximately 1.4 miles north of the campgrounds.
Owned and operated by the Cedar Valley-Nauvoo Mission Center, a division of Community of Christ, its major focus is to provide a place for camping experiences for church youth and families. It is available to other groups and individual families when not scheduled for Community of Christ activities. It is a great place for youth groups and family reunions.
Non-RV Vehicle Directions:
Coming into Nauvoo from the east on Highway 96, turn south (left) at Casey’s service station. Follow Warsaw Street to the “T” intersection and take an immediate left to remain on Warsaw Street. Drive 0.3 miles and the campground will be on the right.
Coming along the river road (Highway 96) from the south, watch for the speed limit sign announcing a reduced speed to 45 mph. At the next 45 mph sign turn up the hill to the right (away from the river) and go about 0.3 miles to the top of the second hill. Campground is on your left. There is also a sign on the left side of the road pointing you up the hill to the campgrounds.
RV and Bus Directions:
Coming either direction on Highway 96, turn at the state park entrance, Parley Street, and drive up the hill. Turn right onto Warsaw Street. Follow Warsaw Street to the campground entrance which will be on your right - about 0.3 miles. This is the allowed route for buses and large RVs.
Don the host is nice. Location is excellent. Place is a mess. We stayed in the retreat house which is not fit for human occupancy. Floor is buckled and dangerous. Master bedroom electrical is via an extension cord from the bathroom. Dryer does not work. Bathroom floor is a collection of mats covering who knows what. Entire house smells of mold. Bath towels are what we use for car wash towels. Sheets are what we use for paint drop cloths. AC only on one wall as far from bedrooms as possible. In the real estate world you would say this place has had a lot of differed Maintenace, which is to say it has had none. Do not put your family in this place
We stayed in the slower season and it was spacious and wonderful. The RV spots are not shaded but the surrounding area is wooded and beautiful! Dawn, the caretaker is amazing and so generous. We definitely plan to stay there again!
We came out from California on motorcycles to see the Joseph Smith Historic Site and wanted to camp. I found this site in the planning stages of our trip and was happy that they welcomed folks from out of town. Very nice staff. Great price for a basic cabin with much appreciated cold air-conditioning in the summer humidity. A lovely location in the woods with hot showers and clean restrooms. We were happy campers.
Given the price, 40 for an rv, it was great. A bit run down but the host was super nice.
Spent last night tent camping at this location. First, the tent sites aren't actually sites. It's just grass. And it's all on a slope, so you'll slide down during the night. But they are nicely shaded! The sites we were at had electrical boxes, but we didn't use them so no comment there. It did have a charcoal grill, which we used as a tiny table since there are ZERO tables at any of the sites. Made dinner fun. Also, watch for mosquitoes and poison ivy.
They do have a spigot with cool, decent water for drinking. And we didn't think the bathrooms were awful. Not hotel quality, but pretty standard for a youth camp site. Plenty of really hot water for the showers, which is what I cared about. There's also a store with snacks and ice, just not sure what the hours are.
Our real complaint is about the lack of quiet hours. Although there weren't any listed on their website, or posted anywhere, I have never stayed at a campground that didn't enforce some sort of quiet hours, so I assumed this campsite would be the same. Apparently not. At 11 pm there was a group of teenagers sitting on the playground right next to our tent having a conversation. Elsewhere in the camp more kids were playing some game that involved screaming, yelling, and clapping. This continued until nearly midnight. Maybe it's fine for the RV campers (although I can't imagine that they would enjoy all the screaming either), but if you are looking for a tent site, look elsewhere. I don't think it's fair of this camp to offer sites to multiple groups/individuals if they aren't going to require their youth groups to be respectful and quiet when others are sleeping. Next time we will camp at the state park instead.
We've been tent camping across the country this summer and this was hands down the worst experience we've had. All it would take would be enforced quiet hours for this to be a really great place to stay.
