By:
Submission
Chimney Rock campground has medium service private campground with cabin rentals, canoe, and kayak rentals. Primitive and electric sites and livery service. Located along the gorgeous upper iowa river. Chimney rock campground 5 small (six person) cabins and 2 Large (12 person) cabins. All have heat and air conditioning. All include: stove, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, toaster, pots and pans as well as complete table service. You do need to bring your own bedding. There are full sized bunk beds in the lower level and queen beds in the loft. There is also a water storage container and sink for washing dishes. For bathing we have a community bath and shower house. There are porta potties located very near the cabins as well.
From jct SR 9, SR 139 & Pole Line Rd (A34): Go 7 mi E on Pole Line Rd (A34), then follow signs 3-1/2 mi on gravel road.
A group of 4 of us stayed at "Under the Stars at Chimney Rock" campground in September 2022. One of my friends reserved cabin 4 online ahead of time unbeknownst to us when we arrived our reserved cabin was given away to another guest since they wanted to be closer to another entity that had also reserved a cabin. Our cabin was given away without letting us know ahead of time. On top of it, we were given a smaller cabin in its place even though the campground had a similar cabin we eventually did receive after we complained to the new owners. Compared to years ago the cabin round tolls are almost double the price and are not good value for what you receive. The cabins are pretty primitive and there is not much space. There is space between the cabins though so I do have to give the campground credit for that. Reserving kayaks ahead of time was also painful since the owners did not return phone calls. They did return a text message which eventually ended up with me talking to someone else in the office on the phone so it was convoluted to start with. When my friends and I as well as a few other travelers were waiting to be taken up the river to kayak back down. The owner made numerous comments about my friends not being smart or intelligent and even mentioned that she doesn't do a good job being kind to guests and that she could do better. I would hope and assume that she was being playful and just joking around, but when you are an owner of a business, it's probably not good to say that stuff when you aren't aware of the guests or how they would react. Overall, I feel it was just a poor experience and I won't be back.
Workers expected our float to be around 4 to 6 hours. Float ended up being at least 10 hours and we were stuck in the lightning and rain with no get out points and no service. Once we returned to the campground the workers seemed to not care about any of their boat/tube renters being stuck on the river in the rain while dark was approaching.
If you want a relaxing weekend, I highly recommend visiting! We’ve been coming now for a couple years and I have to say this is one of the best places to go. All of the staff is super friendly and make everyone feel like family. By far one of my favorite trips to take in the state, wether you’re coming to sit around the fire with friends & family or taking a float trip. Also, the trout fishing is amazing!
The campground is gorgeous-- right on the river with an incredible view of the bluffs. And there's goats and mini horses! The front desk/reservation process is a little goofy and disorganized, some things are a little pricey (firewood must be purchased on site for $8/bundle), and there were no grates on the fire pits. But the camp is really well-maintained and the owners of the site are great stewards of this beautiful piece of land. Ultimately we had a great time and will definitely be back when the river is higher for tubing!
The workers there were very nice, professional and relaxed. We stayed in cabin 2 and we were extremely satisfied with the space inside and the secluded feel. We brought our own kayaks and while we were carrying our kayaks to higher ground at the landing the owners son all of a sudden started helping us without question. The ONLY downfall is you have to buy their wood and cars are charged 5 dollars per day for parking but the overall experience they provide was amazing. 15 minutes after we left, we started planning our next stay!
