Wild Pitch Camp

Free & dispersed camping in Iowa

We currently track 80 dispersed and free-camping locations in Iowa, drawn from public OpenStreetMap data and cross-referenced against mixed federal, state trust, and county land. Iowa sits in the United States and offers some of the most generous public-land access in the country for self-reliant campers. Unlike the reservation-driven world of state-park and KOA-style campgrounds, the sites listed here are largely first-come, first-served, with minimal infrastructure and a 14-day stay limit on most federal parcels. Expect dirt roads, no hookups, and zero cell service — that's the appeal. The trade-off is that you carry the responsibility for water, waste, fire safety, and respectful land use. Browse the directory below by name, then click into any listing for facility detail, GPS coordinates, and field notes specific to that pitch.

Directory
80 named campsites
 Managers
Who administers the land
 Guides
Dispersed-camping how-tos
80 documented sites Region: United States

All documented campsites in Iowa

Sorted alphabetically. Tap any row for facilities, GPS coordinates, and a 300+ word field-grounded write-up.

  1. Backbone SP - South Lake CG

    Basic · near Stawberry Park · 42.603, -91.541

    Fee: yes

  2. Backbone State Park six Pines

    Basic · near Strawberry Point · 42.612, -91.567

    Fee: yes

  3. Bellevue State Park Campground - Dyas Unit

    Basic · near Bellevue · 42.226, -90.407

    Fee: yes

  4. Bennett County Park Campgrounds

    Basic · near Bennett · 41.746, -90.921

    Fee: yes

  5. Big Spring Campground

    Basic · near Elkader · 42.917, -91.483

    Fee: yes

  6. Black Oak Camp

    Basic · 40.968, -93.558

    Fee: unspecified

  7. Bloody Run Park

    Basic · near Marquette · 43.040, -91.217

    Fee: yes

  8. Boies Bend County Area

    Basic · near Quasqueton · 42.393, -91.792

    Fee: yes

  9. Brown's Hollow Camp

    Basic · 43.154, -91.228

    Fee: unspecified

  10. Buzzard Ridge Campground

    Basic · 42.147, -90.878

    Fee: unspecified

  11. Camp Fire Camp Canwita

    Basic · 42.051, -93.614

    Fee: unspecified

  12. Camp Glen Wendel

    Basic · 43.166, -91.260

    Fee: unspecified

  13. Camp John Schultz

    Basic · 43.159, -91.250

    Fee: unspecified

  14. Camp Terry Hennesy

    Basic · 43.169, -91.179

    Free

  15. Cedar View

    Basic · 42.689, -92.423

    Fee: unspecified

  16. Cherry Glen Campground

    Basic · 41.730, -93.680

    Fee: unspecified

  17. Chippewa

    Basic · 41.950, -93.907

    Fee: unspecified

  18. Crow

    Basic · 41.947, -93.908

    Fee: unspecified

  19. Fillmore Recreation Area Campground

    Basic · near Filmore · 42.324, -90.912

    Fee: yes

  20. Finley's Landing Park Campground

    Basic · near Sherrill · 42.653, -90.807

    Fee: yes

  21. Foote City Park

    Basic · near Inwood · 43.309, -96.437

    Fee: yes

  22. Fort. Defiance Campground

    Basic · 43.391, -94.869

    Fee: yes

  23. Geode State Park Campground

    Basic · 40.825, -91.382

    Fee: unspecified

  24. Goeken County Park Campground

    Basic · near West Union · 43.042, -91.837

    Fee: yes

  25. Group Campsite

    Basic · 42.226, -91.548

    Fee: unspecified

  26. Halvorson County Park Campground

    Basic · near St. Ansgar · 43.354, -92.924

    Fee: yes

  27. Heritage Campground & Pond

    Basic · near Dubuque · 42.552, -90.708

    Fee: yes

  28. Hutchinson Family Farms Campground

    Basic · 43.363, -91.851

    Fee: yes

  29. Incahias Campground

    Basic · 41.712, -90.539

    Fee: unspecified

  30. Interstate County Park Campground

    Basic · near Mitchell · 43.320, -92.881

    Fee: yes

  31. Island Park Campground

    Basic · 41.621, -94.013

    Fee: unspecified

  32. Jakway County Park Campground

    Basic · near Aurora · 42.591, -91.729

    Fee: yes

  33. Joinerville Park

    Basic · near Maquoketa · 42.081, -90.752

    Fee: yes

  34. Kent Park Family Campground

    Basic · near Oxford · 41.733, -91.725

    Fee: yes

  35. Lake Darling State Park Campground

    Basic · 41.189, -91.899

    Fee: unspecified

  36. Lake Keomah State Park Campground

    Basic · 41.286, -92.543

    Fee: unspecified

  37. Lake Meyer County Park Campground

    Basic · 43.173, -91.912

    Fee: yes

  38. Lake of Three Fires State Park Campground

    Basic · 40.716, -94.685

    Fee: unspecified

  39. Ledges State Park Campground

    Basic · 41.996, -93.874

    Fee: unspecified

  40. Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground

    Basic · near Maquoketa · 42.118, -90.779

    Fee: yes

  41. Massillon Campground

    Basic · near Lowden · 41.916, -90.921

    Fee: yes

  42. Maynard City Park Campground

    Basic · near Maynard · 42.780, -91.881

    Fee: yes

  43. McIntosh Woods State Park Campground

    Basic · 43.126, -93.459

    Fee: unspecified

  44. Model Campsite

    Basic · 41.950, -93.907

    Fee: unspecified

  45. Mohawk

    Basic · 41.947, -93.908

    Fee: unspecified

  46. New Wine Park Campground

    Basic · near Dyersville · 42.532, -91.128

    Fee: yes

  47. North Woods Park Campground

    Basic · near Sumner · 42.868, -92.088

    Fee: yes

  48. Oak Grove County Park - Turkey Ridge

    Basic · near Hawarden · 43.061, -96.459

    Fee: yes

  49. Osage

    Basic · 41.950, -93.903

    Fee: unspecified

  50. Otranto County Park Campground

    Basic · near Otranto · 43.459, -92.981

    Fee: yes

  51. Pack in Campsite #1

    Basic · 42.130, -91.401

    Fee: unspecified

  52. Pack in Campsite #2

    Basic · 42.143, -91.413

    Fee: unspecified

  53. Pawnee

    Basic · 41.949, -93.904

    Fee: unspecified

  54. Pikes Peak State Park

    Basic · 42.994, -91.165

    Fee: yes

  55. Pilot Knob State Park Campground

    Basic · near Forest City · 43.254, -93.558

    Fee: yes

  56. Pine Grove Campground

    Basic · 41.715, -90.529

    Fee: unspecified

  57. Pinicon Alders Wildlife Area

    Basic · near McIntire · 43.452, -92.612

    Fee: unspecified

  58. Pioneer County Park

    Basic · near Osage · 43.341, -92.680

    Fee: yes

  59. Pleasant Creek State Park Campground

    Basic · 42.132, -91.828

    Fee: unspecified

  60. Prairie Rose State Park West Campground

    Basic · 41.599, -95.222

    Fee: unspecified

  61. Red Haw State Park Campground

    Basic · 40.998, -93.281

    Fee: unspecified

  62. Riverside Campground

    Basic · 42.419, -94.986

    Fee: unspecified

  63. Riverside County Park Campground

    Basic · 43.436, -92.777

    Fee: yes

  64. Robinson City Park

    Basic · near Sibley · 43.399, -95.736

    Fee: yes

  65. Sac

    Basic · 41.949, -93.904

    Fee: unspecified

  66. Sac-Fox Campground

    Basic · 41.718, -90.523

    Fee: unspecified

  67. Saulsbury Bridge RA - Primitive

    Basic · near Muscatine · 41.499, -91.170

    Fee: unspecified

  68. Silver Lake Park Campground

    Basic · near Northwood · 43.485, -93.420

    Fee: yes

  69. Spook Cave Campground

    Basic · 43.033, -91.309

    Fee: unspecified

  70. Springbrook State Park Campground

    Basic · 41.774, -94.468

    Fee: unspecified

  71. Thorpe Park Campground

    Basic · 43.255, -93.758

    Fee: unspecified

  72. Valley Forge

    Basic · 42.689, -92.421

    Fee: unspecified

  73. Wabash Trace Nature Trail Imogene Campground

    Basic · 40.880, -95.430

    Fee: unspecified

  74. Wabash Trace Nature Trail Mineola Campground

    Basic · 41.145, -95.695

    Fee: yes

  75. Waubonsie State Park Campground

    Basic · 40.683, -95.679

    Fee: unspecified

  76. West Idlewild County Park

    Basic · near Floyd · 43.167, -92.764

    Fee: yes

  77. West Pioneer

    Basic · 42.686, -92.422

    Fee: unspecified

  78. Wildcat Den State Park Campground

    Basic · near Muscantine · 41.469, -90.886

    Fee: yes

  79. Wilderness Campground

    Basic · 41.716, -90.535

    Fee: unspecified

  80. Zuni

    Basic · 41.952, -93.907

    Fee: unspecified