Yellow River State Forest

Our favorite place to camp with our horses! Beautiful trails, great scenery, and the campgrounds are well kept. Be advised that there are no water or electrical hookups, but I feel that's a non-issue if you plan ahead properly. The DNR officers are visible, friendly, and very helpful every time we've interacted with them. My family and I will continue to come back for years to come!

Such a beautiful campground! Huge sites! Dog friendly. Great hiking, fishing, and relaxing! Word of caution... this is a primitive park. No electricity, no water, no cell service! Vault toilets only. Totally off grid! Perfection!

Went backpacking on the main Backpacker Loop, or Paint Creek Unit Loop on Alltrails. Really great views, and was quite enjoyable even though it rained for a lot of the trip.

We absolutely love going here. No cell service, we'll kept "outhouses", beautiful scenery and streams, trout fishing, and just overall relaxing. My only wish is that they'd get a shower house! 🙂 Would be helpful since we have 2 little ones that love playing in any mud/dirt they can find and also love long walks which leads to sweating in the summer time lol

Great time and amazing and beautiful day we spent hiking all over the place! Our friends from Florida were amazed by the weather and such beautiful and colourful views from all over the park. One off them was standing on the rock in the river and slipped into the water 🤣😂🥹. We started fire had great barbecues and beer. Amazing time and weather on that Sunday 22nd of October 2023!
Pictures coming soon.

Gorgeous! And bonus points because the outhouses were super clean and very nice! Well maintained campsites. So many trails and fishing spots that you will not get bored! Its also deep in a valley so no cell service!

This was my first time here me and a friend went trail running on as many trails as we could. A great mix of big open trail and challenging single track that where maintained really well. The trails took you everywhere to great views and over the river a lot. I can say we will defiantly be coming back here a lot for years to come.

We’ve been visiting this campground for years now. We love it. No cell signal and no electricity. Two creek crossings to get to the campground we like. Great memories made there.

The wife and I love trout fishing the Driftless. Northeast Iowa has some of the best trout streams in the world. Yellow River Forest has Paint and Little Paint creeks. Browns, Rainbows, and Brook trout. Campgrounds are excellent. There are no hook ups for RV. Cost is $9 dollars per night. Campsites are stream side. For horse lovers. They have Campsites for you as well. Over 40 miles of trails to ride on. This is a secluded forest. No cell service. Plenty of day trips near by. About 20 minutes to nearest town for supplies. Update: Cost is $12/night. Fire rings and picnic tables have been replaced or rebuilt. Stream maintenance has improved access to streams. The Iowa DNR and the Friends of Yellow River Forest do an excellent job of keeping this a jewel of Iowa.

Awesome forest nestled in the hills and valleys of the Mississippi valley. The many streams (paint creek, yellow river etc.) provide ample fishing opportunities and camp sites are tucked beneath the wooded bluffs. I loved the hiking.

I have gone camping here mainly when I was a child but it’s a beautiful place and so many trails. I’ll stay in Big paint camp Ground there is no electricity there snd reception sucks so it’s perfect chance to put your life on hold and enjoy the family!

Yellow River State Forest is a beautiful area. The scenery is amazing, with Rivers and Creeks running through lush, vibrant forest. There are a handful of great camping areas, including Big Paint, Little Paint, and equestrian camps Creekside and Frontier.

Paint Creek unit has some very nice trails. Camp John Schultz along the backpacking loop is nice and had multiple sites that comfortably house 2-3 tents. Strongly recommended for day hikers and overnight backpackers alike.

I first camped here in the early-mid 1980's and I've wanted to return ever since. And I did recently with my son when we went on a midwest camping trip. The campgrounds are nice and clean, but the pit toilets...well, they are pit toilets!! Aside from that the campgrounds are perfect for a no frills camping trip. The price is an absolute deal!
The trails and scenic overlooks are incredible. It's hard to believe this is Iowa. Most people think of cornfields and cows, but this is eastern Iowa - lots of hills and bluffs and woods. It is also just up the road from the Effigy Mounds National Monument, a truly special place to visit.
I hope to get back to this state forest soon. I bet it is stunning in the autumn.

Beautiful views from the bluffs and roads and trails.Lots of wildlife to see. The pictures of the cavities in the rotting trees are from Pileated woodpeckers that inhabit the old growth forest there. It is one of the few places in Iowa where you will see them. These majestic woodpeckers are the size of a crow

Breathtaking views. Best trails in Iowa. Primitive camping. Very nicely maintained facilities. Backcountry camping options. Horse facilities trout streams. Firewood and ice for sale in summer. Hunting is allowed and active.

This is a gorgeous park, excellent if you want a weekend backpacking trip! We stayed at a few of the backpacking sites, and they were absolutely beautiful. As much as I love the rest of Iowa natural areas, Yellow River State Forest is unbeatable.

Drove 280 miles to backpack here, and it was worth it. One of the best trail systems I've seen in a state forest, winding through valleys, and up and down 250-400 foot bluffs. Great variety of wildlife and plantlife.

My new favorite state managed park in Iowa. So many cool trails and lots. And the water is cold. So on a hot day it was super refreshing. Kids loved all the rocks and drive through water ways. Looked like there was a lot of forest restoration work occurring which was so cool to see. Very nice respectful campers.

Beautiful Scenery
We didn't actually go to the park
We have friends that have cabins in that area
And try to visit when we are in Iowa