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4.6
16 votes

Prairie Rose State Park

680 Road M47, Harlan, Iowa 51537 USA

  • Independent
  • Pet Friendly
  • Not Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
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“one of the best parks in iowa”

Whether you are picnicking, swimming, camping, boating, hiking or fishing, the lake provides a real focal point at Prairie Rose State Park. Construction of the 218-acre lake started in the lake 1950s and the park was dedicated in 1962. The 218-acre lake is a focal point for park activities. The unsupervised beach provides swimming and sunbathing for young and old, and a playground is located nearby. There are two boat ramps that provide easy access to the lake for all types of boating, including ice boats in the winter. Any size boat motors may be used at "no-wake" speeds.Anglers of all ages will find a challenge at Prairie Rose. The lake provides excellent bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, bluegill and crappie fishing on the water or from the shoreline. There are 6 fishing jetties to aid in shoreline access and two fish cleaning stations located on the lake for anglers' convenience.

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Reviews of Prairie Rose State Park

13 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.8 Access
4.8 Location
4.7 Cleanliness
4.5 Site Quality
4.6 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G

Confirmed by 6 users | Last reported on November 05, 2023

AT&T 4G

Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on September 19, 2022

T-Mobile 5G

Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on September 19, 2022
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5
  • 3 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
July 15, 2020
Rated

Rolled up late night lots of spaces easily assessable and lovely

1 person found this review helpful
Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

March 28, 2016
Rated

We stayed at Praire Rose state park in March, very few people around most days we were alone, very quite. We enjoyed watching all of the ducks and geese on the lake. We stayed at a full hook up site 50 amp on the upper level overlooking the lake. Harlan Iowa is 15 minutes away and has a Hy V grocery store. Excellent Verizon signal and several air TV channels.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $11.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: 19

4 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Reviewed by
joydowe

  • 15 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
May 20, 2018
Rated

Beautiful older but very well maintained state park. Highly recommend this campground.

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joydowe would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 33

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

  • 16 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
June 09, 2018
Rated

Great spot to stop for the night. Very nice park that was well-maintained. Back in siites only in the area we were in. Lightly used.

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roadtripper2474151 would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise
  • 3 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
July 15, 2018
Rated

Park was beautiful but I never saw a camp host ranger or an employee there just as a safety precaution.

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roadtripper194667 would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $4.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 42

4 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
1 Noise

Reviewed by
AnnArborBob

  • 154 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
September 16, 2018
Rated

We only spent one night here on a cross country trip but we could see this was a very special campground in the middle of Iowa corn country. The sites are spacious (typical for better state parks) and here are many walk up sites including some full hook up ones. Internet was pretty good (AT&T and Verizon.) The CG is about 10miles from I-80 so things are very quiet here which we appreciate on any cross country trip. Access to and from the interstate is very easy.

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AnnArborBob would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $19.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 58

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

June 21, 2020
Rated

This park is great! The right size pads, great beach, lots of wild life. its views are breathtaking and its nice and quiet.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 4

Site Number: 42

5 Access
4 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

July 28, 2020
Rated

We go to Prairie Rose each summer as we enjoy the serenity it provides. There are two loops and we always stay in the much smaller, quieter west loop. Spacing is good and site 86 has a fair amount of shade. The east loop is packed in a little tighter and seems to have more of a hubbub about it.

Swim beach is on the far side of the lake requiring a car to reach. Launching kayaks etc can be done from many spots. Always lots of anglers on the lake as there are a couple spots to launch your watercraft.

Hiking trails around the lake exist. Going around the entire lake would be a major jaunt and require some highway trekking. We have generally gone half way or perhaps a bit less around and then doubled back. You come across herons, geese and other water fowl as well as a large assortment of dragonflies and birds.

Verizon is 2 bars and stable in the upper west loop and over the air TV was available from Omaha and stable even though a good 50-60 miles from the towers.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 86

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

August 12, 2020
Rated

Beautiful campground. Shows that you don't have to be in the middle of a huge wilderness area to create a special campground.

East side was entirely RVs and hard-sided campers, west side was 80% tents. Not a lot of division between sites on the east side (it was basically just a field with a loop road running through it, but the people were quiet and respectful of one another.

Very dark skies in the summer, Milky Way was easily visible.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: -

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 69

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Reviewed by
J4beck

  • 16 Reviews
  • 3 Helpful
August 25, 2020
Rated

Pulled in late last night. Was pleased to wake up to a lovely lake and path to walk the dogs and a beach for the kids to play on. Very quiet.

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J4beck would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 6

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

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Prairie Rose State Park

680 Road M47
Harlan, Iowa
51537 USA
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Hours

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  • Unavailable
    Parking
  • Check
    Pets Allowed
  • Check
    Restrooms
  • Unknown
    Wifi
  • Unavailable
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Unknown
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Last Nightly Rate
6.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
63.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
4.0
Max Length
60 ft
Max Stay
14
Sites Count
83
  • Check
    Fifty Amp
  • Check
    Full Hookup
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
  • Check
    Dump Station
  • Unavailable
    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Check
    Boondock
  • Check
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Unavailable
    Group Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Unavailable
    Permit Required
  • Check
    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Check
    Public Water
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through RV Sites
  • Check
    Reservations
  • Check
    Sewer Hookup
  • Check
    Showers
  • Check
    Sites
  • Check
    Standard Tent Sites
  • Check
    Water Hookup
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Campground, Restrooms

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