Nauvoo State Park

We camped in the trees in this pretty park. There’s a lake down the hill where you can fish for rainbow trout in season. The campsites are well spaced. There are pull through sites if you need it. Both water/electric sites and dry camping sites available. Nice clean bath house with free hot showers.

We stayed here in Mid- October, in a 24 foot travel trailer. No way to pay, that we could find. We pulled into the big cement pad, probably the camp host site. Electric worked, bathrooms were heated, modern, and functional. Nobody else in loop A but 2 others. Sites a bit unlevel, and most are pull throughs. We enjoyed walking into the cute town of Nauvoo, all done up with stuffed scarecrows for Halloween. Also visited Old Nauvoo, across from the park, where we were treated to demonstrations of crochet, weaving, rug making, rope making, bread and barrel making. Everyone we met here was very friendly and happy to share their history with us. Would stay again,even if we had to pay, but probably not during July or August. Trains run frequently, but far enough away not to be jarring.

The park and campground provide easy access to Old Nauvoo and the town of Nauvoo. We stayed on a Sunday evening and were one of five or six units. Our site was one of the pull-through sites.

The electrical service is a bit dated. Our service box was shared by our site and and adjacent site. We kept tripping one of the breakers and the other one worked without any problem. This would've been an issue if both sites were occupied.

The campground is nestled in a grove of old pine trees and we enjoyed a pleasant evening with a nice breeze. The nearby lake isn't very large, but is really pretty. It rained heavily overnight, so we didn't venture out on the trails.

We understand from talking with family in the area that the park and campground would normally be very busy. There was hardly anyone around while we visited since everything is shut down for the pandemic.

Most of the sites in the electric area would be hard to define at night so we recommend getting there in daylight. They don’t always have the sites that are reserved marked immediately. We had to move the next morning when the ranger stopped by and said it was reserved. Overall we enjoyed our stay there while we explored the area. See the videos on our YouTube channel. Check the electric breaker before you set up. Also the rate is $30 on holiday weekends.

Sites are very close together under large pine trees. Water heater was broken so no showers. Mostly empty and quiet midweek. Most sites suitable for small to medium size rigs. Gravel pads are mostly level. Electric hookups but no water at sites. Vault toilets. Best part was the views of the Mississippi on the way in from the south.

We stayed here July 27-29, 2022. Lot's of trees for nice shade, but just a little tight getting around and backed in. Not real level, but do-able with some Anderson blocks. Close to the little historic town with lots of displays and tours. Not much else in the area. W/E at site and easy dump on the way out. I never saw a ranger, just pulled into my reserved site and stayed. Maybe they come by and check during the day but we were gone then. The vault toilet in the campground was a little gross, but the bathrooms/showers down the hill were nice.

We use to love staying here. We had not been here for about 5 years and we don’t know if we will return. The area had a MAJOR wind event of 100 mph winds the end of June 2023 and it destroyed trees, houses, barns, and other out buildings in the area. There is still plenty of shade though. This negative review is not because of that event.

The pad sites are not very level. The dumpsters were over full with garbage that looked to be weeks old. The flies were terrible. The shower building was clean for the most part except the first shower stall I opened had blood all over the wall. The cleaning crew came and inspected the building while I was there, but did not clean the stall.

When we showed up our reserved site was tagged for someone else. We located our tag elsewhere in the campground. Fortunately only 3 other sites were being used so we simply chose another. Prior ashes were not cleaned out of the fire pits.

With a little work this could be a great campground again.