A couple of fun spots in Ia and IL

[hawkeyestoob]

Earlier this year I had asked here about what are some favorite spots in NE Iowa and the surrounding area and got several good ideas. Now that we have done some camping in the area I wanted to pay it back and report on a couple of our favorite spots we have found.


Howell Station at Lake Red Rock
We stayed here over Memorial weekend and absolutely loved it. Huge level(ish) gravel pads on the sites with lots of shade. We were shocked at how quiet the campground was even over the holiday weekend. There are lots of walking/biking trails that connect almost all of the campgrounds at the lake with the town of Pella about 4 miles away. There are several excellent shops in town but 2 of out favorites are Jaarsma Bakery and Ulrichs Meat Market.

Mississippi Palisades State Park
This is an Illinois State park that we went to on a whim but we liked it so much we booked the last available spot they had for the upcoming 4th of July. It offers miles of hiking trails with some great views of the Mississippi River. It is also a great base camp if you are looking to get in some motorcycle day trips. Two of our favorites were the town of Galena Illinois and Poopy's Pub n' Grub. Even if you are not a biker this is a great and fun stop for a bite to eat and a cold beverage of your choice or to just people watch.

Hopefully this helps out someone else who is looking for a good starting place when camping.

Craig

[kfxgreenie]

If ya went to Poopy's did ya check out the Iron Horse Social Club? It's an interesting place, little Museum is koool!

[hawkeyestoob]

Originally Posted by kfxgreenie

If ya went to Poopy's did ya check out the Iron Horse Social Club? It's an interesting place, little Museum is koool!

I did not make it there but I will add it to the list of places to check out!

[PhilDeb]

Thanks! I think Galena is on the DW list of places to go.

[Rick G]

Galena is a favorite for my dw too, in fact, we have reservations at Mississippi Palisades 6/24 for 3 nights and of course we will visit Galena at least one of the 3 days. Do you happen to know the distance from Galena to Howell Station?

[hawkeyestoob]

Originally Posted by Rick G

Galena is a favorite for my dw too, in fact, we have reservations at Mississippi Palisades 6/24 for 3 nights and of course we will visit Galena at least one of the 3 days. Do you happen to know the distance from Galena to Howell Station?

Just guessing the distance would be a couple hundred miles between the two.

[Rick G]

Howell Station is quite a distance for a day trip from Galena (218 miles one-way). I thought well maybe a weekend trip from Springfield, IL but that's even farther at 296 miles one-way, we'll have to wait until we can retire.

[Rick G]

Thanks for the reply. You mentioned the trails at Mississippi Palisades were nice, we thought they were nice too, in fact, the pic of our dogs show them laying on a path, that pic was taken at Mississippi Palisades about 2 years ago.