“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.
Reviews of Prairie Rose State Park
14 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on September 15, 2024AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on September 15, 2024T-Mobile 4G/5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on September 15, 2024Reviews
Rolled up late night lots of spaces easily assessable and lovely
We stayed at one of the full hookup sites. Nice distance between the sites, trail around the park that provided exercise and different views of the park. Bathrooms were clean and dump station seemed to be in good condition. The only downside to the dump was the water had a cut off hose so if you wanted to hookup to flush you couldn’t. Kayaked the lake which was nice. Overall I would stay here again if in the area.
Nightly Rate: $33.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 58
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 5G
AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
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.
Nightly Rate: $11.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 19
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Beautiful older but very well maintained state park. Highly recommend this campground.
Nightly Rate: $16.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 33
RV Length: 21 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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.
Nightly Rate: $16.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
RV Length: 24 ft
RV Type: Class C
Park was beautiful but I never saw a camp host ranger or an employee there just as a safety precaution.
Nightly Rate: $4.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 42
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.
Nightly Rate: $19.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 58
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
This park is great! The right size pads, great beach, lots of wild life. its views are breathtaking and its nice and quiet.
Nightly Rate: $16.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 42
RV Type: Tent
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
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.
Nightly Rate: $16.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 86
RV Length: 34 ft
RV Type: Class A
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 69
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Prairie Rose State Park
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Last Nightly Rate
- 33.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 63 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 4.0
- Max Length
- 60 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 83
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
Nearby Hotels
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