Camping With Beautiful Views of a Prairie Landscape and a Fun Day in the City in Eastern Iowa

Have you ever wanted to go camping with views of a beautiful natural setting but also be able to eat at a nice restaurant, go shopping and maybe even do a little golfing? Then try camping at Squaw Creek campground. It's only a six minute drive from a major shopping district of Marion Iowa (a suburb of Cedar Rapids) and has beautiful views of natural restored prairies and meadows. We go to this campground to "get away from it all" as well as to shop, eat out and maybe take in a movie.

The views of the meadows and prairie landscape from most of the camp sites are gorgeous, especially in the fall. The campground is well maintained and most sites are fairly spacious with good separation between sites and shaded by trees. Many of the sites can accommodate RVs of all sizes. Campsites are located in two loops (A and B). Loop B has the best views with 47 electrical campsites. Each site in this loop has its own gravel pad, water hookup, 50 amp electrical service, a fire ring, and a picnic table. Flush restrooms are located in the campground, and a sanitary dumping station is located nearby. Showers are not available.

The campground is located in Squaw Creek Park. This 663-acre park has a lot to offer besides camping. The four mile long Squaw Creek Trail is very popular, winding through the park through both wooded and open meadow/prairie areas. Walking through the park is especially enjoyable in the fall as the leaves are turning. The colors are beautiful.

If you like to golf, then go to Squaw Creek Golf Course (renamed Donald K. Gardner Golf Course) adjacent to the park. This 18-hole championship course offers golfers a wide variety of holes. This course is very challenging for the advanced player offering length, hazards, and trees. Yet, it is still very enjoyable to play for those of average ability.

A major shopping district is only a 6 minute drive from the campground with many restaurants, movie theatres and shopping malls. We like to shop, eat out and maybe see a movie. But we also like to come back to the campground at the end of the day to once again "get away from it all" and enjoy the natural beauty of Iowa's prairie landscape as it must have existed many years ago, before shopping malls!

Marion County is adjacent to the city of Cedar Rapids which offers additional attractions including art museums, an I-max theatre, and a large public library all of which we have visited and enjoyed on our many trips here. A visit to Czech Village (in Cedar Rapids) makes for a very interesting and fun day. The Czech Village highlights the history of the many immigrants of Czech, Moravian and Slovakian ancestry that gravitated to the Cedar Rapids area around the turn of the Twentieth Century. Places of interest include the Sykora Bakery, Zindricks Czech Restaurant, the Poleha Meat market, and the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library.

If you're like us and occasionally like to get away from it all - but not too far way, then come to Squaw Creek campground. You'll get that beautiful "back to nature" experience as well as the opportunity to explore the Cedar Rapids/Marion area in Eastern Iowa.