backbone state park

While it is understandable to close up for the winter, we were quite surprised that this state park - with residential year round staff - would have no trash cans available and the bathrooms all padlocked on a Saturday in October. Mind you, this was peak season for fall color hikes, which the park emphasizes on thier state park listing. Well, we needed the use of a trash can and a bathroom and it would also have been nice if there had been more signage - or something - to help mark the trails. We drove hours to visit this park and it wasn't worth it.

I recently visited Backbone State Park as a member of the Quad Cities Women's Outdoor Club and had as much fun as I did when I was a kid if not more! We reserved 3 of the one bedroom cabins which included a double bed in a bedroom and another fold out double bed in the futon couch in the main living room which included a complete kitchen. The bathroom with a shower is in the bedroom.You could not ask for cozier cabin accomodations at a reasonable price. Guests have to bring their own linens and towels and are expected to clean up the cabin before leaving.Some of the cabins are pet friendly. The fall colors were in full force when we were there and the hiking was fantastic. I can't wait to return in any season.

This is one of my favorite parks in the State of Iowa. Any time, I go here, I have to hike the Backbone which is one of the featured trails at the park, and offers some commanding views of the area. The nearby town of Strawberry Point is also unique with it's giant strawberry in the middle of town, and the opportunity to have strawberry shortcake at the Franklin Hotel in Strawberry Point is a must when you visit this area.

My only complaint about this park is the state of some of the hiking trails. I don't know if it is recent erosion or budget cutting, but there are inclines on the path that loops around the lake which are difficult and made more dangerous with loose gravel. This is the first time we completed the loop which includes the west lake, east lake and six pine trails. It is too bad that this loop is not better executed. It was an interesting 3 hour walk (slowed by our inquisitive dog) but the links between the paths required walking on roads. I doubt we will do the loop again. Otherwise it is a fine place.

We visited in late September so there was no beach activity. The beach area looked nice. We camped in the South Lake in our 5th wheel. The bath house was clean. We enjoyed hiking Backbone and West Lake Trails. As a previous reviewer noted, there is significant poison ivy. We only noticed it along the trails, not actually on it. Both of these trails are wooded walks and neither was difficult. On the trail map it looks as if West Lake Trail is along the water. The section we walked was not. Except for one small section, we could not even see the water. We were high above the water and there were significant trees between the trail and the water down below.If you have time, drive into Strawberry Point & enjoy a meal at Back Home Country Cookin' (on the street you drive into town on if you exit the north end of the park) and have pie. I personally highly recommend the rhubarb (warning: it is wonderfully tart)!

This is one of my favorite state parks in Iowa. There is so much to do! We are tent campers and like to stay in the Six Pines campground for more privacy. The sites are very large there. The outside loop spots are a bit smaller, but back to trees. Inside the loop is a little less private, but they are very large and provide lots of extra space. There isn't really a playground, it's a sandbox with a couple swings, but still provided hours of fun for the children we were camping with (just bring sand toys). I prefer the springs around the park to the beach. They are much cleaner. The boathouse by the beach does rent paddleboats/canoes, so that's a nice option. The cave is fun to explore and large enough so you can duckwalk your way through instead of crawling, but a headlamp is still nice to have. There are a couple playgrounds around the park as well as numerous hiking trails and scenic lookouts. So much to explore, you'll need more than one trip to see it all! Lots of fun for families!

Perhaps I missed the point by picking the north section of the park but I didn't see the scenery described in the National Geographic Guide to State Parks that I used to vaguely plan this trip. I didn't slow down and explore so I may have missed the point. As I was moving on south to return home I passed another park entrance that had a few cars and campers backed up so maybe that is where the attractions are. I see others give this place glowing reviews with specifics so read them to get a more encouraging impression.

This is a beautiful park for hiking, boating, fishing and exploring. Many unique areas. Park has rustic and modern rental cabins for rent. Don't miss Richmond Springs.

i love crawling around on the backbone ridge, exploring the caves, and springs. The beach is a fun addition as well, with fishing, swimming, paddle boating. great place to camp!

This is what a state park should be, gorgeous, laid back and relaxing. I took my dog with me and we roamed for hours. Climbed into a couple caverns and we walked along the water for quite a bit. Would definitely recommend this park to others who want to visit. Wish I had more time to explore!

Backbone State Park is Iowa's oldest state park, and in my opinion, the best one.Our family visits the state park often, usually on motorcycles in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. The park offers camping, cabin rentals, swimming, fishing hiking picnicing and snowmobiling. It is a great place to have fun all year long.

We visited Backbone State Park in August 2013. It features natural beauty, but watch out for poison ivy and unkept trails. It was obvious that some very basic maintenance work is being neglected at Backbone. The trails were lined with thick patches of poison ivy and there were locations where poison ivy was growing in the very middle of the trail where it would be stepped on by all sorts of hikers. I imagine the young children we met in the park breaking out in horrible rashes after they got home. We encounter several downed trees that had fallen across the trails. Although it was easy for us to climb over them, some of the older hikers we met along the trail had trouble getting through.

Well maintened,nice place to visit. Good for fishing.Not to many visitors this time.Not many workers .looks like abondoned place.Safety is questionable?

Living in Iowa, we were excited to find Backbone such a large park - and one with so many different ways to experience it. The Backbone Trail for hiking was one of my favorite state-wide ... a lot of rocks and roots and great bluff views. The smaller side trails down (and back up) were what made the trip for my husband, daughter and I; wear your climbing shoes! The early to mid section of the trail really does seem like the back of a Stegasaurus with its awkward, random rock formations. My daughter loves getting to drive, then walk, through the creek passages and getting to put your headlamp on to check out a (smallish) cave is always a bonus. We are excited to come back and do one of the longer water-side trails and spend time at the beach - hoping to rent a kayak!

Backbone State Park is a must-see park for Iowans who like to explore and enjoy the outdoors. It's a gem--much larger than we expected, with trails that offer all kinds of physical challenges (if you seek them) and pleasures--great vistas (not many places in Iowa where you're as high as you are on the Ridge), unusual geologic formations, great variety of trees and other foliage (beautiful beds of ferns, in particular), as well as waterways and bird life. I have never seen so many gorgeous old-growth pines, for example. We had a perfect, cool weekend for hiking, but it would have been very tempting to wade the many clear streams if the weather had been hotter--or to rent a canoe or kayak to take out on the lake. I only wish we had brought our children here when they were younger as there is just so much to do and so many impressive sights. We tent-camped and found clean grounds and facilities, sites that were more than generous, and lots of areas of semi-privacy if you made reservations or got lucky. We were lucky in that there was a bluegrass festival on a farm a few miles away from the park with excellent bands and a setting right out of a movie. Next time we'll probably camp at the Six Pines campground for a more serene vibe, but the modern campgrounds was a very pleasant scene and there you do have easy access to flush toilets and showers--a pretty attractive option after hiking a park of this size. Finally, a nice destination for Sunday a.m. breakfast is the beautiful old Franklin Hotel in nearby Strawberry Point. The dining area is lovingly restored and the breakfast excellent. A block away is a grocery store for all your camping-food needs.