McIntosh State Park is a small. but nice park. on Clear Lake in the town of Ventura. It has a boat…read morelaunch area, camping sites and trails. The entry area is planted with prairie plants. It is very inviting. If you are looking for a camp site, hiking, picnicking or boating in the Clear Lake area, check out this State Park!

Wow, what a wonderful surprise to pull off hwy 35 after miles of farming fields and land in this…read morelush green campground. Filled with huge shade trees and grass I was so happy to be in the woods. Lots of peaceful trails that have been mowed, take you deeper into and under the canopy of trees and ferns. I know most people probably camp here for the lake, but for me it is all about being in nature. Lots of frogs along the grassy shoreline, bunnies in the open grass areas and plenty of birds. $16 is a great deal for sites with electricity. Happy to be here.

Great shop! Staff is friendly and very helpful. Keep up the good work Chris and Kevan!read more

Spent a weekend camping & hiking here and it's lovely! This state park occupies a large swath of…read morethe coastline of Lake Albert Lea, and is very convenient to the city of Albert Lea and 35-W. As such, this is a very easy park to get to. I camped in one of the two large drive-in campgrounds, both of which are very well-appointed with amenities. There are drinking water faucets distributed liberally throughout the campgrounds, and there are large restroom facilities at each, which are kept clean and have plenty of toilets, sinks, and showers. They even have little stations to plug in devices to charge them. Probably my biggest gripe with this park is that the restroom facilities are so brightly lit, right next to where the campsites are, that it strongly impacts the outdoorsy ambience. Many campers might not mind that & might even prefer it. But between that and the audible proximity to the Interstate, I prefer to feel a little more isolated. I saw lots of big trailers plugged into outlets, and there are also group camps, rentable cabins, and backpacking sites. I definitely want to return here to try one of those backpacking sites along the east side of the lake. Speaking of the lake, I did spot a number of fishing and canoeing options being taken advantage of. With all the beautiful lakefront area here, this is a really cool place for that kind of activity. I was surprised that the office wasn't staffed when i arrived mid-afternoon on a Saturday in June (2022) to check in; I wasn't able to get my hands on a physical map, and I had to put cash in an envelope to get some firewood. But other than that, it felt like a well-staffed park. All things considered, I will defintely return from the Twin Cities, and if it's more convenient to where you live, you can consider that a good thing! EDIT: I did indeed return two weeks later and try out a packpacking site. Loved it! It's way more remote over there. Really beautiful and lots of cool, well-posted trails. There was a big stash of firewood they'd prepared for free; do they do that for everyone? It's great! You can get to all the backpacking sites via canoe. Bumping my rating from 4 stars to 5!

Beautiful, large park with trails for walking and bike trails. Wetland areas, big trees, and well…read moremaintained public areas

When I'm in Mason City and want to get outside for a bit, my first thought is to go out to Lime…read moreCreek. They've got a nice assortment of trail loops of differing lengths that intersect so you can get whatever distance hike you want, and see the different parts of the land. There is also a nice long trail that runs along the river that has some scenic spots as well. The nature center building isn't super big, but it's nice to take a look at the fossils, taxidermy, and information about the animals. In the winter especially, the trails aren't busy and you can really just walk about and take be at peace in the environment. It would be nice if there was a bit more signage at some of the intersections of the trails, however, as there are some spots where it's not clear where you'll end up.

The visitors center is a great place to learn about the flora and fauna of Iowa. It's filled with…read moreall kinds of unique stuffed animal wildlife. Some taxidermy guy had fun. Kinda creepy, but still interesting. They also have a few aquariums with live fish. Oh..and a live turtle. Very clean and well organized. If you check out the upstairs, there's a lot of hands on exploration things to do with the kids. Remember...don't forget to go to use the restrooms before you go hiking. Yes...there are 11 hiking trails to choose from. Some are short, some are long. I chose the easy hike since it looked like a storm was coming. There are also wheel chair accessible trails. Nice place to check out if you enjoy nature.

This was a great find on our visit up to Clear Lake. We were…read moreup bright and early to go fishing but being a visitor didn't know where to go. Located this bait shop and was pleasantly surprised. We were warmly greeted as we let the gentleman know we were visiting looking for a place to fish. I laughed when he nodded towards the water and said "In the lake." He did talk us through some good spots around the lake. Helped us pick out some needed hooks and amazing GREEN earthworms. I was excited to see these- crazy neon green worms that he said do really well. - I did catch some decent size fish on these worms. :) We chatted for awhile and as we were leaving he asked if I wanted to see him feed his kitties. Of course! We head across the screen and down the dock to the boats where he tosses some bait fish that did not make it in his bait tubs. Sure enough GIANT lake catfish came and ate them right up. This location is going to have your fishing needs and your snacking needs all in one stop.

Wonderful place to learn about trout and trout fishing! One can spend a lot of time there by…read morelooking at all the items on display, viewing the wild trout aquarium, and taking advantage of the free "how-to" sessions on the weekends. I always enjoy visiting and gathering info on how the trout are biting on the streams near by. The NTC has friendly and educated staff as well. Two thumbs up.

I booked a spot for my camper for a class reunion. The campgrounds had been closed for a while for…read moreupgrades and remodeling..new bathrooms and showers..so I was pretty stoked to have the new upgrades..well the bathrooms and showers were both clean and new.. not sure what they were thinking when they sat down and designed it though..solid concrete looked good in paper, double as a storm shelter..instead during camping season this turns it into a sauna..literally sweating while shaving..no fans? Did the budget run over? And the showers..has that great push button get X amount of time then push it again. I get it..but the shower head right on the wall..so you get to kiss that button if you want your head directly under the shower head. And the cool part is you don't have to waste time deciding the temperature of your water. They decide for you..100 degrees out. Cool off in a hot shower inside a sauna.. wth..then last jab on showers.. they had a blank slate to work with and it is a wet room..everything is wet because it is a shower..but you have to get to it..aka you have clothes on and with you to change into clean ones..1 darn hook..saved some money there..at least your towel has somewhere to stay dry..because the 2x2 foot bench isn't keeping anything dry..where do you sit to get dressed? Dry off? Keep clean clothes clean and dry? Just a stupid overall design..use the handicap shower and hope nobody in a wheelchair needs it..it at least has a small separate space that stays dry..same dumb 1 hook 2x2 foot bench concept..other than that wonderful stay..clean well kept grounds..campers were respectful nice..park staff were helpful and nice..scenery was beautiful..

Very nice picturesque park... Very very busy in the summer decent kayaking, and fishing to be had…read moreonly electric motors are allowed

Woke up early to go to this place before the temperatures exceeded my comfort zone…read more Very nice place to hike and look for fossils. It really is amazing how many shells are litterly covering the whole area. It's like walking on an ocean floor without the water. Unfortunately, we could only stay an hour since the temperature started to rise fast. I really don't do well in the heat and humidity. Maybe next time when it's a little cooler.

This is the perfect field trip for those who love the outdoors. It's a reviving prairie with…read morefossils the public are allowed to take with them. There's also fields and trails that are perfect for hiking!!!!

We were stranded in Cedar Falls with our 40ft 5th wheel. We called Camping world service, not only…read moredid they get our unit in right away for a major repair, Nikki in service called around to find us a pet friendly hotel for us to stay. Alan was amazing and informative and Nikki went above and beyond!! Thank you so much for helping us get back on the road so quickly we made it home to Arizona thanks to you both. Gratefully, Dr. Richard and Deborah Martin

I am extremely disappointed with my experience at Camping World. What was supposed to be a repair…read moreturned into months of frustration, poor communication, and additional problems with our camper. Our camper sat on their lot for over two months, much of that time without being worked on because of a misdiagnosis after they ordered a new set of motors and failure to properly fix the issue the first time. We were told the repairs would take approximately 13 days, yet we continued making payments on a camper we couldn't even use. When we finally came to pick it up because we were told it's ready to go we discovered new issues that were not there before: the slide-out was visibly misaligned, seals were missing around the slide-out which will probably result in water damage in tough areas and the heater door that was listed on the invoice was not even installed. To make matters worse, there was additional damage to the exterior of our camper that appears to have been caused while it was in their care. After speaking with multiple other customers, it seems we are not the only ones who have experienced excessive delays and poor service. It is incredibly disappointing that a company of this size would allow repairs to drag on for months and return a camper in worse condition than it arrived. Camping World did offer a small concession of $260 on a $4,000 bill & to fix the damage they caused but how can I trust more damage won't occur when we take it back in? $260 does not make up for the inconvenience, lost camping time, ongoing payments, and lack of quality workmanship. We will be taking our future repairs elsewhere.

Nice and quiet little park. Lots of wildlife and never a crowd. Fishing has been ok. To be honest I…read morego for the solitude. One of my favorite hidden getaways in North Iowa.