We visited Sugar Bottom for a beach day. The area was beautiful! It has a number of paths and what seems like a nice camping area (although we weren't there for that). The beach area was spacious--lots of room to spread out on the sand. The beach also has a couple of good shady spots, which is helpful on a hot day. However, we ended up heading over to the Lake MacBride beach because the Sugar Bottom area was a little less lively. Could have just been the day, but we were looking for somewhere more high energy on a summer weekend afternoon. They also don't have the boat rental options that MacBride beach has. If you do like quiet spaces then this would be the place! It also seems great if you have kids (which we don't) because there is just more space to run around. Just be prepared to bring all of your own entertainment. read more

Sugar Bottom Recreation Area - Saturday afternoon at Sugar Bottom beach - Campgrounds Near Me - Solon, Iowa

Beautifully maintained campground. Several spaces with a lake view! Great for families and anyone who likes outdoor recreation. Boat dock available, and honors system firewood available in the evening. We did reservations through Recreation.gov and that made check in super easy! We brought our 2 Yorkies, and about 1/3 or more of the campers also brought dogs. Lots of trees, but also well mowed green spaces. This is now on our top 10 for Iowa campgrounds! Several spots right next to the bathroom / shower house, and great areas for larger camping groups. Would like to see a couple more updates to the shower facility. The water temp was fully adjustable-a knob rather than a button type, so you could have water the full duration of your shower. The water pressure was great, temperature great, but tile could use some updating. That may be in the works because the lighting was motion sensor and LED. There was also a ceiling fan which helped discourage bugs in the bathhouse! read more

Sugar Bottom Recreation Area - Pop up camper and puppy - Campgrounds Near Me - Solon, Iowa

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This place has some amazing single track bike trails. Hard to believe one of the 50 best mountain bike trails is in the middle of Iowa! It's only a three hour drive from Chicago so my boyfriend and I have driven out just for the weekend as he adores these trails. There is a huge lake for boating, a nice campground, frisbee golf course, and I've taken the beach cruiser out for a spin on the paved roads. We watched a hot air balloon take off from the beach last time we were here. Take I-80 to I-380 N. Take I-380 to Exit 4, turn E onto Penn Street; follow Penn St to N Front St. Front St turns into Mehaffey Bridge Road. After crossing Mehaffey Bridge, turn S. Follow the entrance road to Sugar Bottom Campground. To get to the bike trails turn south before the Bridge. read more

Sugar Bottom Recreation Area - Trails under water - Campgrounds Near Me - Solon, Iowa

Stayed here for one night on a road trip to Denver, CO. I booked site 097 online thinking it was a walk-in site near the water and it should have afforded me a good bit of privacy with an awesome view. SO - SO wrong. When I arrived, a bunch of weirdos (ahem potential meth-heads) had already set up in site 098, and there is absolutely NOTHING separating you between the campsites and they are wayyy too close together. I felt like I was somehow invading their campsite. Not to mention, the campsite was pretty much on a 30 percent grade sloping down towards the lake which would have made it next to impossible to sleep. I talked to the hosts and they allowed me to switch to a site closer to the road that was also on the water - I believe it was site 104. It was still pretty slanted but I managed to find a small pit where I was able to set up my tent and have a relatively flat surface to sleep on. It's a shame because the facilities were pretty well-kept and the view from the campsites were really nice. However, this campground seems to attract some less-than-wholesome people and unless you like all of the blood rushing to your head and waking up in the middle of the night with a massive headache, you might want to reconsider the walk-in sites. read more

That beach! As someone who lived in Minnesota for the first five years of her adult life, I set the bar high when it comes to beaches. There can never be enough of them, the sand could always be better, the beach could always be cleaner, they could always stand to have a better bathroom nearby (Coralville Lake Beach has composting toilets and no stall doors... really??). BUT, Sugar Bottom's beach is the best I've found in the Lake Macbride / Coralville Lake area, and it's exactly what I've been missing. Great sand, a gorgeous view, real bathrooms with actual stall doors (gasp!), large shade trees on the side, and it's clean! hooray! That life jacket loaner station?! Yup, there's a life jacket loaner station. Something I've never seen before and I love it. I only hope that no one abuses the honor code system they're requesting, so this can become a mainstream thing across all the local beaches. That disc golf course! I'm trying to get better at disc golf, I really am. This course should up my skill level in no time because it's really stinkin' difficult from a technical standpoint. I love how much of it is heavily shaded (at the expense of losing my disc every third throw of course), the tee signs are easy to read and accurately display which target is currently active, and there are lots of built-in benches along the way. read more

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This park would be amazing, but the DNR completely ruined it for us. It was my 27th birthday, I had 10 people camping with me in 2 side by side campsites. Quiet time is 10:30, at 9:00 the DNR came over and told us we were giggling too loud. We asked if someone complained and she said, "Um, uh, no." She had also hassled us earlier for hiking with towels. Accusing us of the possibility of getting in te water. This lady was looking for any little opportunity for us to break the rules. Trudy, (Reno 911) get a life. read more

Great little campground. My daughter and I were driving east and happened upon this state park randomly looking for a place to stay for the night. A nice older couple was working the entrance and after driving in and picking a spot, they helped us get checked in. As it was already dark and we were tired, we didn't do much other than hit the restrooms and brush our teeth. Big plus that the restrooms were bright and clean. The campground was quiet and we slept well. Upon waking up, I was able to look around a bit and it was a very nice campground. Nice size spots, mature trees, and overlooking a lake! As we needed to be on our way, we didn't get a chance to check out the swimming beach or any other amenities, but I would definitely stay here again. read more

Sugar Bottom Recreation Area - Campgrounds Near Me - Solon, Iowa

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There are lots of established hiking and biking trails, a really good beach on Coralville Lake, and a frisbee golf course. Make sure you check out everything Sugar Bottom has to offer! read more