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The best camping near Erie with surfing
98% (131) • 1 campsites
Top-rated campgrounds near Erie
1860's Botanical Homestead
1. 1860's Botanical Homestead
97%
(166)
46mi from Erie · 2 sites · Tents, Lodging
Happy to announce we’ve won "the best of" properties to visit in Iowa! We hope to keep striving and adding more amenities as we go! Thank you to our wonderful guests and hello to future guests! 👋🏽
Built in 1860 by its first caretaker botanist, this homestead was propagated over its many years of life and is busting at the seams with medicinal and edible herbs. We now run a flower farm and vegetable gardens on our homestead. If you’d like to learn about herbs or gardening/ homesteading, we love sharing our knowledge.
If you’d just like some farm fresh eggs and enjoy your time alone amongst the songbirds, that's just fine too :)
The property is built into the stone hillside allowing for breathtaking views but also stairs to get to the campsites. Please wear comfortable shoes (not flip flops 😉). If you have mobility issues property access will be difficult. Please no children under 5.
!CLASSES!
We run our small school/business: HOMESTEAD and HAMMER from the property and are bringing classes to YOU! Look in the "EXTRAS" for classes you can partake in on your visit OR for more information on what's included on class weekends check out our website below! Classes include, forAging wild edibles, mushroom identification, homesteading skills, soap making, forging metals and many more!
Website: www.homesteadandhammer.com
*For guest and host safety property managed 24-7 by video and security services*
Pets
Toilets
Campfires
from
$30
/ night
98% (131) • 1 campsites
Top-rated campgrounds near Erie
1860's Botanical Homestead
1. 1860's Botanical Homestead
97%
(166)
46mi from Erie · 2 sites · Tents, Lodging
Happy to announce we’ve won "the best of" properties to visit in Iowa! We hope to keep striving and adding more amenities as we go! Thank you to our wonderful guests and hello to future guests! 👋🏽
Built in 1860 by its first caretaker botanist, this homestead was propagated over its many years of life and is busting at the seams with medicinal and edible herbs. We now run a flower farm and vegetable gardens on our homestead. If you’d like to learn about herbs or gardening/ homesteading, we love sharing our knowledge.
If you’d just like some farm fresh eggs and enjoy your time alone amongst the songbirds, that's just fine too :)
The property is built into the stone hillside allowing for breathtaking views but also stairs to get to the campsites. Please wear comfortable shoes (not flip flops 😉). If you have mobility issues property access will be difficult. Please no children under 5.
!CLASSES!
We run our small school/business: HOMESTEAD and HAMMER from the property and are bringing classes to YOU! Look in the "EXTRAS" for classes you can partake in on your visit OR for more information on what's included on class weekends check out our website below! Classes include, forAging wild edibles, mushroom identification, homesteading skills, soap making, forging metals and many more!
Website: www.homesteadandhammer.com
*For guest and host safety property managed 24-7 by video and security services*
Pets
Toilets
Campfires
from
$30
/ night
Recent reviews from the Hipcamp community
G
Grace
October 2025
Tent
This place is everything. My friend and I booked with Jessica last minute for a night after getting rained out of our original site, and our only problem is we wish we could have stayed longer. Cozy campsite, Jessica is an INCREDIBLE, generous host (with great soaps), and what an amazing, magical piece of land to be on. Also- world’s cleanest porta potty. Had to say it. If you’re thinking about it and you’re not sure - book it. 🤍
See moreA
Aericke
July 2025
Tent
Host was extremely friendly, and the garden and farm was beautiful
See moreE
Eric
July 2025
Tent
Laid back and accommodating hosts! Loved talking about plants and seeing the way they’ve carved out a niche in a beautiful part of Iowa.
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Stephenie
July 2025
Tent
With kids
Spent my birthday weekend here with my chosen family (husband, best friends, and thier kids) and we had the tent site and the bunkie.
The site was perfect. It was a little uneven as explained in the description but for it having to be cut into the hill we were impressed with how flat it was. Even with it raining alot it didnt get alot of pooling water. The tree cover was great so even when it got heavy we were still able to walk to the cars or the bathroom without getting soaked.
The bunkie was clean and very comfortable and had a ton of things that people might forget like garbage bags and flashlights
There are alot of stairs and they are handmade so you have to be careful but I appreciated that thier were handrails pretty much everywhere.
The property is beautiful. I loved seeing all of the plants. Im a forager so I loved juat walking through and identifying the different plants. They had rented goats to clear alot of the brush on the hill and we got to watch them the first night while they were working which was awesome to see.
Jessica is an amazing host and was super sweet with the kids. She let them help her feed them and check for eggs and showed them all the art and work she does.
Also, I've never used a porta potty that smelled that good before and showering in the outdoor shower surrounded by nature was honestly magical. 100/10 will come again.
See moreJ
Jordan
March 2025
Tent
We loved camping here! Wonderful hilltop spot with an overlook view. We also loved getting to see the chickens and baby chicks. Jessica was so kind and hospitable. We can't wait to come back!
See moreA
Anthony
November 2024
Tent
We loved camping at the Woodsy tent site! It’s was cozy. Sarah was very welcoming and a great host! Always quick to respond to anything we needed. Downtown Bellevue was cute and had a great book shop. 30 mins to Downtown Dubuque and 50 mins to Galena. The drive was very scenic!
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