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Backbone State Park is Iowa's oldest state park, dedicated in 1919. Located in the valley of the Maquoketa River, it is approximately three miles (5 km) south of Strawberry Point in Delaware County. It is named for a narrow and steep ridge of bedrock carved by a loop of the Maquoketa River originally known as the Devil's Backbone. The initial 1,200 acres (490 ha) were donated by E.M. Carr of Lamont, Iowa. Backbone Lake Dam, a relatively low dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, created Backbone Lake. The CCC constructed a majority of trails and buildings which make up the park.Arrange your visit to Backbone State Park and discover more family-friendly attractions in Dundee using our Dundee trip itinerary planner.
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Backbone State Park reviews
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We camped in Backbone for 4 days. The campground was beautiful and the leaves were changing. We didn't have reservations, so had to take a walk-in site. The pull-throughs are not very level, but we...
We camped in Backbone for 4 days. The campground was beautiful and the leaves were changing. We didn't have reservations, so had to take a walk-in site. The pull-throughs are not very level, but we... more »
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Beautiful grounds, trees and trails. This place has a lot to explore and has camping, a lake and great vistas.
Beautiful grounds, trees and trails. This place has a lot to explore and has camping, a lake and great vistas. more »
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Beautiful park. Very well kept up. Single private showers with locks in the camp grounds, also very clean. 4-1 bedroom cabins, 4-2 bedroom cabins also very nice. Trout stream for fishing that they stock regularly. Miles of trails to walk, lots of picturesque views to take in. Suggest going in the fall when the colors are vibrant.
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One of our All Time Favorite Spots In Iowa, Backbone State Park is a MUST SEE/MUST HIKE park!!! We hiked here in late October and I highly recommend visiting during that time! The weather was gorgeous, the colors were beautiful and it was just busy enough that we weren't alone, but we still felt like we were! There are plenty of hiking trails with different difficulty. At one point we somehow ended up on what I'm pretty positive was a deer path instead of a trail, but it's hard to beat the views no matter where you're hiking!
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