Pickup Truck Campers along river campsites
Tent campers along the Mississippi River at Blanchard Island
Campsite overlooking the river
BI Entrance Sign
Camper looking out over the river from lawn chair and trailer

Featured amenities

Pet Friendly Pet Friendly

About Blanchard Island Recreation Area

The Mississippi River Project’s Muscatine Ranger Station has gone to a new way to pay for First-Come First-Serve campsites at the Blanchard Island Recreation Area. This new way is called "Scan & Pay". Blanchard Island’s open fee dates are May 15th through October 15th. Visitors are required to physically arrive at the campground to purchase and claim a site using the QR Code and Recreation.gov mobile APP. (Cash will no longer be accepted for payment. Credit Card Only.)   

Seasonal information

2026 (Current year)

2026 Season availability

Current season
Upcoming seasons
Past seasons
Closed periods
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Currently open - May 1 to Oct 24

Campground Amenities

Most popular amenities

Pet friendly Pet friendly
RV Utilities and Hookups

RV Utilities and Hookups

  • Dump station on site
Pets and Policies

Pets and Policies

  • Pet friendly
Missing information?

Reviews (10)

What Guests Are Saying

Blanchard Island Recreation Area is a peaceful campground that offers a quiet retreat with limited visitors. Guests appreciate the friendly campground host, Lance, who provides valuable information about local conditions. Recent improvements, such as raised toilets, enhance the camping experience, and the availability of firewood from natural sources is a plus.

Review Summary

4.5
10 reviews
5
50.0%
5
4
50.0%
5
3
0.0%
0
2
0.0%
0
1
0.0%
0

Angie V

September 14, 2026

5

We have fun camping there the bathrooms are clean to we’ve been going there for many years and fun every time

John T

October 22, 2025

4

I love this campground. It’s out of the way and not too many people visit which makes it quiet. Firewood is plentiful from fallen trees and logs that wash ashore from the river.

Gregory H

August 28, 2025

4

The campground host Lance was VERY nice & friendly, giving excellent information about the area, including the recent weather impacting river conditions (I chose NOT to kayak there based on his information for safety concerns).
The new raised toilets are an excellent improvement! Perhaps these can be added to additional campgrounds along with section of the Mississippi, like Bulger's Hollow Recreation Area?

Anthony P

July 22, 2025

4

Nice, quiet, primitive campground on the backwaters of the Mississippi River.

Ian S

September 20, 2023

5

Fantastic - we spent an extra night here it was so peaceful. The river view, the big trees, birds galore. Great spot.

John T

June 14, 2022

4

I found the campground via the Kamoot app on my phone. I was riding my bike across Iowa into Illinois and chose to stay at Blanchards. I loved it. It was quiet and I was the only camper there until late when a motorhome came in. The campground hosts were nowhere to be found. I downloaded and used the app which worked great. Spotty cell coverage with Verizon.

James L

October 12, 2021

5

Great primitive campsites along the river.

Tom B

September 29, 2021

4

As a tent camper that didn’t need electricity or water, I found it very pleasant. A 2 mi gravel road brought me to the bank of the Mississippi River camp.

Very pleasant host where payment has to be online by downloading an app, worked well but took 45 min due to poor reception.

I was the sole person at this site after host left, so it was very peaceful. Nice outhouse bathroom, no running water.
(Water available at slickers)

Wish I had a fishing pole!

I really enjoyed it!

Bridgette W

September 13, 2021

5

Great place for a low key weekend!

Angela P

July 13, 2021

5

This is our favorite place to camp. A nice place to relax and the grounds are kept very clean. The caretakers are great and we always meet nice, genuine people when we visit.

Location & Directions for Blanchard Island Recreation Area

34000 176th Ave. W., New Boston, IL 61272 United States

Elevation: 166 ft

Getting There

<p>To get to Blanchard Island Recreation Area you will need to drive on approximately 2.5 mi of gravel road. The address is 34000 176th Ave. W., New Boston, IL 61272.   </p>
<p>From Muscatine, IA, you will need to cross the Muscatine Bridge into I...

Nearest town

New Boston, IL - 15 mi

About 18 min to downtown

Highway access

Blanchard Island Recreation Area is accessible via Hwy. 92, approximately 2 miles from the site, which connects to other regional roads.

Nearby Campgrounds

Nearby destinations


Last updated: October 7, 2026

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Explore New Boston, IL

Population: 648

Nearby larger city

Davenport, IA

Approx. 28 mi away (straight-line distance)

Elevation: 568 ft

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Managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers