itOpened Guides · Coralville Lake
How to actually get a site at Sugar Bottom Campground — the verified facts, the release reality, and the cancellation route in.
Watch it with itOpened
Proof, from our own scanners: 673 confirmed openings across 34 campgrounds since Oct 29, 2026 — each one re-verified before logging. See the live cancellation index.
Watch Sugar Bottom CampgroundFree to start. We never book, hold, or resell — you book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. Fees pay for monitoring; openings are first-come and cannot be guaranteed.
Overview The Sugar Bottom Campground is located on the shores of Coralville Lake. The Coralville Lake Project is a multipule use project providing primary benefits in flood control and low flow augmentation, and secondary benefits in recreation, fish and wildlife management and forest management. Coralville Lake provides many recreational opportunities, including boating, camping, hiking, mountain biking, lake and river fishing, swimming, water activities, picnicking, and hunting. Recreation Visitors enjoy Coralville Lake for boating, fishing, swimming and water activities. Anglers will find large and smallmouth bass, crappie, walleye and catfish. Hiking and mountain biking are popular activities in Sugar Bottom.
| Total sites | 244 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard, Walk-to / hike-to, Group |
| Site mix (directory count) | Standard 219 · Walk-to / hike-to 14 · Group 1 |
| Area | Coralville Lake |
| Managed by | US Army Corps of Engineers |
| Nearest community | Solon, IA |
| Activities | Biking, Camping, Fishing, Hiking |
| Directory phone | MAY 1 - SEPTEMBER 30 CAMPGROUND ENTRANCE STATION: (319) 624-2102 OCTOBER 1 - APRIL 30 CORALVILLE LAKE PROJECT OFFICE: (319) 338-3543 X.6300 |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov campground page |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
Sugar Bottom Campground is reserved through Recreation.gov, on the release pattern stated in its official listing. In demand, reservable sites are claimed within minutes of each release — which is why the campground reads as sold out for most of the year, and why the realistic route in is rarely the release itself.
Sites booked months ahead get cancelled as trips fall through, and each cancellation returns its nights to the official calendar instantly — first-come, no waitlist, no announcement. itOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Sugar Bottom Campground around the clock; when a site matching your dates and vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link, and you book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell. The mechanics are the same ones documented in how campsite cancellations actually work.
Watch more than one calendar. These nearby or same-area campgrounds take the same trip — and their cancellations are independent chances:
| West Overlook Campground | 89 sites · same area |
|---|---|
| Sandy Beach Camp | 58 sites · same area |
| Tailwater East Campground | 28 sites · same area |
| Tailwater West Campground | 22 sites · same area |
| Linder Point Campground | 18 sites · same area |
Full directory facts and sibling campgrounds: Sugar Bottom Campground campground page · Coralville Lake park page.
Watch it with itOpened
Proof, from our own scanners: 673 confirmed openings across 34 campgrounds since Oct 29, 2026 — each one re-verified before logging. See the live cancellation index.
Watch Sugar Bottom CampgroundFree to start. We never book, hold, or resell — you book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. Fees pay for monitoring; openings are first-come and cannot be guaranteed.
Every figure in this article traces to one of the sources above. If a number isn't sourced, we don't print it.
Last updated 2026-10-30.