Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt

Just a great place to camp if you want quiet, relaxing, nature views! Camp host, Shelly was great and very helpful!! As with everything, the electric sites are $25.00 a night but we’ll worth it. Bathroom/Showers available and potable water at the front gate to load up before setting up camp site…. Also has small dump station at gate for on the way out…

This is a nice campground it has great trails and is in between Altoona Ankeny and Bondurant

Hidden gem just outside of Des Moines!

Pros: -Small park (only about 20 spots) but it’s easy to get a spot without reserving ahead -Site 15 for primitive campers is HUGE. Easily the size of 2-3 sites at other campgrounds. -Very shady campground, beautiful trees all around -Nice, well-marked trails -Plenty to do -Easily the best bathrooms I’ve found while camping (modern) -Gravel pads for electric sites are very large and flat

Cons: -The river was very low and muddy, so water sports like kayaking aren’t an option right now -The park closes at 10:30 so make sure you get back in time -The park is generally well maintained but we also found no fewer than a dozen batteries in our firepit and around our site :( -Some trails have weird unmarked forks that should be marked