Best Glamping near Alton, IA

I spent the night here and had to pay the entrance fee to the park as well as the camping fee for my tentsite. They had only a few tentsites available amid all the RV sites, but they were right on the edge of the playground, so the families had to walk right through my campsite to get to the play area. Not too big a deal as no one wanted to use the play area at night while I was sleeping, but still.  I also looked over at the power lines. There was a flush toilet facility close by but there was a very bright light on all night. Good for families needing to navigate in the dark but not wonderful if you like sleeping in darkness. And though I was told that quiet hours began at 10PM, the site next to me was quite loud through the trees until at least midnight so the quiet hours are not enforced. Meh. I don't think I'll be going back.

Scenic park is across the Missouri river from Sioux City,  Iowa.  It is easy to get to. Very friendly staff.  Restrooms are kept clean.  It is a large campground with several different restrooms with showers.  There is a number of permanent campsites, there is also some that can be reserved.  Some are also pull thru's. Ice and firewood are available on site.  There  is a separate area available for tents. With it being  on the edge of South Sioux City, Ne and across the river from Sioux City, Ia. there is lots of shopping options close by.  It can also be reserved for groups, with a shelter available for use.  There are some sunny spots and also spots with lots of shade.  I really like this campground!

Such a nice campground. Nice big shady trees and manicured lawns. They sell campfire wood for 6$ a bundle on site so we had some great campfires going. They have nice long paved trails for walking and biking. We got to walk our dogs on it to avoid tick contact from the grassy trails. There was a cool suspension bridge that was fun to walk on. The showers were very nice and hot without a lot of traffic. 

There is no sewage hookup or water hook ups. They do that 50/30 amp sites available. There is a dump station right at the entrance to dump when you leave and it also has a separate fresh water station if you want to fill up right when you get there so youre not traveling with a bunch of water in your tank. 

It was a great campground and the falls were close by and palisades state park was also in the area with a nice hike. 

There is an extra $8 car fee per night that you have to pay on top of any camping fees. If you are staying longer than 5 days it better to just get the annual parking pass for $32, which would cover parking for all state parks and recreation areas in SD. 

They have great discounts if you are a veteran and south dakota resident.

This Recreation Area is large and  located off the Sioux River, which was slow flowing when I visited. It’s not the most picturesque river I’ve seen, so if you’re looking for that look further. However, because it was slow moving it made for a nice round trip paddle. 

Easy access from 90W, not much road noise and close to the town of Brandon for supplies. 

There’s a fantastic disc golf course complete with a creaky suspension foot bridge that spans the fiver. 

Great hiking and biking trails too. I hiked the Valley of the Giants trail, which earns its name because of the many old, “giant” oaks in this river bottom area. It’s an easy hike with one slight incline/decline, but the loop was curtailed by a giant felled oak tree.  The path was completely covered and no matter which way I tried I couldn’t see the trail it had become so overgrown. Sadly it seems that this has been the fate of several the the Giants, perhaps due to the river flooding.

The campground has gravel pads. My site backed up to the river but there was a bushy berm and the bike/walking bath between the site and the river. No problem to access the river though because there are little paths worn through the bushes. Lots of trees for shade and good space between sites. There’s electric but no water at site. Fill up by the restrooms or before you come. Picnic table and fire ring with grill connected. Fire ring is on a cement pad. I’d never seen that before. 

There are also  cabins for rent and when I was there the restrooms looked clean and functional.  Picnic shelter and gazebo are on site as well as the Bergeson’s Homestead. It’s always nice to see history being preserved like this! When I’m passing through this area again, I’ll revisit this recreation area.

We stayed with our class A RV on our way to and from a further destination. First spot was one right along the river. All the spots are spacious...neighbors are not on top of you. This spot had a nice concrete pad with a picnic table (not so nice with peeling paint). Views of the river and city were nice. Full hook-ups with sewer, water, electric, cable, and wi-if. Second spot was not on the river but equally spacious. No concrete pad with this one. Bathhouses were a mixed bag. One was large with numerous stalls and showers and very clean. The other quite small (2 stalls and one shower) and not so clean. Had to step around empty shampoo and conditioner bottles on floor and a used razor on the soap dish.....there in the early evening and still there around 9 the next morning. Many of the sites seemed to be extended stay and not all trailers were well kept.....plastic covering windows, haphazard decks, etc. All-in-all though an Ok stopover in a longer trip.

We stayed with our class A RV on our way to and from a further destination in early July. First spot was one right along the river. All the spots are spacious...neighbors are not on top of you. This spot had a nice concrete slab with a picnic table (not so nice with peeling paint). Views of the river and city were nice. Full hook-ups with sewer, water, electric and (spotty) WiFi. Second spot was not on the river but equally spacious. No concrete patio with this one. Bathhouse’s were a mixed bag. One was large with numerous stalls and showers and very clean. The other quite small (2 stalls and one shower) and not so clean. Had to step around empty shampoo and conditioner bottles on the floor and a used razor on the soap dish...there in the early evening and still around 9 the next morning. Many sites seemed to be extended stay and not all were well kept...plastic covering windows, haphazard decks, etc. All-in-all though an OK one night stopover spot if you’re traveling through.