Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Brighton? Finding a place to camp in Iowa with your horse is easier than ever. At The Dyrt, you can find top-rated spots for horse camping, as reviewed by campers.
$15 - $20 / night
Lake Iowa Park offers a quiet, safe and beautifully-maintained campground that includes 120 rocked pads with electricity, shower houses and a dump station. There are water hydrants with rural water spread throughout the campground to fill your camper tanks. There are two non-electric areas suitable for tents which are within a short walk to the shower house. Currently there are no reservations for camping, it is all first come first served.
2 cabins are available for rent. Each cabin has a full kitchen and ADA compliant bathroom and will sleep 8 people.
$8 - $50 / night
The Main Campground at the Saulsbury Bridge Recreation Area has the following amenities
· 24 camping spurs
· Electrical hookups
· Modern restrooms and showers
· Drinking water
· Dump station
· Firewood
· Playground
· Campground host
Campsites have picnic tables, fire rings, and on-site parking. Campsites are $20 per night. Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis only. No reservations are taken.
$15 - $20 / night
The Lick Creek Unit contains two nonmodern equestrian campgrounds with nonelectric campsites. Facilities include pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, gravel parking pads, water hydrants, hitching rails and shade for horses. There are also stalls for overnight stabling.
Shimek State Forest is located in Lee and Van Buren Counties in southeast Iowa near the town of Farmington. Although the forest's original and most important function is to serve as an example of forest management for Iowas citizens, recreational opportunities abound in the forest. Visitors come from a wide area to hunt, fish, hike, ride the equestrian trails, mountain bike, camp, picnic, study nature and enjoy the outdoors. Visitors can expect to find oak-hickory forests and bottomland hardwood timber forests but will also find several areas where native prairie plants can be found and about 1,000 acres which have been planted to conifers. In this extremely varied habitat wildlife is abundant. Bring your camera or spotting scope! The forest is managed by the Iowa DNR Forestry Bureau and is comprised of five separate units with a total of 9,148 acres. The forest headquarters is located about one mile northeast of Farmington on county road J56. The four lakes in the Farmington and Donnellson Units are stocked with bass, channel catfish and panfish. There are no designated swimming areas. The entire forest is open to hiking and hunting (except in the camping areas).
Normally a complex like the River Valley Lodge and Campground would begin with detailed drawings and blueprints but this one began with a dream and a concept! It would basically have been impossible to put the gentle flowing of the Des Moines River, the soaring of the eagles, the laid back atmosphere of Southeast Iowa, the glistening mirror finish of the quiet ponds, the beautiful sunsets, and the rustling of the giant cottonwoods on paper. Of course the detailed drawings and blueprints came later as required but Mother Nature had already provided the setting and Steve and Carolyn Kokjohn had provided the dream and concept.
As you have no doubt guessed, the dream and concept are now a reality and the River Valley Lodge and Campground is ready for your enjoyment. The transition from dream and concept to reality did not come quick or easily. It was the result of the combined efforts of many talented individuals and hours of their labor that made it what it is today. To all of those individuals, Steve and Carolyn say "thank you......a job well done".
The result of all this dreaming, planning, and hard work is a state of the art family oriented lodge and campground with a definite western atmosphere that will match, if not surpass, anything similar in the tri-state area. No matter if you are just a couple wanting a place to bring your horses, camp, and ride the many forested trails, a large group wanting to rent the beautiful lodge for some type of a get-together, or a horse group/organization that would like to rent the arena or even the complete campground, you will find that River Valley Lodge and Campground in Southeast Iowa is the place to go. Of course horses are not required and all campers are definitely welcome. Just remember that this complete complex is very flexible and adaptable thus we will make every attempt possible to meet your needs.
Guide
This site has a large number of mostly cement camper spots, including pull through. There is a large playground and shower house. Primitive camping for single or group spots. Campgrounds also include a shooting range, beach, equestrian trails, canoe rentals, and launch, and I saw a sign for primitive cabins, though I didn't have time to check those out. This is the .most full service camp site that I have seen in Iowa so far.
GuideLots of cement camping pads, playground, and shower house. Primitive single and group camping sites. Canoe rental and shooting range.
Scout
It was beautiful, full of wildlife, easy to find,not too far from highway but far away enough to not hear
GuideNot too far off the highway. Very clean and quiet. The campground is above the lake but a short trail will take you to the lake. Couldn't see the lake from where we camped, but nice woody area behind our campsite. Nice little visitor area. Lots of trails to walk with the dog including a nice trail along the lake.
Great place to spend one night. If I had more time, I would have gone paddle boarding or fishing on the lake.
RangerVery well kept campground! Bathrooms and entire area was really in perfect shape. One of the cleanest showers and bathrooms I have seen. $10 for tent, $16 for electric - how can you go wrong?
Only issue is that the spots are pretty close together. Around 2:30am there was so much smoke in our van from nearby campfires that I woke up sick and my dog threw up all over the bed. At 3am we decided we needed to move to an electric site because it was too much to have the windows open. I felt really bad for anyone in a tent. I coughed all the next day.
The campground was not that busy so there is no way I would stay here on a busy holiday weekend due to the spots being too close. If a few people make a fire you better shut down all your windows. No sleeping in the cool, night air here.
But this is an issue at other places too. Just never experienced anything on this level before. Esp considering no one in our section even had a fire going.
I wish campgrounds would start banning these fires. But that’s a topic for a later date.
Other than that it was a great spot.
ScoutI stayed at the main site that google maps took me to. Three spots but the park is big there might be more sites around it. It is near skunk river I only stayed there for a night but where I was to get to the river you have to hike or bike to it. I’ve heard you can ride horses here. They have fire rings, picnic tables, and a bathroom that’s deep and composting. No sinks or showers. Bugs were wild at night but it is summer. No one disturbed us and it was free the best park of it all. Hoping to make it back there to go through the trails. I believe you can hike and camp too in the area.
Scout$12 a night for primitive camping and you get nice warm showers by the main entrance and nice bathrooms by the main entrance. Stand-alone bathrooms throughout the park have the deep composting toilets that smell bad but whatever the ones up front are nice. Would recommend 10/10
Guide
Beautiful river views. Amazing camp hosts. Showers,toilets,30/50/110 power water on sites to share water and dump on property. Mid 1800's town right there and businesses open. There is a blacksmith, a Indian artifact museum and gift shops. Historical walking bridge that is amazing. No wifi.. poor Internet although I did have one bar so could be worse .I have total by Verizon.
Legend
Camped here for a family reunion. Open sites near the Des Moines river and local road meant spots were just for sleeping. Excellent barns, accommodations, well-kept grounds and animals. Nearby locals kind and welcoming. Excellent time spent with family and horses, will return again.
LegendDown the road from the sleepy little town of Bentonsport, IA is this small riverfront campground. On a Sunday afternoon in October, there were several RVs but almost all of the riverfront sites (which I would consider prime) were empty. But there were also chickens (apparently belonging to one of the campers) and two horse and buggies (I thought they might have been statues and then one of the horses whinnied!). There was no camp host or anyone else to speak with about the campground.
The view of the Des Moines River and the Bentonsport Bridge was beautiful, and it is an easy and short walk into town, although the town does not offer much in the way of amenities (unless you like fudge, and then you have to pick some up at Addie Mays in the Greef General Store). As far as restrooms go, there appeared to be only a small outhouse. I did not check it out since it looked like I would have had to walk through someone’s site to access it. If you have a fully contained RV, the river sites would be nice but otherwise, this campground does not have much to offer.
Legend
Main CG has gravel lanes, showers, fire rings, tables, electric, nearby lodge and shelter with Cedar River access.
GuideThe good: The area around the lake and near by pond, is not overly developed. There are wild raspberries and mulberries, lots of wildlife. We had a blue jay that visited us regularly at our campsite, along with deer walking through. The bad: very few sites have a view of the lake. To walk to the lake or near by pond you must go down hill, which could be a problem for any one with mobility issues. Once down to the water trail are easy to walk. I would say if you can try and get sites, 67-70. They have beautiful views.
LegendStayed at the primitive section of the campground. Site C was level for our camper van. Large, spacious site. Wooded. Fire ring. No table st this site, but other sites in this area has tables. Vault toilets a short walk away. Campground host was very helpful. Inexpensive firewood. Enjoyed our stay here. Paid $10 for site.
ScoutWe tent camped here a few weeks ago and it was pretty nice. You self check in and cost is only $10/night for primitive. They don’t have electric or water hookups for tent camping which was ok for us. It was easy to find and quiet. The only downside is the lake was filled with algae. So if you’re wanting to fish or swim, this isn’t the place for you! There’s a gun range, horse farm, playground, bathrooms, and even a place to use a few telescopes to see the stars!
Guide
Tony and his wife are the camp hosts. Tony was so helpful and nice. The camp sites are spacious and clean.
ScoutThis is a great campground. Sites are pretty level and easy to get parked. Full hookup!!! There is a good sized lake that we have kayaked and swam in. The conservation officers are very nice and usually stop by to make sure everything is going great. They continue to improve the campground every year
Traveler
I was only able to stay one night but i loved it. We hiked the equestrian trails one afternoon and the regular trails the next day. I camped in the equestrian campground and loved it with my popup. Outhouse type toilets are available there. I only drove past the RV campground and the campsites were close together. The equestrian area is the way to go in my opinion but i love the quiet. Picnic tables and fire rings are at each campsite.
GuideCute little RV/tent campground. Very nice hosts. Only stayed 1 night. Definitely on the 'let's go back' list. Waubonsie trail behind park is a short hike to the covered bridge and Dutchman's Store. Perfect Way to stretch your legs after a long day on the road. Bathrooms and showers were exceptionally clean. Horseshoe pit, playground and campfire swing area were nice surprises. All for under $20 for electric RV site! Great campground for a small group event.
GuideThis place is huge. We pulled in very late on a Weds night / Thursday morning. Self registration at the front. Looked like a decent amount of folks here but we didn’t drive very far into the park. If you take a look at the PDF maps on their website you can see how vast the places is with 122 spots! Bummed we needed to keep driving the next day- was very tempted to stay another night.
Shower house and bathrooms were really nice! Wasn’t expecting to want to take a shower but couldn’t pass up the opportunity when we saw them. Very hot water.
There are picnic benches everywhere and fire pits. 10/10 - would stay again!
GuideThis park has something for everyone. They have primitive tent sites, electric only, electric+water, and fhu. They also have cabins for rent. All very reasonably priced. Most of the sites are nice and shady and level. A bathhouse with showers. A stone lodge for large parties. There is a playground, a few nice hiking trails, and a lake with a nice sandy beach. Almost empty during the week, but very busy on summer weekends. Hiking,fishing, swimming, kayaking,bird watching. There are many things to keep you busy here.
ScoutFished here for a few years but camped here for the first time with my travel trailer this year. The campground is well laid out. If you are in a group you can reserve spots 8 and 9 together or there are some long spots in the Eastern part for double occupancy if you want. If you want more privacy and easy access to the lake for kayaking I'd go for 14, 15, and 16. I'm in 32 and it is private and very pretty.
Nearby lake has a beach and a boat ramp for launching boats (whole lake is no wake zone) or kayaks. If you are into fishing, this place has large mouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish.
GuideVery nice park and not to near a train. Very modern facilities that were clean.
ScoutQuite roomy on river the town by it is a craftsman village with quilting woodwork old inns painters there is a railroad car they made into a rental the camp ground has 30 and 50 amp elect there is no water or sewer on you’re site but water is available in camp .
TravelerGood sights, great horse trails, awesome camping
ScoutNice, quiet and affordable. Saw lots of deer and rabbits right outside our door. Shower rooms are very nice.
Scoutit has full hookups, tent site swim beach, fishing, canoes,and f, playgrounds also cabins a stone lodge for family get togethers some sites just have electric and water on site and there are some full hookups also a shower house and modern restrooms, fire wood for sale We go at least 3 times a year . So nice and quiet the lake is clean they also have a dump station
TravelerMy family enjoyed this campground. Even though some of the campground was slightly flooded during our stay, we still had fun!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Brighton, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Brighton, IA is Big Hollow Recreation Area with a 4.7-star rating from 6 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Brighton, IA?
TheDyrt.com has all 9 equestrian camping locations near Brighton, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
