The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Dallas Center. Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Dallas Center, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Dallas Center and user-submitted reviews.
Millions of years before the plains of Iowa were inhabited by the Sauk, Fox and Sioux peoples, much of the American Midwest was covered by a shallow inland sea. It was at this time that the area’s sandstone deposits began forming. Fast-forward to just 13,000 years ago, with the inland sea now long gone, Ice Age glacial meltwater raced across the dry plains, carving and scouring channels and canyons into the sandstone terrain. One of these canyons can be found in Iowa’s Ledges State Park. This 1,000-acre nature preserve and recreation area is located on a wide bend on the Des Moines River, and is just 40 miles north of the city of Des Moines. The park is subject to frequent flooding when the river breaches its banks, but is otherwise a popular year-round outdoor recreation destination. Visitors to Ledges can enjoy a variety of hiking, fishing and paddling opportunities, as well as explore a prehistoric river canyon that showcases nature’s ability to sculpt the landscape.
The campground at Ledges State Park features 94 tent and RV sites situated among deciduous woods not far from the Des Moines River. Campers can choose from full-hookup, partial-hookup, or primitive tent sites. Most sites are back-in; only a few are pull-through for larger vehicles. Tent sites are located in both in the main camp area, and in a secluded walk-in area. There is also a youth group site. All sites are equipped with picnic tables, fire pits and cooking grills, and all have access to water faucets, flush restrooms, showers, and trash receptacles; a dump station is located near the campground entrance. The campground also features a kids’ playground, outdoor amphitheater, and is within walking distance of trails and picnic areas. Some roads and/or facilities may not be open or available in the winter. Reservations are accepted, however the park saves about half of the sites for first-come, first-served campers; sites are $11–$19/night.
$12 - $18 / night
$20 - $25 / night
We are very excited to provide you and your family a memorable Iowa camping experience at the best rated Des Moines RV Park & Campground. If it's been years since you've camped at Des Moines West KOA, make it a point to stop back in to see all the new and exciting improvements, including 2 Dog Parks, Huge Jumping Pillow, Jump Shot (Trampoline Basketball), Water Wars, Paddle Boats, Organized Weekend Activities, Ladder Ball, Horseshoes, & Hunt Brother's Pizza & Wings. We promise you'll be pleasantly surprised. The park is nestled 1.5 miles north of I-80, off exit 106, amongst beautiful Iowa farm fields, in a peaceful rural setting, where the only thing you'll hear are the songbirds singing!
Prairie Flower Recreation Area is located on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Visitors enjoy Saylorville Lake for its excellent boating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming opportunities. Anglers will find walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
Iowa's prairie heritage is celebrated in more than 40 acres of prairie plantings throughout the campground. The wide variety of grass and flowers provides vivid colors from mid-summer to fall. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project. White-tailed deer, turkeys, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$24 / night
Timberline Campground is nestled on the outskirts of Waukee, Iowa, which is located just a few miles west of West Des Moines. It is conveniently situated one and a half miles away from Interstate 80, but your ears won’t be able to tell.
From the shady campsites to the immaculate facilities, Timberline Campground continues to delight its guests time and time again. Let your hosts show you how Timberline Campground provides country camping with city convenience!
Timberline is private property, not public property, and shall not be used as public property. Check in at the office and register all guests and planned activities.
$35 - $80 / night
Bob Shetler Recreation Area is located in the tailwater area below the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Visitors enjoy Saylorville Lake for its excellent boating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming opportunities. Anglers will find walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
Large shade trees dot the open grassy areas of the campground, which offers excellent views of the Des Moines River. Most campsites are within easy walking distance of the shore. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project. White-tailed deer, turkeys, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$24 / night
This recreation area is part of Saylorville Lake
Cherry Glen Campground is located on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Visitors enjoy Saylorville Lake for its excellent boating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming opportunities. Anglers will find walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
Cherry Glen, the oldest and most popular campground on the lake, is nestled on a compact 13-acre wooded ridge. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project. White-tailed deer, turkeys, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$26 / night
Acorn Valley Campground is located on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches over 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including camping, bicycling, boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Anglers enjoy the lake for its abundance of walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
The mature Bur Oaks at the entrance to Acorn Valley beckon visitors to explore its 26 acres on the fringe of an upland timber stand. Wildlife is abundant throughout the area. White-tailed deer, turkeys, pheasants, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$84 / night
Millions of years before the plains of Iowa were inhabited by the Sauk, Fox and Sioux peoples, much of the American Midwest was covered by a shallow inland sea. It was at this time that the area’s sandstone deposits began forming. Fast-forward to just 13,000 years ago, with the inland sea now long gone, Ice Age glacial meltwater raced across the dry plains, carving and scouring channels and canyons into the sandstone terrain. One of these canyons can be found in Iowa’s Ledges State Park. This 1,000-acre nature preserve and recreation area is located on a wide bend on the Des Moines River, and is just 40 miles north of the city of Des Moines. The park is subject to frequent flooding when the river breaches its banks, but is otherwise a popular year-round outdoor recreation destination. Visitors to Ledges can enjoy a variety of hiking, fishing and paddling opportunities, as well as explore a prehistoric river canyon that showcases nature’s ability to sculpt the landscape.
The campground at Ledges State Park features 94 tent and RV sites situated among deciduous woods not far from the Des Moines River. Campers can choose from full-hookup, partial-hookup, or primitive tent sites. Most sites are back-in; only a few are pull-through for larger vehicles. Tent sites are located in both in the main camp area, and in a secluded walk-in area. There is also a youth group site. All sites are equipped with picnic tables, fire pits and cooking grills, and all have access to water faucets, flush restrooms, showers, and trash receptacles; a dump station is located near the campground entrance. The campground also features a kids’ playground, outdoor amphitheater, and is within walking distance of trails and picnic areas. Some roads and/or facilities may not be open or available in the winter. Reservations are accepted, however the park saves about half of the sites for first-come, first-served campers; sites are $11–$19/night.
$12 - $18 / night
$20 - $25 / night
We are very excited to provide you and your family a memorable Iowa camping experience at the best rated Des Moines RV Park & Campground. If it's been years since you've camped at Des Moines West KOA, make it a point to stop back in to see all the new and exciting improvements, including 2 Dog Parks, Huge Jumping Pillow, Jump Shot (Trampoline Basketball), Water Wars, Paddle Boats, Organized Weekend Activities, Ladder Ball, Horseshoes, & Hunt Brother's Pizza & Wings. We promise you'll be pleasantly surprised. The park is nestled 1.5 miles north of I-80, off exit 106, amongst beautiful Iowa farm fields, in a peaceful rural setting, where the only thing you'll hear are the songbirds singing!
Prairie Flower Recreation Area is located on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Visitors enjoy Saylorville Lake for its excellent boating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming opportunities. Anglers will find walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
Iowa's prairie heritage is celebrated in more than 40 acres of prairie plantings throughout the campground. The wide variety of grass and flowers provides vivid colors from mid-summer to fall. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project. White-tailed deer, turkeys, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$24 / night
Timberline Campground is nestled on the outskirts of Waukee, Iowa, which is located just a few miles west of West Des Moines. It is conveniently situated one and a half miles away from Interstate 80, but your ears won’t be able to tell.
From the shady campsites to the immaculate facilities, Timberline Campground continues to delight its guests time and time again. Let your hosts show you how Timberline Campground provides country camping with city convenience!
Timberline is private property, not public property, and shall not be used as public property. Check in at the office and register all guests and planned activities.
$35 - $80 / night
Bob Shetler Recreation Area is located in the tailwater area below the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Visitors enjoy Saylorville Lake for its excellent boating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming opportunities. Anglers will find walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
Large shade trees dot the open grassy areas of the campground, which offers excellent views of the Des Moines River. Most campsites are within easy walking distance of the shore. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project. White-tailed deer, turkeys, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$24 / night
Guide
Ok, so I stayed 3 nights, the second week of November. It was myself and two other campers who were there together. We had the entire campground to ourselves. Water was on and the bathrooms were open and clean! I happened upon a site with full hookups and it was $20.00 a night. I’m guessing in the regular season these would either be taken or they might charge more. Anyway, great relaxing stay! ****No cellular service available ***. I was able to get nominal service with an external antenna and booster…
Scout
No frills spot for an easy stop off I-80. Only 2 other campers the night we stayed. Great Mexican restaurant 2 blocks away.
Guide
Very quite and nice campground, we camped on top of the hill in tents it was awesome view and potable drinking water next to camp, bathrooms and shower facilities was clean and nice
Guide
I stayed here one night while I was traveling. It was a Saturday so the campground was kind of busy. People shouting and loud music. Lots of trucks with noisy exhausts coming and going all day. I'm sure it's more quiet during the week.
Some of the sites are well shaded, and you can access the water. It looked like people had been finding clams (they left the shells all over the picnic table). People were fishing here.
The power pedestals are far back from the parking pad for some reason. If you back all the way into your spot or if you have a long cord you should be fine. There was only a 50A outlet so I needed to use an adapter for my 30A camper.
There is one water spigot, and no dump station.
There are bathrooms, but no showers.
I had great T-mobile signal here (5G, 160 down and 20 up). And a somewhat decent 4G Verizon signal (70 down, 12 up).
The Guthrie County Historical Village& Museum is a 5 minute walk away. It's not open evenings or weekends but there is interesting stuff to walk around and see even when closed. The railroad cars are very cool.
Scout
Very clean, easy to reserve. Bathroom was a pit toilet but clean. Camp spot was clean and well-maintained.
Scout
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Scout
Drove 6 hours to find out the campground is closed (apparently for all of fall and winter) without any awareness of that being the case online. Now I have to figure out somewhere to go at dinner time with my over-tired toddler and two dogs. Frustrated.
Traveler
We only stayed here for the night but everything was perfectly fine. A little off I80 but not too far. Nice lake and incredible harvest moon the night we were there
Guide
Large level gravel pad driveways surrounded by beautiful prairie grass. Fantastically clean & well maintained facilities. Nice beach down the road and some Greenway trails. One of the NICEST public campgrounds I've stayed at. Reserve online at rec.gov. America the Beautiful National Parks Pass pays your day use fees at the beach.
Ranger
Nice city park campground close to lots of covered bridges and other things to see. The sites are pretty well spaced with lots of grass and some trees in between. It was a good value for full hookup sites. The bathroom was decent, and phone service was adequate. We just spent one night here on our way home from Colorado, but will be returning in the fall to explore more and see some colors.
Traveler
Pretty grounds with woodland coverage on all sides in addition to the lake. We visited in August and realized it was prime family vacation time before school starts up again, so a little crowded and noisy. Spots are pretty close together too. But the grounds are quite lovely and the facilities were super clean. We plan to go back when Autumn arrives, mid week. Bonus easy shore fishing access.
Scout
The park is closed for camping indefinitely
Traveler
Nice and well maintained ! We parked at a site by the playground and bathhouse , and could sit at our camper and watch our son play at a safe distance
Guide$15 full power / $6 tents / $5 dump only. They have 110 power as well as regular hookups. Playground, tennis / pickleball courts, little zip line, and covered picnic area.
ScoutWe lived our time there. It was quiet and we loved listening to the wildlife at night. My only complaint is that they left people in to camp after 10. Which kept me awake for a bit.
Traveler
This campground is on the side of a lake. You hear beavers at night, see rabbits are on the sides of the lot. We came late around 8pm and the owner helped us fill the form and pick our spot. The only drawback are the restrooms which were ok but smelly.
Traveler
We've stayed here a number of times now in the past 2 years (not during fair weeks.) Campgrounds are located on the east side of the actual fairgrounds. There are hundreds of sites here. Some are flat, some are no where near flat, but there are so many, you can find one that will work for you! Almost all of the sites are full grass sites. The main shower house is the only one we've ever used and have no complaints. They are clean and bright and well kept.
The sites are $32/night.
Guide
Stayed a weekend here and was very enjoyable! This looks to be a relatively new campground as the trees are still very young and, therefore, not much shade. It was windy that weekend so plenty of air circulation made it nice. High didn’t hit 90 until Sunday afternoon so didn’t even need air conditioning.
ScoutLevel sites , we were in site B40. Easy to back in plenty of room. Clean shower house and restrooms. Would we go back that's a definitely yes.
Ranger
Large modern KOA with sites to accommodate all sizes of rigs and also tent campers. Gravel sites require some leveling. Not much privacy between sites nor shade. Bathhouses were clean and private. Laundry available. Off leash dog area available. Convenient to John Wayne’s birthplace and covered bridges of Madison County. Bulk propane tanks were on site for winter campers. Camper cabins available. Small store with Hunt Brothers pizza to order. Gathering room on site and pedal car racetrack. Verizon cell signal was good. Garbage dumpster and dump station on site.
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Scout
went out here with family and had a amtime azing
Scoutwe love it here people are great price is Right Showers are hot every time it a WOnderfull place •to be .
Guide
Great little hideaway of a campground, very reasonably priced and clean , fresh drinking water with dump stations and hot water showers and modern toilet facilities,
Scout
This turned out to be a very easy overnight stopover on our way north to Minnesota. My niece lives in Desert Moines and it was a short drive for her to come for a visit and bring some local, delicious tacos for dinner. We will definitely consider this spot next time through!
LegendJake from the Dyrt here! We're excited to have this campground on the Dyrt and ready for you to book, check them out and make sure to leave a review!
Guide
Very clean and well-kept, owners super nice 👍🏻 a quiet place in the countryside.
Camping near Dallas Center, Iowa, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and fun activities for everyone. Whether you’re looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled weekend, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Dallas Center, Iowa, has something for everyone, whether you’re a family looking for fun or an RVer seeking adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular campground near Dallas Center, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Dallas Center, IA is Ledges State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 39 reviews.
What parks are near Dallas Center, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 4 parks near Dallas Center, IA that allow camping, notably Saylorville Lake and Lake Red Rock.
