Best Glamping near Donahue, IA

first timers/ young kids- yes. Primitive campers- no. My husband had never been camping. I grew up with very primitive camping- no electricity, only pit toilets, sometimes fresh water, and no showers (milk jug showers!) Little by little, I’m warming him up to camping. This is a great place for new campers, families of young kids, or just looking for an easier trip. There’s a shower house with flush toilets, warm showers, and surprisingly CLEAN! The site was medium size. Enough room to spread out. Ground was flat so finding a tent site was no problem. Electric hookup worked. Picnic table was good. Check your site before booking! One section of sites is like an open field? No trees and full view of others. But these surround a playground- also very nice. Glamping with young kids? These sites would be a perfect. AT&T and Verizon cell service worked fine

Owners bought the campground in 2022 and have ruined it.Over 80 seasonal families gone in a matter of a year.  They are just not a nice family.  They don't mow, they don't keep the Cedar River landing clean, they have music until 2 and 3 in the morning.... NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY at all. Just LOOK INTO THEIR BACKGROUNDS.... The owners are thieves, liars and not good people!!! They moved here from the Nebraska/Iowa boarder and MAN DO THEY HAVE A BAD BACKGROUND!!! Totally research before you put your camper out there. They have not given deposits back. They have kicked seasonal campers out in June, July and August with NO REFUNDS!

It’s smaller than a football field and tucked behind one of those old-school gas stations that you see in the middle of a desert that looks permanently closed, but then you see old Jethro sitting on the corner around the bend from the fuel pumps smoking a cigarillo not worrying about whether the place blows up or not. That’s how I found Little Bear Campground. When I arrived, the place was closed, but thankfully there was a sign posted on the door to call Mike, so I did. And he couldn’t have been nicer, offering me up any open site in the place. 

So, I took a spin around the joint, which I would describe as ‘intimate’ with all of the very level grassy spots being fairly close to one another, interspersed with plenty of cover shadow from all of the trees that you’ll find this place populated by. The place was half empty, so I guess whatever crowdedness might actually exist in reality was somewhat lost on me. That said, if you are driving an RV or hauling a 5th Wheeler, I would certainly be less than impressed by seemingly the great proximity you will have to your fellow neighbor. Maybe that matters to you or maybe it doesn’t as many of the RV locations I have seen over the past year all land on more intimate quarters than not. The sites for RV / 5th Wheelers are small rock / gravel, which I gather from my mobile home hauling friends is that it is the preferred surface when concrete is not available. 

While we showed up the last week of the season to encounter that the community pool was closed, apart from this, there really wasn’t a ton of other amenities to speak of although there was a community hall where I understand that group activities like bingo, euchre and other family-friendly games are played. Of course, there were the basics of in-ground fire ring and standard-issued picnic tables. There was a kid’s playground with swingset and teeter-totters that had definitely seen better days. Apart from the main office, which I presume served also as a mini-market and as I understand has both showers and laundry facilities (although I wouldn’t know as it was locked up) there isn’t much here. 

The few primitive camping sites that do exist here are located on the western side of the property up against the corn fields, which I actually appreciated, and had very good mature trees growing around the area, but one would definitely feel like a ‘second class citizen’ here. As a tent pitcher myself I was absolutely bummed by the lack of privacy, where seemingly you would be on full display for the rest of the RV parking crowd having full view of your campsite. In all, there’s 45 RV slots here with all of the basic hook-ups including water, sewage and 30 / 50 electric amp. By my count, there was 5 or so individual primitive camping sites. And for $22/night for tent camping and $33/night for RV parking, you really can’t beat the prices. 

Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) Should you be looking for some place to try out the local fare, while there’s Taste of India (which by the look of the place I would steer you away from), there’s only just a handful of other joints nearby that might be of interest like Saap Saap, a Loatian joint (yeah, I just said that, a Loatian joint in the middle of nowhere, Iowa) that is actually quite good in the little town of West Liberty, which is, ironically, south of here (not west) and offers up a few other culinary finds like JB’s Grub & Pub, Shanghai Chinese, Puebla Mexican Restaurant and El Patio; (2) If you are looking to marinate in some good US history, then you are in luck as there is a museum near here to little known / revered President Herbert Hoover that has a bunch of exhibits and other dusty things; and (3) Should you be wanting to embrace nature, then head west to Hickory Hill Park that offers up some really nice hiking, biking and walking trails on 185 acres of pristine Midwest prairieland. 

Happy Camping!

This CG is one of 6 that you have to choose from here at Scott County Park, wherein Woodside is definitely more geared for the RVs – especially the much larger ones, so if you have a very big rig, this likely is the best CG for you – with each site offering FHUs with electric, water& sewage, fire rings and picnic tables. If you wanted to tent camp here, you could, although I would recommend nearby Incahias or Sac-Fox as better for tent campers. Unlike some of the other campgrounds, Woodside is somewhat bare and desolate inside the actual campground with the land being incredibly flat, but wide open so therefore not providing much privacy or shade whatsoever. Back-in slots are spacious, hard and very level with the grounds being incredibly well-kept and impeccably clean bathroom / shower facilities with great HOT running water.

Albeit with a short hike through the forest, Woodside CG is near Cody Lake and Glynn’s Creek, which offers some decent oaring in your kayak or canoe. Sitting adjacent to Cody Lake is an eponymous community shelter than can be reserved or used on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s also a playground for the kiddos and a restroom facility that is also spartan-clean as well access to Glynn’s Creek Trailhead which is a moderate hike and further afield throughout the rest of the park, there’s no shortage of hiking / biking / horse trails. We found Woodside to be fairly quiet, although lacking in privacy without the benefit of any real brush or trees to blot out our next-door neighbors, but that said, everyone was incredibly friendly with full displays of Midwestern hospitality that this area is known for.

Scott County Park is easy to fall in love with, whether traveling solo or with a family as there is a lot that this park offers up: from fresh water catch & release lakes, combination of topographies, from woodlands, wetlands and prairie grasslands, beautiful 18-hole championship golf course, outdoor exercise areas, club house and concessions, stand-alone cabins for rent, designated dump stations and trash receptacles, numerous picnic areas, massive heated swimming pool complete with a snake-like water slide, volleyball court, ranger stations, seasonal on-site hosts, firewood available for purchase at entry stations, Walnut Grove Pioneer Village and St. Anne’s church at the park’s NW perimeter, 7 community shelters, designated picnic areas, a memorial park, equestrian area and an incredibly well-paved network of roads that allows you to easily access just about every corner of this park. Oh, and the incredibly friendly rangers that constantly patrol and keep this beautiful park in full working order were nothing short of amazing.

Happy Camping!