Best Equestrian Camping near Hampton, IA

The only open site was in the North Equine Campground so we took a chance. We really did like the Campground, it was well maintained, clean and quiet. There were a few campers with horse but not many. Hitching posts behind each site which we enjoyed seeing. The roads inside the campground were all asphalt so lots of bikers enjoying rides around the grounds. There was also a nice playground for the kids surrounded by a well maintained, large, grassy area. There were many empty sites because so many had no electric. It made for lots of nice open space. Unfortunately, we had no shade in the afternoon so weren't able to eat dinner outside or enjoy a fire in the evening. We are fortunate we camped in a 5th wheel so we could escape the heat, we would have left after the first night otherwise.
We did drive through the Beach Campground and the South Equine Campground. Beach had very little shade and was primarily families with younger children. The beach looked real nice, not too crowded for a hot, July day. North Equine was where most of the horse folks were staying it was quite crowded. A very bustling area.

General: A mixture of tent (non-electric) and electric sites, mostly arranged in several rows. 

Site Quality: Mixed. Not all sites are level, and most do not have delineated parking pads (there is a small pavement indent to show where to access the site). A fire pit and picnic table complete the site. Most of the sites are too close together for our liking, however, when we were there (a Monday at the end of August, the day before school started), we were only one of three sites occupied so for our stay it didn’t matter. 

Bathhouse: Basic but clean. My biggest complaint is there were no hooks or shelves for toiletries by the sinks. The showers looked nice but we did not use them. 

Activities: Horseback riding (there are trails for this), hiking, fishing. Although we did see several trailheads, I did not have a map so didn’t explore them. There is an observation tower, but it is a two-mile walk/drive from the campground (on paved roads; I didn’t try to find hiking trails to get there). 

Misc: A shout-out to the great host, Pam, who greeted us as we arrived. The observation tower, entrance gates, and picnic shelter were all constructed by the CCC and were beautiful. It almost seemed like the campground was an afterthought as it is outside the entrance gates and nowhere near the tower. The layout of the campground would be challenging if all sites were occupied.

Camped here in order to be close to Fort Dodge first thing in the morning.  I stayed in the Beach Campground.  It's not on the beach, but close to it.  There are 3 total campgrounds in the park.  My choice was a very well manicured campground.  The shower house was not open yet due to the time of year, but the drop latrine was open, very clean and well lit.

This little nugget is laid out on a vast prairie.  Most sites have younger trees that provide some shade.  This is not the big wooded type park.  There are trails to get you out and away from the "park" and closer to the rustic woody nature.

Fire rings are all adjustable, sites are well kept and they offer "buddy sites" that are 2 sites really close together for those times when you bring friends, but have too many tents/vehicles to fall into the rules.

Verizon 4G fluctuated between 0-2 bars.  Was able to send pictures and only dropped a call once.

Very little light pollution