Looking to get away and reconnect with nature? Glamping near Leon is the perfect choice. Camping has always been a favorite form of travel for many, but Leon, IA glamping is a new and unique way to do it. These scenic and easy to access Iowa glamping locations are perfect for any adventurer.
Just steps away from all the action of Lakeside Casino, all 47 sites of the RV Park are fully equipped with water, sewage and electrical hookups, as well as Wi-Fi. With breathtaking views you can’t beat, and the best amenities any RV park has to offer, Lakeside’s RV Park is the perfect place to stay during any getaway!
MINUTES FROM THE FUN, MILES FROM THE EVERYDAY
$35 - $45 / night
$15 - $22 / night
$15 - $20 / night
$5 / night
Island View Park is located on beautiful Rathbun Lake, just nine miles northwest of Centerville, Iowa and 8 miles southwest of Moravia.
The 11,000-acre lake provides a variety of fishing opportunities for any angler: Crappie, channel catfish, walleye and largemouth bass are most common. The prevailing winds on Rathbun Lake, also known as Iowa's Ocean, make it one of the best sailing lakes in Iowa.
Rathbun Lake is situated in the gently rolling hills of the Chariton River Valley in southeast Iowa. The campground consists of open grassy areas dotted with trees. Bald eagles, white-tailed deer, Canada geese, wild turkey and other wildlife can be found at Rathbun Lake.
The Rathbun Fish Hatchery is nearby, offering self-guided tours Monday through Friday year-round. Hundreds of thousands of catfish and walleye are produced here each year. Southern Iowa's only Off Highway Vehicle Park is just 20 minutes from the campground. It is located on the south bank of the South Fork Chariton River and encompasses nearly 125 acres in an abandoned rock quarry.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (641) 647-2464.
$22 - $230 / night
Legend
Pammel Park is awesome. It is actually a State Park that is managed by the local County Conservation Board. Pammel Park has amazing trails with varied terrain and nice forests.
The campgrounds are clean with options for tenters and RVs. There are even Yurt Cabins that can be rented. Pammel Park has a great water trail for Kayakers with several launch points.
The only caution I would have is pay attention while you are hiking, there are rattlesnakes in the park. Overall I highly recommend Pammel Park. It is about a 30 minute drive from Des Moines and about 5 minutes from Winterset.
I would consider Pammel Park a secret gem even for native Iowans. Checkout Pammel Park and spend some time in the historical town of Winterset.
GuideRoad improvement 2021 is nice, cutting down the shade trees, not nice.
This is a regular stop on my campground rotation. Camp host's are the best ever. Clean facilities. Has both shaded and open spots, yurts, trails. There are lots of activities, kids can swim below the ford, canoe starting on one side of the park and loop I'd guess about 3 miles on the middle river to the other side of the park. In and out are about 500 yards from each other thru the tunnel. If your rig is over 12ft, have to come in the back way. Winterset has lots to offer, great town square, farmers market on Saturdays, great car club fills the square every month, Madison county fair, Clark Tower, John Wayne Birthplace and museum, Covered Bridges. My only complaint would be all sites can be reserved, so if you don't reserve a site at beginning of the year, you are out of luck. Be nice if there were some first come/first serve.
GuideNice small park settle nicely in the iowa country side!
Guide
We will definitely return, we loved this park. The bridges of Madisin County, Clarke Tower, cute local ice cream shop, John Wayne Museum! So much fun in a cute Iowa community!
Legend
This is a great little park just east of New Virginia, Iowa. I went to the park with my son and Boy Scout Troop for a night hike, that is why there are no pictures. This is a great little park. The hiking trails are pretty easy going through the forest and then opening up next to old Native American burial mounds. This is really a great place to pitch a tent. It is clean and well maintained.
Legend
Rathbun Lake is a destination for boaters and campers in the State of Iowa. The Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains several facilities around the lake. Island View campground has some really nice views of the lake.
Island View campground is clean. The sites are pretty open, there are trees but there is also a lot of open space. The park has a nice play set for kids and there are baseball fields nearby.
This is a great place to go if you like to boat. There are three different boat ramps in the park.
Scout
This is one of our favorite campgrounds in Iowa. It has a good sized lake for fishing and kayaking, but not to big for large speed boats. It has miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. It has a great frisbee golf course that my boys loved playing. The beach sandy and clean for a refreshing dip on a hot afternoon.
We love this campground for the large trees and shade they provide in the summer. Our only complaint is the lack of weather warning system in the area. The park rangers came around to warn campers of possible severe storms coming through the area, but if a tornado warning happened, we would have no notification.
LegendDon't let the name fool you, for a city park and campground, Winterset City Park rocks. You probably didn't know that Winterset, Iowa is the birthplace of John Wayne. You may have seen the Clint Eastwood movie the "Bridges of Madison County," but you probably didn't know that the bridges are real and the movie was filmed in Winterset.
The campground is clean and there is a large space for campers/RV's and a separate spot for tents towards the back of the campground toward the park. The park itself is gorgeous and your just a few blocks away from the John Wayne Museum. If you are in Winterset the second week of October, stay for the Bridge Festival, it's a blast!
The campground is a solid 3.5, clean and well maintained. When you include all of the sites it pushes it up to a 4 star campground.
GuideThere is a legend about how the Lake of 3 Fires got its name. The legend says that the “Fire Nation”, which was a local Pottawatomi tribe, lived in the area around Southwest Iowa. Later 2 other tribes decided to join the “Fire Nation” and the 3 became known as “Three Fires”. The Tribes burned 3 fires atop hills to signify that as long as the 3 fires were burning the tribes were together. Now on the spot where the fires burned, is said to be the Iowa State Park “Lake of 3 Fires”
Located in Southwest Iowa just north of the county seat of Bedford Iowa, is a little hidden treasure for outdoor enthusiasts and campers. When looking for a campground everyone has an opinion on what amenities and activities they want- fishing, hiking, boating, and horseback riding are some of the more popular choices and the Lake of Three Fires has all these and more. The actual lake is only 85 acres but has excellent fishing and is surrounded by 691 acres of beautiful trees with hiking and equestrian trails, fishing jetties and a sandy beach.
For those who are planning more than a day trip to the Lake of 3 Fires there are several options available. Located only a very short walk from the Lake are two modern campgrounds nestled in trees. There are over 100 site options for campers. For the RV or trailer enthusiasts there are 24 standard electric sites and 63 non-electric sites, plus 3 buddy sites. In addition, there are 23 equestrian sites (some electrical) and 1 equestrian buddy site along with plenty of holding stalls and tie outs for horses. They are located just east of the main camping grounds but still close enough to walk down to the lake. There are nice clean restroom and shower facilities, children’s play areas and a trailer dump station. Some of the campsites have also been made handicap accessible.
For those families who don’t have a camper or RV but want to experience camping at the Lake of 3 fires there are 6 family cabins which can accommodate 4- 6 people. They are heated and cooled with the basic essentials- stove, microwave and refrigerator. There are also open shelters and a youth group area that offer a place to rent for large group gatherings. There are picnic areas available that are first come first serve. There are plenty of tables and grills if you are just making a day trip but camping is the way to go at the Lake of 3 Fires so you have time to experience everything.
Many of the camp sites, cabins and shelters are available to reserve online at the Department of Natural Resources website- however there are some that are first come first serve. It is very convenient and easy to reserve your spot online. Highly recommended if you plan on traveling any distance- a guaranteed spot of your choice is worth the few minutes it takes to go online and reserve. You can even look at a map of the campsites and pick where you want your site to be. You can see not only where your site will be but it tells you the electrical voltage, the length and other important information about the site you are choosing.
The camp sites are kept clean, well maintained and are big enough you don’t feel like you are right on top of your neighbor. The bathhouses are centrally located in the campground and offer clean bathroom and shower facilities for campers.
Once you have your camper set and are ready to enjoy your weekend it will be hard to decide where to start. The Lake itself offers many activities. There are 2 boat ramps if you want to go out on the ‘no wake” lake. There are plenty of fish to be caught including bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish. If you don’t have a license to fish you can run into town and pick one up at the courthouse or the Bedford Country Store located right on Hwy 2, very easy to find! There is a dock where you can fish and it also has a cleaning station also available. There are several fishing jetties where you can take a chair and set up to find the perfect spot. From your spot on the lake you might catch a glimpse of some people enjoying a beautiful day on the lake on their canoes or kayaks.
For the hunters, there is a 220 acre public hunting ground to the north and 160 acres to the south. You would of course want to check with the DNR for hunting and gaming regulations.
Not into hunting and fishing? Prefer something a bit more relaxing? Well head down to the beach area which is just a short walk from the camp grounds. There you find a small but very nice beach area for swimming. Not in the mood to swim? Then grab some friends for a game of sand volleyball or perhaps pitch horseshoes. The beach area is perfect place to relax with a good book or play some games with friends. The best part is to get there from the campgrounds you take a beautiful short scenic walk.
Perhaps one of the best parts about the Lake of 3 Fires is the 10 miles of trails the intertwine around the entire Lake. There are some specific trails for hiking but some others that offer horseback riders an amazing view of the lake. The great thing about the trails is how they snake around each other- you could discover a new path every time you go. The trials are nicely marked with “you are here “maps so you don’t get lost. There are beautiful views of the Lake from the far side where you can see clear across to the campgrounds. In the winter after a good snow, they say snow mobiles can also use the trails.
Bedford is only a few miles away so you can run into the local Hy-Vee for Groceries or stop by Dollar General if you forgot something. There are 2 gas stations in town as well that both have pizza, drinks and snacks if you need to stock up.
Getting to the Lake of 3 Fires isn’t hard at all From Bedford just go east out of town for about 1/2 mile on Hwy 2. Then turn north on Lake Road, keep going for about 3 miles and Lake of Three Fires is located on the west side. The roads are a bit windy but everything is paved including the main roads of the park. For a short weekend getaway of a weeklong camping adventure, the Lake of 3 Fires has plenty to offer everyone in your camping group.
Scout
All the spaces are pulled through. It is very clean. There is full hook up for water, electric and sewer. All spaces are paved. There are picnic tables scattered throughout the park. If you are here to gamble, you will love it. If you are here to rest, you will love it. My wife and I feel safe in this park. I am in a wheelchair and this park allows me to move around freely.
TravelerI stayed 3 nights traveling to my next work assignment. The park was clean with level sites. The front desk person was friendly and helped me with my reservation. It was a close walk to Pilot for supplies.
RangerRV park is relatively quiet and easy to get into. The concrete in our site was in poor condition, it had crumbled leaving a dip in the pad. The cable didn’t work, but electric and water had no issues. Easy on and off to the interstate. There is only one garbage dumpster near the entrance and we didn’t see a camp host on site or anybody to check in with. We stayed just one night on our way through the area and were comfortable.
TravelerIf you are looking for a nice clean RV park on the road this is your place, if you are an outdoor enthusiasts looking for you adventure not for you. We stayed over night on our way down south. Very convenient off the free way. Good hookups and level pad. Photos are in fall almost winter so no leaves or green grass, not parks fault.
GuidePulled in late so didn’t get a good look, but from what I e seen this is a pretty nice campground. Looks to be about 10 sites, nicely spread apart. Big, clean fire pits with grills and a picnic table. Plenty of space to feel comfortable.
GuideWe stayed two night at this campground. Arrived late and just filled out the registration form. They have fire pits and picnic tables. They also have two clean pit toilets. You can stay 14 days free I think. Quiet and had the place to ourselves. Maintained and they had patrol checking through at night. Highly recommend it.
LegendThis is an update from my previous post now with pics and a little snow. This campground is a little off of the beaten path but it is quiet and has great hiking trails. It is also known locally for its effigy mounds where native american artifact were buried.
This is a great place if you like peace and quiet and local hiking trails.
TravelerDefinitely a great camping place. Historical site. And a great place to rent out!
TravelerLove this little 1st come first camp county park!
ScoutThe park is closed for camping indefinitely
Traveler
Spots to the north of the site are pretty tight and have very little grass. The lake is beautiful and the path around it is in great shape!
TravelerSpots to the north of the site are pretty tight and have very little grass. The lake is beautiful and the path around it is in great shape! Bathrooms and showers were nice and clean.
ScoutThe web link from Dyrt is out of date, and thus park is closed for 2022
GuideGreat campground with lots of things to do. There is fishing, boating, hiking, mountain biking, and many more things.
TravelerThere wasn't anyone at the check station so anyone could come in. The beach, and park were very far away from the camping area. A suggestion of a bagger for their lawn mower for all the cut grass. The lake by the boat landing was nice and so were the trails. The bathrooms were clean
ScoutI have tent camped at Lake Ahquabi Campground several times. There are some great spots down by the lake that are perfect for tent camping. There is quite a bit to do in this State Park. There are a few trails, there is plenty of fishing, a swimming beach, and they have water sport rentals! The area is very pretty and peaceful. I would recommend for campers with kids and without. There are showers and plenty of bathrooms.
GuideThis is one of my favorite places to go! They have a beautiful lake and a beach. The water has minimal seaweed and great temperature! They have rentals for paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, etc, for a decent price! The hiking trails are really nice. If your up for it there is a hike that loops are the entire lake making it about 6-7 miles long. It's a pretty easy hike, but definitely long. Dogs are welcome on a leash (but not on the beach). The campsites are no as secluded as I would like but the overall state park is awesome!
GuideStayed there a few different weekends during the summer. It is easily accessible from Indianola and the best parts of the park are the well-kept trails and stargazing! Unfortunately, we felt like we were literally on top of surrounding campers. The campsites are all extremely packed in together, so you can really feel a part of other people's conversations and activities. However, if you're able to catch Lake Ahquabi on a good weekend when it isn't crowded, then it is amazing!
Lots of great fishing and canoe/paddle board rentals available too! We take our canoe there often and there is an awesome access point from the campgrounds with tons of shade, so if you have a one-seater (like us) the partner can wait in the shade.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Leon, IA is Lakeside Casino RV Park with a 4-star rating from 4 reviews.
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