Best Campgrounds near Oskaloosa, IA

It was beautiful, full of wildlife, easy to find,not too far from highway but far away enough to not hear

This review is for the Wallaby cabin. This cabin supposedly has a bathroom with a shower, 3 beds and a kitchenette. The bathroom has a shower so small it is difficult not to rinse one's hair while applying shampoo. There is no sink in this room for brushing teeth, washing hands or face, etc. There is no mirror either, or hooks for towels or washcloths or clothes. There is also no heater. The cabin has no closet or any place to hang any clothes. There were several bugs crawling on the ceiling. The wall A/C could not help but spew dust, as it was coated with that on the filter and cover. The trash can had a clean bag, which occupants are required to leave in dumpster at checkout. When removing the bag, the stuck-on mess under it was appalling. The bed in each loft area had obviously been used and not changed, as the covers were in disarray and the bottom sheets not clean. The main bed has a zipped on plastic cover which the loose fitting fitted sheet will not stay on, causing occupants to end up sleeping on plastic. We purchased a blanket to go over it for the next night. We would not have stayed more than one night but, as we had reserved 3, it is not refundable. The tv is to the side of the immovable chairs, so that one must have head turned completely to one side to watch. The cabin has such a slant that a ball will roll by itself to the entrance side. All this for more than$350 for 3 night stay.

We drive to the end of Umber Ave and found two spots perfect for camping. We chose the one nestled next to the corn field. Perfect dispersed camp site with no road noise or visitors.

Very clean, easy to reserve. Bathroom was a pit toilet but clean. Camp spot was clean and well-maintained.

East not west as satellite view in Dyrt is old and doesn’t show East campground. I did add a screenshot of current satellite view. FHU. Easy in and around campground. A lot of space between sites. Sites are fairly level with hard pack gravel.

Small lot for hunters to park and go. For a secluded spot, good enough to camp. As long as you don't need any utilities.

Very 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.

Beautiful relaxing spot. We were in a spot on a hill top.

I 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.

$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

Well maintained campground with mature shade trees. Gravel sites, a little bit of leveling required. Poor Verizon cell signal, no internet signal. Not much natural privacy between sites, but sites were well spaced apart. Paved trail nice for biking and walking. Fishing nearby and the Dutch themed town of Pella is a short drive and a must see. Bathrooms and showers were nice, clean. Handicap camp site and bathhouse available. Firewood for sale at front gate. The potable water available at the dump station was clear and good for drinking. Dump station is easily accessible. Dumpsters were positioned around the campground. Staff was friendly. The night we stayed, there was a severe weather threat, and the staff, at the end of the night, had unlocked the storm shelters (utility area in the middle of the bathhouses) should the need arise. We ended up having to seek shelter because of a tornado warning.

While it was our first time camping in Iowa, we were extremely lucky to land upon this slightly hidden fresh water centered campground just a 20 minute drive south of Route 80 near Montezuma, wherein one needs only follow Road#63, before coming across Diamond Lake County Park. With the fall colors being in full bloom when we visited, the entire campground was awash in bright yellows, reds and oranges from the changing colors of the leaves. Also, as we were visiting in mid-October, versus some of the other reviews here, we found that we had the place mostly to ourselves, which made for a rather peaceful sublime respite we were searching for. 

As for the campground itself, what we enjoyed most was how this location is, for the most part, very well organized in keeping the RV'ers and 5th Wheeler crowds together, while preserving a nice slice of verdant lakeside pasture for us primitive camper types. Each of the sites for camping come equipped with (in most cases) fairly new aluminum picnic tables, fire ring with folding BBQ grill. While we didn’t stay in the RV areas, given our tent-pitching persuasion, what we did see was fairly impressive and looked altogether rather brand new with freshly poured concrete slots and fairly mint-looking RV hook-ups (50 amp electric and water) and this same area also boasted a brand new restroom facilities. 

Obviously, the main attraction here is Diamond Lake itself, with its more than 90 acres of fresh water, albeit murky fresh water, was certainly a hit with this camping family. We enjoyed being able to get out on the lake with our kayaks and canoes as well as go for very long walks around the circumference of the lake itself, with which you will find simply splendid trails. And if that’s not enough exploration for you, then head further inland and away from the lake to explore this parks other 660 acres of grassy prairieland. 

From an amenities standpoint, there’s a decent amount, including: three shower houses, four shelters, 2 dump stations, three his / her latrines (some much more dated than others), boat ramp and fishing dock, a dedicated fish cleaning station and what looked to be a fairly new kids playground. In all there’s a total of 120 sites to choose from, with 80 designated for RVs / 5th Wheelers and 40 earmarked for primitive camping, which do not come with any electric, which was on one hand the biggest bummer, but on the other hand, offered up front-row access to lakeside camping bliss as many of these primitive campsites are located right on the water’s edge. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Check-in is self-registration and is done onsite, so net-net, this place is first-come, first served as no online or advanced registration is taken. While we didn’t mind this, and given that we arrived right around noon as folks were actually checking out, we got the ‘pick of the litter’ of campsites. Electric sites are $20 / night and non-electric are $10, so this place is incredibly affordable; (2) If you are looking for some grub nearby after growing weary of another meal of franks & beans, then there’s really just a few nearby options: Subway, Sauced Pizza & Pub, Casey’s and Yolanda’s Tacos over in the little town of Montezuma; (3) While there are actually few different campgrounds here at Diamond Lake, for primitive campers, the best sites IMHO are located as far southwest as you can possible go around the lake, where there’s more than a dozen or so sites that sit right in front of the water and present a completely isolated surrounding. 

Happy Camping!

If you find yourself heading left / right or east / west through the ‘belly button’ of Iowa here on its busiest thoroughfare (interstate 80) and find yourself looking for a place to ‘hunker down for the night (or several), then you may very well want to consider visiting the good folks over at Anderson Campground. What first started out as a patch of land that they would let out to ‘friends & family’ soon ballooned into more of an enterprising opportunity to help RV road warriors find suitable, safe and peaceful plot of land to enjoy nearby Diamond Lake County Park. 

In fact, a very good amount of the business Anderson Campground has here is the result of overflow from this little-known summer lake destination specifically for those campers who wanted something more akin to ‘peace & quiet.’ With only 6 dedicated RV slots complete with 30 / 50 amp electric and water hook-ups, one thing is for certain should you choose to stay here – you will definitely get to know your neighbors as you will be parked right alongside of them with virtually no privacy, but when we were there, this did not seem to be an issue. 

While most of the folks who were laying up here in their own RVs and 5th Wheels could be described more as ‘day laborers’ like traveling nurses or those working construction jobs, there was a very nice sense of community and the new-found isolation that one may have felt was only the direct result of the surrounding corn-fields having been recently harvested. Aside from this, the chocolate lab, Beau, was the first to welcome us and what a host (and friend) he turned out to be! 

What this location delivers in spades – namely peace & quiet– is compromised by the lack of amenities (apart from the basic hook-ups). There is no sewage line, bathrooms or showers and you won’t find community fire rings or picnic tables. But from what we gathered when we stopped in was that most folks had all of this covered from what they were packing in their RVs so for those that care, there’s other places to consider. And for those that don’t mind, this may very well be your perfect lay-up. With the nightly rate being an amazingly low $20, the place usually sells out for those wanting to rent out by the week or for the month @ $500. To check on availability and rates, call Julie directly. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) First things first, you’ve got to get yourself down to Diamond Lake County Park, where there’s a simply fantastic, large lake that is great for kayaking and canoeing as much as it is for fishing (catch & release) as well as swimming, although to be honest, the lake is a bit too dark and murky for me; (2) If you are looking for some grub nearby after growing weary of another meal of franks & beans, then there’s really just a few nearby options: Subway, Sauced Pizza& Pub, Casey’s and Yolanda’s Tacos over in the little town of Montezuma. Further afield, you could find a Country’s Pride over near Brooklyn as well as in the opposite direction, yes, you guessed it, more Mexican restaurants like Los Girasoles or Casa Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, both of which are fairly decent; (3) Should you need to load up on groceries while in the vicinity, while there isn’t much, in the little town of Montezuma, you’ll find both a Dollar General as well as a Supervalu. 

Happy Camping!

20 bucks a day you submit your fill out sheet at the service area and drop it off in a drop box.

We really enjoyed our stay at site 4 in the woods. It was absolutely beautiful with the fall colors and leaves falling all around us. We also enjoyed the trails around our site and a pretty view of a pond a short walk away. Anna was very responsive and gave thorough directions for us. We would stay again.

Awesome campground, clean and well maintained. Even the outhouses smelled good. Garbage bins, picnic tables and fire pits at all sites. Level enough for our rooftop tent with no difficulties. Would definitely stay here again.

Kept getting visits from the park ranger over nonsense from being parked on the grass when others were parked on the grass as well especially calling the office first and getting the approval from the person in charge just seemed like they were running ppl off the place was very much opened for Labor Day weekend which was a shock considering past years on the same weekend it was packed , hopefully they allow more freedom in the future was not impressed trash cans were full as well hadn’t been emptied in a while

Definitely follow the directions on Dyrt, google took us on a winding gravel road that led to the same place.

The sites are very spacious, could easily accommodate multiple tents.

We arrived just after 9p after a long long day of driving and found the park easy to navigate.

Please be courteous when finding a spot after dark. The park was mostly empty but even still some people were shining flashlights at our tent.

Hoping to do an early morning hike, the trails, observatory and orienteering course all look awesome.

The entire property was well maintained, previous campers enjoyed copious amounts of beer and threw the cans into the brush, but I can't fault the park for that.