Best Glamping near Ottumwa, IA

I absolutely loved this state park. There is so many options for fishing and camping. They even have cabin rentals for the more glamping lifestyle. They do book up quick in advance, but there is usually walk up spots available the week of too. Definitely reccomend.

We stayed on the primative group side of the lake.  There is a small pond that we were able to let some of our scouts get started in kayaks and canoes before getting into the main lake.  Great fishing and walking paths.  Iowa has done a great job fixing up this area.  The cabins are small but clean.

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.

The Lake has been recently drained and refilled. The new trails around the lake are so wonderful. Electric and tent sites. Brand new five season cabins. Great all year round!

We had a cross country meet here. Came back to camp. Loved exploring the area.

Nice campground with some newer facilities, well kept up and clean.  There are 2 parts to the campground, both nice and fairly full-but not completely on the weekend we stayed. Sites were fairly level and all pretty close to the showers/restrooms, and well spaced out between sites.   There were several hiking trails-maps seemed to not quite fit the trails and lake to some degree.  Several ponds have been added to the lake and along the hiking trails that aren't on the map that could assist in knowing where you're at along the trails.  Trails were signed fairly well but still seemed somewhat off from the maps both online and on site.

Our family has been camping at Lake Darling for the past couple of years. We very much like the campground and the lake area. Opportunities for improvement would be that the full hookup sites have the neighbors waste tube close the campers picnic table. Sometimes getting a whiff of black water waste while trying eat dinner leaves a little to be desired. Eh? If a person camps in the regular electric only sites this is not a problem. However, this requires ( for most campers) the use of the shower house. The bathroom facilities are clean and well kept but the showers could use some updating and better cleaning maintenance. The lake area offers great fishing and there are boat rentals available. Paddle boats, canoes, and other options. There is a long concrete multi use path along the lake and into the cabin area. The cabins seem nice, though we have never been in them or stayed in them. Book early they are usually booked up I am told. All in all a great weekend get away place. And generally limited cell signal might be better that way eh?

We went out for a fishing day, boat launch was very nice and entire lake was very clean. There were several people out on the water in kayaks and paddle boats, very calm waters. Beautiful little lake with out a ton of traffic, perfect!!

Great camping area. We had a blast!

Campground was very clean and staff was helpful and polite. A lot of spots have a nice view of the water. It tends to be very busy. My stay was a week past labor day and still over half full. Restrooms / showers were clean, nothing fancy. Did some fishing while there and caught enough crappie for a nice dinner with some left over for breakfast the next morning.

Very nice campground with lake to fish and boat on. Has beach access also.

Very nice corp park. Campsites were spaced well apart with plenty of room on pad around campsites, cell service was four bars and air tv 30 channels

large. clean campsites with ample shade. spectacular lake views especially for sunset. very quiet during the week.

We really enjoy this campground and use it as a home base when we’re back visiting family. There’s a couple of parks onsite for kids- one with a zip line swing- plus a pond for fishing, areas to hike and bike. There’s also a historic village onsite that’s open for tours on weekends during the summer. Plus, it’s on the outskirts of town so restaurants and grocery stores are nearby.

The sites are somewhat unlevel so you’ll likely need to block up tires (we’ve had to block one side of tires on two different past sites). For our current site (site 58 with a 2.8 degree incline), we had to angle in a bit otherwise our auto leveling would throw an error since our front had to go up too high.

Marion County is often overlooked by people in favor of the various Red Rock campgrounds that are nearby, but in my opinion, unless you have a boat, there is nothing that puts Red Rock above Marion County. They have done a great job in recent years updating sites a few at a time, adding pavement and full sewer hookups. The campground is well spaced out and it is almost always possible to get a walk up spot on the weekend even if you wait until Friday afternoon/evening. There is only one bath/shower house, but it is centrally located and not far no matter where you are. There are many stores within a 5-10 minute drive if you need supplies, but it still feels isolated while there. The hosts are always great and and on the rare occasion there is an issue, it is quickly resolved. We love going to Marion County and will continue doing so for a long time.