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This recreation area is part of Rathbun Lake
Our private four acre site is now available for winter tent camping. Services include an outhouse, electricity, fire ring and wood is provided. There are trails to hike around the pond and in the prairie. Tents can be set up anywhere, however, you can use the tipi pad(outdoor carpet over sand} without stakes. Winter camp is open from January 1 to April 30. A great meeting place for families and friends willing to experience the outdoors throughout the year. 5 miles from Williamsburg and I-80, within 30 minutes of Amana Colonies, Outlet Mall, Fireside Winery. We also offer wildlife, historical or cultural hikes to the Amana/Iowa River Valley area.
$25 / night
Scout
It was beautiful, full of wildlife, easy to find,not too far from highway but far away enough to not hear
GuideNot too far off the highway. Very clean and quiet. The campground is above the lake but a short trail will take you to the lake. Couldn't see the lake from where we camped, but nice woody area behind our campsite. Nice little visitor area. Lots of trails to walk with the dog including a nice trail along the lake.
Great place to spend one night. If I had more time, I would have gone paddle boarding or fishing on the lake.
Legend
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.
ScoutClean, quiet and well set campsite for all camping styles. Set well off the main road, the gravel road is well maintained, graded well for easy driveable whee truck, rvs or trailers. Family and pet friendly, clean, well kept property, amenities on site,completive priced sites for camping and to gather together and enjoy life for a moment or two. Check it out, don't believe you will regret it. Peace fellow travelers.
RangerVery 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.
ScoutI 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.
Scout$12 a night for primitive camping and you get nice warm showers by the main entrance and nice bathrooms by the main entrance. Stand-alone bathrooms throughout the park have the deep composting toilets that smell bad but whatever the ones up front are nice. Would recommend 10/10
Guide
Nice drive in gorgeous country. 23$ site without water 28 w/ water 35 full hookups. Decent showers nice playground for kids lakeside spots as well. The host sells firewood and 2 sizes of ice. Cheap too. Walking trails nearby.
Traveler
Nice little campground in Iowa. We stayed for three nights, there's vault toilets, and the fire rings are tiered and really nice. It's wooded and tucked away. There's a lot of nice little trails and a couple lakes. There's a $10 a night fee on the honor system so I would not consider it free. We would come back.
Ranger
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.
Guide
Beautiful river views. Amazing camp hosts. Showers,toilets,30/50/110 power water on sites to share water and dump on property. Mid 1800's town right there and businesses open. There is a blacksmith, a Indian artifact museum and gift shops. Historical walking bridge that is amazing. No wifi.. poor Internet although I did have one bar so could be worse .I have total by Verizon.
Ranger
Close to major highway. Gravel sites. Clean campground. Many paved and grass walking trails surrounded by trees and natural areas. Bath/shower house is under construction. Child’s play equipment. Bathrooms with flush toilets nearby. Dump station for a fee. All sites had water and electric. Water was off during our visit in March. Park connected to nearby town by paved trail, approx 1 mile away. Gas and convenience store nearby. Camphost on site. Park is in a quiet rural location. Payment is made at dropbox when entering the park. Cell signal was 2 bars with Verizon.
Legend
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!
Scout20 bucks a day you submit your fill out sheet at the service area and drop it off in a drop box.
Scout
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.
ScoutWe had a great time at this site:) Anna was very responsive and helpful when we had questions. I would definitely recommend to others, and I would return again.
GuideKept 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
Guide
Large sites and plenty of space between sites.
Scout
We were able to camp in a tent near RVs without feeling crowded. The restrooms, showers, and playground were all close by…great for camping with kids. There were some nicer than ours and some with less privacy or further away than we’d prefer.
A nice mix of convenience and privacy. Perfect location to showers and playground for kids. Ample space for our needs, but not overly private
Traveler
This park is beautiful with plenty to do and see. We camped out at site 82 which is a non-electric site and close to a Red Rock Lake shoreline. Spots are pretty close but they perfectly have grass tall enough to give you some privacy between spots. I was never bothered by either neighbors. The grass also gives you a path to the water spout. The staff member at the front was such a gentlemen and helped us with our firewood. There are some walking paths down to the lake which you can fish from. The views by the lake are beautiful too. The only thing to keep in mind with this spot is it is as far away from the bathrooms as possible. I, personally, didn't mind, but wanted to make note of it. We will be returning to this park.
Restrooms: Cleaner than I expected! And they are not port-a-potty type bathrooms, plumbing with nice stalls, toilets and sinks.
Dog-friendliness: My dog LOVED this campground. We kept her on a long-line stake(per parks' guidelines) and she had plenty of room to roam.
Picnic area: A picnic table is provided but they are older, so I recommend bringing your own table cloth and some towels or something for the seats.
RangerPeaceful and quiet our last stop in our week long overlanding trip. Plus just 6 miles from our fav brewery in Iowa.
TravelerNice little spot
Legend
Ashley here with The Dyrt. We're so happy to have this property on our platform. Set up camp anywhere and relax under the stars. Come check them out and leave a review.
ScoutGreat job and I am glad to be coming back
ScoutStayed for a week in mid November. Although we had a storm at the beginning and end the overall stay was great. Weather ranged from 50s to 70s during the day and 30s to 40s at night. There were only 4 other sites occupied with a few ins and out during the week. I could see the spring and summer months getting busy with lake use. Trails were well maintained and tended even late into the season. My pups and I loved walking the lake loop (2.1miles) every day. Bonus: the deer came out each evening to forage.
Legend
Camped here for a family reunion. Open sites near the Des Moines river and local road meant spots were just for sleeping. Excellent barns, accommodations, well-kept grounds and animals. Nearby locals kind and welcoming. Excellent time spent with family and horses, will return again.
LegendDown the road from the sleepy little town of Bentonsport, IA is this small riverfront campground. On a Sunday afternoon in October, there were several RVs but almost all of the riverfront sites (which I would consider prime) were empty. But there were also chickens (apparently belonging to one of the campers) and two horse and buggies (I thought they might have been statues and then one of the horses whinnied!). There was no camp host or anyone else to speak with about the campground.
The view of the Des Moines River and the Bentonsport Bridge was beautiful, and it is an easy and short walk into town, although the town does not offer much in the way of amenities (unless you like fudge, and then you have to pick some up at Addie Mays in the Greef General Store). As far as restrooms go, there appeared to be only a small outhouse. I did not check it out since it looked like I would have had to walk through someone’s site to access it. If you have a fully contained RV, the river sites would be nice but otherwise, this campground does not have much to offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Ottumwa, IA is Quercus Wilderness Area with a 0-star rating from 0 reviews.
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