Looking for the ultimate RV camping experience near Pleasant Hill? Find the best information on RV campsites and dispersed camping near Pleasant Hill, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your RVing experience. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Iowa RV camping excursion.
142 Full Hookup Campsites
AMENITIES
Two (2) Storm Shelters
Laundry
Private Showers
Restrooms
Recreation Pond Fishing
Recreation Room/Area
Coin Games
Play Equipment
Exercise Equipment
$35 - $90 / night
Welcome to River Oaks RV Park located on the Des Moines River in beautiful central Iowa. The park is full of fun things to do and is one of the premier campgrounds in Iowa. You can spend your day biking and hiking the miles of trails carved through the woods or enjoy the serene atmosphere throughout the park. You'll enjoy mature hardwood trees and large RV sites during your stay. Also, take advantage of our one-acre stocked fishing pond or cast a line out on the Des Moines River! Looking for RV storage near Des Moines? We offer RV storage during the winter months at an affordable rate. But wait, there's more! We also rent RVs! Come experience camping in one of our premium RV rentals. So, if you're looking at campgrounds in Iowa with full hookup RV sites, and primitive campsites nestled in central Iowa timber, come visit us at River Oaks RV Park!
$45 - $60 / night
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
Crow’s Nest RV Resort is a full-hookup RV park and campground located less than 30 minutes from downtown Des Moines. We have a passion for the outdoors and want to share the ability to enjoy nature with each and every one of our visitors. With rolling hills and a stream running through the center of our resort, Crow’s Nest has the look and feel of a countryside escape with all the amenities you need for a relaxing stay. Enjoy full-hookup sites with grilling, running water, electricity plugins and free wifi. Plus, we have a multitude of activities throughout the year for all our guests to participate in.
We are very excited to provide you and your family a memorable Iowa camping experience at the best rated Des Moines RV Park & Campground. If it's been years since you've camped at Des Moines West KOA, make it a point to stop back in to see all the new and exciting improvements, including 2 Dog Parks, Huge Jumping Pillow, Jump Shot (Trampoline Basketball), Water Wars, Paddle Boats, Organized Weekend Activities, Ladder Ball, Horseshoes, & Hunt Brother's Pizza & Wings. We promise you'll be pleasantly surprised. The park is nestled 1.5 miles north of I-80, off exit 106, amongst beautiful Iowa farm fields, in a peaceful rural setting, where the only thing you'll hear are the songbirds singing!
Shady Brook Camping and RV Adventures offers many opportunities for fun! We offer special events; from banquets, anniversaries, birthdays, group camp outings, corporate retreats, and hunting.
We offer the FIRST ascending Tree Tents in Iowa; a very new and unique option for sleeping in the trees!
We also offer campsites, cabins, and suspended tents for your enjoyment! Bring your own rig or tents to setup.
Come enjoy the beautiful Iowa landscape and year-round running Bear Creek.
We are here to make your special occasion complete and memorable--where abundant wildlife roam and picturesque views prevail.
Animals are welcome, they must be kept on a leash, please pick up waste and kindly dispose. The animals shots must be current.
All our campsites can accommodate 45 Foot Camper/Trailer/RV, except site #'s 13, 15, 24, & 26.
Adventureland Campground is a full service campground with complete facilities including: electric hookups, modern showers and restrooms, RV facilities, tent camping, a swimming pool and recreational areas. Adventureland Amusement Park and Adventure Bay Waterpark contain over 100 rides, shows, and attractions including some of the country's most exciting roller coasters and thrill rides that can challenge the most avid amusement park enthusiasts. There are also plenty of rides for less adventurous guests including great water rides as well as a full compliment of children's rides spread throughout the park. But the entertainment doesn't stop with rides - Adventureland presents a full array of shows in the park - from thrilling circus acts and magic shows to live music and juggling - there's always something to suit everyone's taste. Simply the most fun you will have all year!
Bob Shetler Recreation Area is located in the tailwater area below the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Visitors enjoy Saylorville Lake for its excellent boating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming opportunities. Anglers will find walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
Large shade trees dot the open grassy areas of the campground, which offers excellent views of the Des Moines River. Most campsites are within easy walking distance of the shore. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project. White-tailed deer, turkeys, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
$22 - $26 / night
Ranger
It's no surprise that the fair grounds always have some sort of event going on throughout the year, my family and I stay in this campground a few times a year to hit up multiple days for certain events. The site is pretty standard, but it has full RV hook ups, and always seems to be full of happy and friendly people. Plus it's location is so close to the fair grounds, it's better and far more affordable than any hotel
Traveler
Site are level. Full hook up for reason price. Has electric and water sites, too. Bugs are bad this time of the year.
Scout
Small county park with clean showers and restrooms. Several short trails, mile mile and a half maybe. Tent camping is always available (literally - was just there over Labor day weekend and had no trouble getting a spot on Saturday), with maybe 20 electric sites, no reservations. New this year is firewood for purchase. Not far from the famous High Trestle Trail for you bicycle enthusiasts! My wife and I teardrop trailer camp here as often as we can.
Guide
Spots kind of level, lots of choices of pull thru or buddy sites. Decent playground, water pillow for bouncing, fishing pond, dog park, swimming pool. Well maintained, lots of planned activities. KOA, so not a lot of nature. But no traffic or train noise. Full hook ups, including TV.
Guide
This is a city campground on the outskirts of town that does not feel that way. It sits right next to a park. White rock roads and pads. It has some full hook up sites as well as water and electric sites. Overall a nice place to say.
Guide
Some full hook ups, sites not very level, playground ok. Can hear shots from gun range next door. Dog park, pool, arcade. We have camped here a couple times, and stored our rig here for a while. Didn't find there was that much going on here to keep us busy. Not a lot of nature, no trails or biking accessible from campground.
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.
Guide
I came here once for a baby shower and then check the place out for RV camping you can stay year round you can stay for a week a month or a day and they have full hookup propane they have so many interesting things there.
Legend
the land they have is substantial. There's a boat camp, a bird watching area, a playground, plany of park space with picnic tables and BBQ pits, hiking and biking trails, and even a lodge that I assume can be rented for events. There are roughly 25 campsites, and I recommend a reservation ahead of time. I camped on a Monday in late July and there were only 4 sites not reserved when I arrived. There are electrical and full hook up options. If you just car camp and don't need electric, unfortunately there is no lower price for tent-only camping. Translation: tent campers pay electric hook up prices. Enjoy charging your phone? If you have a dog, walking the grounds would be a good time. There's a lot to check out here and with the bike trails, bringing a bike to check out the area and surrounding lakes could be fun.
Guide
I stayed at Adventureland for the summer months and had no issues. The staff was very helpful, plenty of laundry/restrooms throughout the campground and pretty clean overall. Concrete pads with full hook ups (30/50 amp, water and sewage) make setting up quick. Tent camping is an option in the back of the campground. Nature is not really the draw of this campground, convenience is more the approach. With a theme park on one side and a casino on the other, both in walking distance. It’s more of a park and party place hahaha
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.
Guide
We have a last minute change in plans so needed a place to stay for a couple of nights.
Level sites with full hookups
Plenty of space to walk the dog
Right next to a gas station with great burgers and tenderloins!
It was cold and windy so we didn't get out much to explore. It is right next to the interstate for easy on and off and it's very quiet.
LegendI like this place, I really do. It certainly packs a punch with all of the amenities that Kellogg RV Park offers up, not least of which is partnering up with apparently the best burger joint in the whole of Iowa. Burgers and camping? Can it get any better? Well, while this location gets extra points for achieving EZ on- and off-again I80 highway access, that likely is also its downside, as you are so close to arguably the busiest of all thoroughfares here in the state of Iowa that it makes you wonder if you are really getting away from it all or just taking a quick pitstop.
As for the grounds themselves, they are very well organized and nearly everything on this property is either brand-spanking new or has a nice degree of ‘kitsch’ that just feels right where you are at in the middle of the Midwest. There’s a well-appointed separate laundry location on the NE corner of RV Park, with a community shower/ bathroom facility smack-dab in the middle of the place, making it central and convenient to get refreshed. There’s a simple little loop that will jog you around the place, where in all there’s some 38 spots perfectly carved out for RVs or 5th Wheelers. While the map for Kellogg RV Park indicates a playground behind the laundry, if it was there to begin with, it has been replaced by a chicken coop, which I have to admit is pretty dang awesome to be woken up by these fine-feathered friends each dawn. Plus, um, there’s fresh eggs for your brunch munching pleasure!
With amenities in mind, each pull-thru, gravel-strewn site (all 18’ wide with lengths ranging from 65’ to 85’) comes equipped with all of the typical hook-ups (20 / 30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage) along with plenty of in-ground fire rings, stand-up BBQ grills and plenty of brand new picnic tables along with complimentary WiFi. There’s solar panels on the for southwest corner of the campground, which sadly eliminates the vibe that you are out in nature. If there was just one bit of advice I would give this place it’s this(and it’s quite simple): plant some trees! That’s the one thing I noticed that felt incredibly weird… there’s just a few trees in this whole place. Granted, it is somewhat surrounded by corn fields, but here’s a hint: After mid-September when all that corn is harvested, the place feels like a barren desert, so how you compensate for that is by planting trees, shrubs, bush or anything that would make this place feel like it was planted in nature versus carved out of a watershed.
While the main office is up front where you would have seen that Iowa’s Best Burger Café sign, where there’s also an Amoco gas station along with a convenience market that has limited groceries and supplies. Bonus points to Kellogg RV Park for having an F5-rated tornado shelter located on-site, so while your RV might blow away, no worries, you and those you hold most precious will be protected in the event of a tornado, which is important because this state gets hit by them all the time. They’ll also sell you a bundle of firewood for$6 / bundle, which is fair, especially considering that they’ll deliver the bundles directly to your site.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) IMHO the best sites are those located as far east and north as possible (yes, right near the laundry facilities and chicken coop). Why? Well, because they will be furthest away from I80, so less noise, plus they are on the periphery, so this offers up better views of corn country, and additionally, more tranquility. Plus the shower / restroom facilities are centrally located, so not too far away; (2) If you are looking to get buzzed while out here at Kellogg RV Park, you are in luck as just nearby there’s Grinnell Craft Brewhouse, Buzzed Bee Meadery as well as Van Wijk Winery – all of which are absolutely worth the visit!; (3) Should your foodie vibes need to be tamed while here, head on over to nearby Maytag Blue Cheese for a slice or slab or head on over to Dayton Meat Products, which not only processes meat in case you are out and about with a bow & arrow, but will serve up some pretty outrageously awesome sausages, loins and particular cuts of meats that you just can’t find anywhere nearby. Oh, and if farmer’s markets are your thing, then check out nearby Grinnell Farmers Market or Jasper County Farmer’s Market – both just 10 minutes from here; and (4) Once you grow tired of pillaging your on-board mini-fridge or Cordova roto-molded cooler and are looking for some local fare, I will have to admit that Iowa’s Best Burger Café does live up to its boast – and while I didn’t have another burger while I was in the ‘Hawkeye State’ I do make it my business to check stuff out when I see ‘Best’ noted anywhere and there’s reasonable proof behind this claim here, so give the good folks here the better side of your discerning tastes and try them out. Oh, and there’s that little thing that there’s not too much competition in these parts, so unless you are up for a good drive, the only other joint is RJ’s Bar& Grill, which trust me, is much more Bar than Grill.
Happy Camping!
LegendThe Iowa State Fair is the best fair in the world with more than a million visitors every year! There is something for everyone in the family. The campground is really built for RV and Camper Trailers, personally I would not pitch a tent there. It has two large shower houses and flush toilets. It is contained inside the Iowa State Fairgrounds. This is an amazing event that showcases the best of Iowa agriculture and is fun for the family. This is not your typical campground. The Fair generally begins the second Thursday in August and runs 11 days. Enjoy the fun!
RangerKellogg RV Park
This is a little fun RV park right off the interstate. It doesn’t have much but it’s a nice place to take a break.
There is a gas/burger station right infringement of the RV park. You can get supplies and make your reservation there.
It’s pretty quiet there, there is a cool antique farm tractor and old gas station across the street to look at. There is also a small garden to hang out in and relax.
Overall if you are looking for a quick little place to stay in your RV this is it.
LegendThis is a beautiful State Park on the southwest side of the Des Moines metro. It is hidden from most of suburbia but very close to shopping, movies, restaurants, and the Des Moines night life.
It is also a perfect place to escape all of those things and enjoy the huge walnut trees, green grass, and trails.
The campground is clean but it is very small with very few amenities. Most of the campers had small RVs or camper trailers, but there were a few tents. This would be rated higher if it had larger facilities.
All in all, this is a nice park to get away from the suburbs or enjoy them. It's up to you.
TravelerOpen year around. Nice large sites and no need to unhook. Clean rv park with easy access to 1-80.
Ranger
Newton KOA
This is the primary location for camping in Newton. It’s right off interstate I-80 and is very close to the Iowa Speedway.
There are places to go tent camping but it’s primarily setup for rvs. The tent camping spots have a picnic table and fire pit.
The RV sports are pretty nice, most have the usual hookups. This place can get pretty busy when there is a race going on.
There is a creek in the back and some pretty easy hiking trails to explore. There is a fish cleaning station near the creek. They do also have a pond with bass and bluegill. They also have a pool by the office but it’s currently being painted.
Overall this is a pretty nice KOA and it’s very clean and maintained. You can hear the interstate but you get used to it.
ScoutThis RV park is right off the interstate but far enough you won’t hear the noise. I can’t tell you if they are actually Iowa’s best burger because this is the only burger I’ve had in Iowa.
Nice people, everything is clean. Spots are pull thru. No issues at all.
It’s a one night because unless you’re in the area for something there isn’t much to see if do
Would stay here again
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.
Guide
Site 30.
We couldn't find many spots for the busy holiday but this park had a few. Very helpful host. Fun splashing in the river catching minnows by hand. Pretty park. Easy turns with the trailer. The RV spots were a mixed bag. Some shady (higher numbers), some full sun. Playground was skimpy. If you are over 12 ft, make sure and take the detour around the tunnel.
There are water hook ups, I just had to use 75 feet of hose to get to it. And the electric I had to use a 30 ft extension cord. Funny, I didn't have either and had to drive 24 miles to Walmart on a holiday to get them. I do think site 30 was probably the worst from what I saw. Wish that when I called to ask about the sites the county office would have mentioned some sites the hook ups are super far away. The sites have a little concrete pad which makes it easier to level.
TravelerThis is likely the nicest rv park I have seen. No facilities (pool, playground) for kids. There is a nice pond with water fountain. Lovely landscaping and sculptures throughout park. Sites are spacious with great grass areas for each. Some shaded sites available. Spent the winter here, they are very good at keeping snow and ice under control. Bathrooms are immaculate. Large community center, gym, and laundry facilities on site.
ScoutNew Escapod owners! We’ve done the state parks and are winging back to PA. Saw Newton KOA made the call and it was perfect. Don’t let the “ industrial park”reference put you off. You drive past it down into an oasis of green, clean and friendly hosts! It’s October so busy but not summer, office staff was waiting for us at 6:40 PM ALL SMILES!! They parked us on a level site with water and electric about a 5 minute walk to sparkling clean bathrooms and showers. Grounds were well kept , people were friendly and it’s a must stay again on our way out west next season
RangerThis is a great spot if you plan on staying in the area and want to go to Adventure Land or Prairie Meadows. There are lots of restaurants near by like Spectators and Jethro’s BBQ.
As far as the RV park goes it’s pretty busy, mostly small families and older folks. The lots aren’t very big and you are kind of packed in there. They have a swimming pool and a fishing pond. The office also has a little store to buy goods.
They do have a small area to tent camp in. I probably would stick go rv though. There are also comfort stations lol for showers and bathrooms.
They do also sell firewood and during July 4th Adventure land puts on a really great fireworks show.
Guide
This appears to be a new campground with full hookups and drive thru’s. Well leveled gravel. Good scenery. No evidence of out buildings, showers etc. Very quiet.
Guide
Unfortunately there's no lake view, but there's full hookups and a good mix of tent and RV sites. Be careful of low lying trees for taller campers.
GuideWe called ahead to see if they had sites available that night. Arrived just before the office closed at 7pm. They were ready for us and escorted us to our pull-through full-hookups site near the front of the campground. This is a huge property but laid out in different sections that each have their own flavor. The pull-throughs near the front are level, gravel pads with grass all around. Other areas are forested and some are hilly. Full-hookups worked fine. We stayed in site 121, which faces an open grassy area backed by a little forest that echoed with beautiful wildlife sounds in the evening. There are no campground lights except at the restrooms, so it’s great for stargazing! The restrooms were good.
Experience the charm of RV camping in the Pleasant Hill area, where you can enjoy well-maintained parks and a variety of outdoor activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
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