Best RV Parks & Resorts near Ruthven, IA

We go in early in the afternoon after traveling from Madison WI.  

The KOA seemed alright but I was very disappointed in the long term/ Full time RVs parked there.  Some were alright but a couple of pretty dumping ones.  

They were not full and I can understand the reason.  

The facilities seemed to be well maintained.  The pool and playground were very nice and the sites we stayed around were fine.  It was just those few trailers that gave it that run downed feeling. If they took care of those even made them clean the area around them and wash them it  would go up a star or 2.

The internet was iffy again and I guess we will just have to live with that though I did expect more from a KOA.

That night they did have live entertainment but we did not know about it until they started to play.  It was locals I think that lived there and was like a jam session.

This park is a CCC built park. Lots of twists and turns for an RV to get to their spot. We have a longer TT, and it was tight and nerve wracking to navigate. We had reserved a spot that was supposed to be long enough for our trailer, but was not. They were luckily not full but the spot we found was on a slope and uneven. I thought about driving 4 hours back home rather than continue to try to get the RV level. Someone across the way took pitty and helped us. I think the best RV spots are up the hill by the bath house.

On Lake Okoboji but heavily wooded no view, acorns dropped on our roof every 10 minutes, I was afraid it would bust the skylight. Marshy area by the tent sites tons of mosquitoes. If you can get a spit at Emerson down the road, do that. Bath house and playground ok. No one answered the phone, no one at the ranger station. Rode our bikes down the road to get the bike trail.

We spent several nights camping at South Joe Sheldon County Park. Beautiful pull through campsites some full hook ups others with electronic and water. I’ve included some pictures.

Easy to access- large site campground. Nice sites that back up to spirit lake with enough room for bigger rigs to get into easily and have tree coverage to feel wooded. Easy to check in and out of. Great price for a full hook up site. Plan to return again and again! We loved it.

We stayed at the Grotto of the Redemption RV park for two nights. We were in our class C while slowly making our way across the country. We had no problems getting a spot here. There are two areas. One is very close to a train line, which runs infrequently. Sites are grass, level, and reasonably well maintained. All sites are pull through. Only electrical hookups are available at the sites. This is in good condition. There is fresh water and a dump station available. Each site has a nice grassy area and there are plenty of large trees. Staff was very friendly and helpful. There was a park nearby with a playground. 

The RV park is near the Grotto. The Grotto is a fascinating achievement worth a look if you are in the area.

We had 2 bar LTE with Verizon. Our hotspot was usable and performed very well. Campground wifi was not available.

We enjoyed our brief stay at this campground. We will stay again when traveling this way.

Small cute little campground. Only 12 electrical spots. No full hookup spots. There is no campground host but campers have always been respectful when I have been camping there. Updated shower/bathroom house is clean. DNR sells firewood on Fridays and Saturdays. There is lots to do, trails, kayaking, fishing, playground and picnic areas also.

Staying here during trip to SD, April is cold bit nice check in process. Clean and level site. Large site and we'll spaced out. Super nice lady, owner?, Checked me in and was super nice. No water hook up due to weather but glad we chose this as a place to stay. Would recommend for price with military discount offered.

Very clean park with lots of camp sites. Checked online said they were booked but called anyway to double check and they had multiple spots available. They DO NOT have water hookups at each site, the lady in the phone said they had water but didn’t clarify you have to fill up. I got trailer all disconnected and leveled and finally realized, no water. Had to re hook up and go to spicket to fill. Other then that nice campground near lake and has a very small beach front and picnic area.

This camp ground is surrounded by farm land including our own. The only down side is the lake is shallow so fishing is best early early camping season. The showers are also odd to get dressed since there's no mat so maybe go in with a swim suit. Cell service is sketchy! If you like backpacking in without an incredibly long hike there's two sites that are off the beaten path find them on Google maps, they're on the shore. But the rest are all RV and drive in. Except for holiday weekends you basically have the whole place to yourself, but only expect to get wood on Friday and Saturday! No reservations, grab a spot then go back to the registration box. No grill on the fire ring, and they're huge. Park bench in each site, electric hookups at some sites. Nice variety of easy and primitive for whatever you're looking for.

Campground Renovation: The campground will be closed from April 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019.

Marble Beach`s campground is the largest in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. The campground is well shaded and features paved roads, boat ramps, modern restroom and shower facilities, as well as a sanitary dump station. The campground includes non-electric sites and sites with electrical hookups.

Spirit Lake is the largest natural lake in Iowa and provides some of the best fishing in the state. Anglers will find challenging sport pursuing a variety of game fish including walleye, northern pike, muskellunges, largemouth and smallmouth bass, white bass, perch, bluegills, crappies, catfish, and bullheads.

Fort Defiance is a forresty natural state park in Iowa. There is Electrical Hook ups a picnic Table and a charcoal Grill already at the camp site. The valley has a small river or a big creek, idk you tell me the difference, what you can cross over a few times on the trails. Depending on the time of day, generally in the morning you can cruise through at day break and find deer on the roads to watch out!

Decent little dock and shelter house. Dump station. Campfire rings and picnic tables. Bathrooms were decent. Electrical hookup only. Kids screaming and people partying super late.

Large campground with a play park and other sporting area. Lake to swim in - no lifeguard offered. Large sites with water/electric hook up - some full hook sites and big rig friendly. The site we were put in was not set up well for the connections however it was a large site. Very muddy site but they offered to let us use a rug so we didn’t get ours all Muddy.