Best Equestrian Camping near Smithland, IA

Well kept & family friendly camping in Iowa! We were able to reserve an electric unit (#30) right off the lake and across the road from the large playground (~5 setups for different age groups). We could watch the kids play while getting food ready or preparing a line to throw in the water. Short walk to the very clean restrooms with flush toilets & showers. Will come back!

I pulled in and found a wide open campground. I picked a site high on the bluff overlooking the reservoir. It had quite the view. It’s a newer area so trees are planted for the future. Sites are spacious with water and both 30 & 50 amp hookup. Clean dump station that also has a fish cleaning station. Playground, boat ramp, picnic area fishing, birdwatching, equestrian camp & trails, something for everyone.

There’s a pretty big playground near all the sites. When I went in the first weekend of October they had a little trick or treat night too! Extremely nice amenities; flush toilet and showers. Very nice for Iowa state parks.

Nice campground clean bathrooms the trails are really good quiet and peaceful

Many water spots on basically what is a mosquito breeding ground

This place was pleasantly clean to me. Blue lake which is the lake this state park sits on. When you drive in from the road you see on your right the lake and to your left are houses. You go farther down and you see picnic accesses off the lake. And there is a swimming area and beach further down with a fully accessible restroom. There is also a keelboat on display and visitor center with a musuem. The center was closed when we were here, (thanks covid). Behind that is a dock and a little look out tower next to it. This is where we saw people kayak mainly. You go farther down and this was where the campsites were. This appeared to be more of a park set up for rv and campers than any tents. You go farther down pass this and you find more accesses to trails, and taller grass. This is a great park especially for a rv, and how clean it is.

This is a pleasant campground. There are water lots available. Some spots can be reserved. Others are walk in only. Decent room between lots, though I would prefer a bit more room. Most sites are electric only. A slim amount are full hookup. Excellent playground for children. Popular place for boating in the summer months. Dirt trails to explore around the grounds.

We only were here 1 night, a stopover. The place is clean & quiet, lots of families. 

Only thing we had time for was swimming in the lake, which was refreshing. Maybe we return in the future.

Vibe: Relaxed summer lake fun. 

Cleanliness: Average 

Facilities: Slightly dated but adequate 

General spots: Good size, good spacing, not private. Large cottonwood trees offer good shade on lake side spots. 

Our site: 10. Close to the swimming area. Not far from bathrooms. 

Noise: Friendly chatter. Mostly quiet. Some music from the summer camp across the lake(see below). 

Cell signal: Good (Verizon)

Other: The lake isn’t huge, but the water was not murky and you could wade out pretty far and still be shallow enough to stand. A summer camp is across the lake and they played some evening music and morning music starts at 7:30.

Got a beautiful location right by the lake, easy check-in. Bathroom to relocked which made for some uncomfortable moments.

Great campground for families. There is a huge playground with tons of activities for all ages, the boat is an awesome thing to see. I saw a ton of trails along the main road but we didn’t have time to check them out. This was such a fun campground to stay with our kiddos.

Nice campground. Very few tent only - mostly RVs/trailers. Washrooms basic but clean. Large site under trees with mix of sun & shade. Grassy area for tent. Access to water close by. Large playground for kids. Campground host had firewood. Picnic table & firepit with grill rack in good condition. Nearby boat ramp to load kayak onto Blue Lake. Many water lilies but sheltered at one end so good for kayak. Everyone seemed friendly though some folk stayed up pretty late on Friday!

Only one site available when I stopped but that's all I needed! Full of family type campers in every type of camper. Busy but not noisy and quiet by 9. Located on a body of water. Just 3 miles from the highway. I paid $18. For an off season site. Clean restrooms and level spacious sites.

Nice spot with modern facilities, groomed grass and functioning equipment

Great sites right on the water. Easy back in for my rig. Hot showers were a plus :)

Campground was as I hoped. Empty except for 3 others. Oxbow lake is nice with a sandy shoreline. The campground is set in an Aspen glade. Very nice.

Beautiful park, beautiful scenery and amazing playground!

We chose this park after some family raved about their visits. We were excited, but let down. The lake was ok, we were unable to purchase a temporary state fishing license onsite. The hiking trails could be so much more than the mowed paths through tall grass. The water at the water for filling smells horrendous. The dump station is a tight squeeze for anything other than a small bumper pull camper. Our kids had fun at the park, but we were just not impressed with the location.

The campground was very clean and quiet. They have full service hook ups. It has a playground for the kids. nice updated bathroom facilities with showers. They also have a beach and boat dock. Most sites are pretty well shaded unless you start on the river front in which there aren't many shaded spots.

This campground has clean facilities, a lake you can swim & boat in, a playground for kids and basketball court walking trails, a keel boat ride and one evening they even did an outdoor movie for all the families! One of my favorite places to camp! Lots of campers but everyone was respectful and we had a lot of fun!

This place has great fishing and is very well maintained not to mention that they have a replica of the Boat that Lewis and Clark traveled on many years ago. They will also occasionally take it out and give rides. They also have a history museum to accompany the boat. Bathrooms are clean. Camp ground is clean. Lots of things to see and do in the camp ground itself.

Oh my the rate was 19.00 for full 50 amp hookup Beautiful state park in the water nice level sites paved Fire rings and tables Would definitely recommend this place it is a must stop!

We didn't actually Camp there and truthfully I'm not so sure I ever even saw the campgrounds. But the lake in the area is beautiful and there's quite a large space to the park with lots of trails and open field areas. I believe you have to pay a fee to the DNR for a day pass or purchase an annual Nebraska park pass/license in order to even go through the park. There's a few places outside of town that advertise horseback riding and I always thought that would be a sweet place to do so. We mainly went to fish!