Best RV Parks & Resorts near Tracy, IA

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.

Walnut Woods is conveniently located 25 minutes outside of downtown Des Moines. Sites are paved and mostly level, although we did have to throw a couple of blocks under one side of our TT tires. Most sites feature 20/30/50 electric, a fire ring and a picnic table. Some also have water and sewer hookups. Sites are relatively small and close together, so get comfortable looking into your neighbors’ site/camper depending on how your site is oriented. The road around the campground is paved, but very narrow. We had to ask our neighbor across the street to temporarily move their tow vehicle so that we’d have adequate room to back into our site.

There is a bathroom, trash dumpsters, and a dump station with both potable and tank cleanout water spigots. There are trail heads near the campground that follow along the raccoon river for almost 2 miles. It was very muddy when we camped here, so we had to turn around about 1.5 miles into our hike and backtrack due to an impassible area.

3 bars of T-Mobile and 2 bars of AT&T were more than sufficient for internet browsing and streaming.

Literally a single stone’s throw from I80, one of the busiest thoroughfares you’ll find yourself on here in the great ‘Hawkeye State,’ this is one campground that very much deserves your attention, despite being a KOA. In fact, this campground outpost is so close to the highway that you’ll be hard pressed not to see or hear it during your entire stay. While this KOA does sit down a bit from the hustle & bustle that comes with a major interstate highway, a good number of the available RV sites sit on a sloping hill that is the same elevation as the highway itself, so if you do have the choice, opt for the lower sites (more on that later). 

Sitting just 30 minutes east of Des Moines, Newton KOA offers up about 100 sites for RVs and 5th wheelers offering up all the standard hook-ups (water, sewage and 30 / 50 amp- but be careful because some sites only offer 30 or 50, while some do offer both, so be sure to ask when making your reservation). For mi tent pitching bredren, there’s about a dozen or so sites to choose from and all are fairly intermingled with the RV sites, although each site does sit on a plush patch of grass, so this KOA does a nice job on that front of integration. Oh, and if you don’t have an RV, 5th wheeler or a tent, on worries, this KOA will rent you one of its three cabins. 

As this is a KOA you can expect a ton of amenities and this place does not disappoint with: catch & release fishing pond w/ fish cleaning station (that is oddly placed about as far away from the fishing pond as you can get), disc golf course, K9 camp for the puppies, cable TV, WiFi, in-ground pool (available 5/25 until 9/3) with ADA pool lift, horseshoes, meeting rooms, firewood for sale, LP gas refueling station, pool table, shuffleboard, social lounge, two kids playground, laundr-O-mat, basketball court, restroom & shower facilities, mini-market with basic groceries, ping pong, jump pad, game room, gaga pit, designated dumpster and dump station and of course the scattered fire pits and picnic tables. Just to go above and beyond, this KOA serves up free breakfast of flapjacks on Saturdays. Yahoo! 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Whether you are pitching a tent or pulling up in your RV, the best sites IMHO are those in the lower valley, but located right in front of the main office, where there are 6 RV slots numbered #45 – 50 and 6 tent sites numbered T1 – T6; (2) Should you get hungry and might want to try some local fare, check out Taco John’s and La Cabaña Mexican Restaurant, which I guess stand for ‘local’ around here, although there is Newton Family Restaurant. If you are looking for something really different and amazing, I would suggest heading on over to Dan’s Sandwich Shop, which feels like real Americana from a bygone era, complete with a diner-esque vibe and matching elbow counter to warm up to over a nice piece of apple pie, scoop of ice cream washed down with a hot mug of coffee; (3) While this KOA has a mini-market, you will find a bigger selection with better prices just down the road at the local Walmart, where just due west of this, you’ll find a Hy-Vee Grocery store with a wine & spirits shop positioned there as well. Further down the road, you have excellent fresh cut meat from Fareway Grocery, but check out the local hotspot, Newton Market as well; and (4) While what you will discover from an outdoor standpoint at Newton KOA is interesting, if you want something more substantial, head to Newton Arboretum & Botanical Gardens for 6 acres of family-friendly landscape to explore with more displays and demonstrations that you can shake a stick at! Seriously, there’s a butterfly garden, peony border and nearly 200 individual species of trees here to check out. 

Happy Camping!

Wonderful trails, lots of space.  Access to DM River, has nice pond, playgrounds, just a beautiful area.  Fishing not the greatest, Pond is silted to about 9ft deep, have caught few small bass, bluegill.  Never tried the river here, but is known for big cats.  Camp sites are best around, large flat white rock cinder size area with picnic table, fire ring.  Sites are well spaced.  Shaded.   Double lane dump station.  Close to home, can usually get site without reservation, IF you roll in on Wed.  By Thurs night, it's full.  Few reservables, 90% i'd say are first come.  The way it should be in my opinion.

I grew up a few miles from this state park so stayed here when we went back to visit family. This park, like all state parks, has had it's ups and downs. Unfortunately, the amazing swimming beach with concession stand and changing rooms with showers is gone. Due to the large population of geese, ducks, and cranes, the water is not safe to swim in. 

On the upside, the camping, boating, and fishing are amazing! We dry camped right on the water's edge for $6 a night, 2 weeks for $88! Electric sites are only 12. Their sites are 20/30/50 amp. No water or sewer at the sites but there are water spigots dispersed through the campground and full dump station as you come in/leave. There is a nice camp store next to the campground st the marina for fishing gear, firewood, and a few essentials. You can also rent fishing boats, pontoons, kayaks, and canoes. 

We were able to kayak and bike here and it was amazing! We will definitely be back!!!

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!