Newton KOA

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!

Our stay here was fine. Check-in was easy and courteous. We were escorted to our site. All of the staff that we interacted with was great. It seems like this park has an original section and then expansion sections tired up a hillside. The original section is the only section with any mature shade trees. Our site, and it looked like the others in the tiered hillside section, were in full sun all day. We selected an upgraded patio site. It was spacious and the patio area was made from pavers. It was equiped the same as the other sites though, just a fire pit and a picnic table (that was in rough shape). Our experience at other KOAs is that the patio sites have some better patio furniture. The fire pit wasn't functional for cooking. The cooking grate was rusted and set about 1" off the bottom of the fire pit leaving no room for charcoal. Pool looked nice but we didn't use it. The bathrooms and showers were clean but the showers could use a place to set your dry clothes.

Staff is *Outstanding!! Sites Level (#62); Great Kamp K9!! Laundry, "Immaculate"!; Clean, clean, oh and CLEAN! Gotta get @ least, one nite here!🤓

New 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

Great overnight stay. Got in later a little than planned, after hours. Very quiet— great nights sleep.

We tried to stay here on probably the hottest day of the year. It was just wayyyyy too hot so we made sandwiches and decided to drive through the night, but it wasn’t this KOA’s fault! Very friendly staff. Tons for kids and families to do. My only complaint is that where we were, tent spot #1...there wasn’t really any soaration of the tent sites. People moved in beside us and were literally in our site because there wasn’t anything stopping them. Probably a better place for RV camping over tent camping.

The owners are fantastic! The campground is well maintained and the stocked pond for fishing is a relaxing spot. Stop by and spend an evening. Well worth it.

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.

We were able to stay in a great spot. WiFi was great and the area was clean. Campers near us caught a couple of bass in the pond. We saw a lot of overnight campers come and go. There is I80 traffic noise, but didn’t become obnoxious. The on-site facilities were closed due to COVID, but was still a fantastic weekend.

Stayed here the weekend of the Indy Car race. Site was very small some people didn't have room to put out awnings. The sewer pipe from our neighbor was at the end of our picnic table!!! Sewer connections were uphill from the sites

Cost was $65 a night.

The pool and facilities were nice and clean. Staff very friendly