Katie J.

Des Moines, IA

Joined January 2020

Great Hidden Camground

The campground itself is very well maintained, beautiful, quiet and private. Plenty of space in between each site, and the campground host was the best! He was consistently making rounds and was eager to share tips on where to explore. A bit far from the beach, but a super quick drive to spend the day at the lake. This was actually preferable, as the campground was a nice escape from the crowds at the beach/dunes. Goblin and the Grocer is a must if you don’t feel like cooking after a long day at the dunes, and is only a few minutes walk from the campground!

Not Great

Not overly impressed with this park. Sites were crammed together, not well maintained, and a lot of partying until 3am every night from young campers. Definitely seemed like a teenage hangout spot, without any redeeming qualities to make it worth the noise issues. The drive in was almost worth the trip, as the countryside is beautiful!

Favorite Iowa Park

This park is perfect for families or anyone looking for plenty of activities. They have boat rentals, amazing trails, a camp store onsite, a swimming beach and super clean bathrooms. Stayed at tent site #24 in the Southlake Campground, and it was fairly quiet even on a busy holiday weekend.

Tent sites

Great state park for a quiet weekend trip. Tons of great tent sites, but it seemed like the RV spots were pretty close together. We stayed at #142 and it was the perfect tent location. Right on the water, distanced from our site neighbors, and a sandbar nearby for some fishing. The swimming beach was gross, but the hiking trail was great for an easy walk with kids.