Staci I.

The Dyrt Pro

Sioux City, IA

Joined August 2020

Beautiful Lakefront

As others have said, the sites are quite close together, in this case I didn't mind as I met up with friends on a weeknight, so our sites were close together and our cluster of sites had a buffer on either side. We were on the outer loop which put us closest to the lake and offered electrical hook-up. The shower house was pretty nice, clean and pretty centrally located. 

The staff was very friendly, campground was quiet, clouds kept us from seeing the stars, and they lost quite a few trees in a storm a few years back, so little shade. It would be a nice convenient stop off I-80, reasonably priced.

Majestic Views!!!

My first dry camping experience and, this is where it's at! The access road is about 7 miles south of Wall, making it just far enough to be AWAY. It's been said by other reviewers, it is windy. It's so beautiful, and the wind is the just nature's way of reminding you to move on. Otherwise you'd never leave. I considered the magic hour for arrivals, most folks appear to use this area as a layover and not a destination, so there was a lot of turnover of sites each day. If you arrive mid-day and hang around you'll have your choice of sites as folks leave for the next phase of their journey. My closest neighbors were about 50 yards away….but be mindful sound does carry up there. Your music and generators will affect others.

Lovely Spring Weekend

I reserved the site for mid-April at the beginning of March. Campground opens 4/15 and we arrived on opening day. Check process can be done either in person or online upon arrival. Thursday night the campground was practically empty, but by 7pm on Friday night it was nearly full. Ranger offered a list of activities and an extensive list of rules. The campground rules are enforced very strictly, so read them thoroughly. You will be made aware if you are observed breaking one of them. There were 2 nature hikes scheduled for the weekend, I imagine activities will ramp up further into the season. We had a family site, the pad was roomie, "yard" was quite nice and right next door to the "basic" non-electrical sites. So plenty of grassy area for tents. Restroom and shower facilities were quite nice, clean and large enough to handle the the campground at the nearly full capacity of the weekend. There was also a drop latrine at our end of the campground for convenience. There is no sink, but the hand sanitizer dispenser was full. Our site was right across from the playground, which was quite busy, but things quieted down and by 10pm everyone was on best behavior. We are thinking about making this an annual campout.

River View!

We settled into one electrical site and one tent site for our adventure. The tent section offers fairly large sites, and views of the river. Our electrical site was decent size and the"backyard" was right up to the river bank. We anticipated some rain so we set up a screen tent for shelter right along the river to enjoy the view while we waited out the rain. Electricity at these sites appears to be brand new. The dirt work that was done to accomplish this had not yet been smoothed out, so making sure your area is lit to avoid tripping and ankle sprains is essential. As it turns out we camped on the same weekend of a large group's annual camp out at this location. 2nd weekend in April every year. Several families with RVs, and while they were great neighbors, we came to understand the site we were in is usually a part of their group. There are no reservations at this campground, so setting up early is the only way to assure you have the site you want. The facility has running water by mid April, no shower, but a single flushing toilet and sink, no soap. The campground does not have a trash can or dumpster on site at all, so you must pack everything out. Really good stay

Many Amenities

Stayed here with friends who had a large RV. When we arrived, we set to work on getting the slides out and and the RV leveled. We had originally reserved site#9, which offered some challenged in getting level. There was also one tree on the site, that prevented us from putting the awning out. We went into the office to check in and see if it was possible for us to move 2 sites over to#7. They were very helpful and flexible with our need to move. Once we made that move the RV leveled and all slides and awnings were available to us. The sites are very clean and well maintained. The bathroom and shower facilities are also very clean and well maintained. They offer a shuttle to take campers to Broadway for just$10/person. The shuttle runs on scheduled and communication around expectations was very clear. Firewood at the KOA was pretty expensive. We paid$10/bundle, and the wood available on our visit was cedar. As you can imagine we burned through a bundle in about an hour. The second day we checked around and found a firewood business about 30 minutes away. Nashville Firewood was a bit muddy, but luckily we had 4 wheel drive to venture back into the property and load up. Overall, great stay. Will be back again, and this time bring family to stay in one of the nice cabins they have available.

The Stars Were So Bright!

Camped here in order to be close to Fort Dodge first thing in the morning.  I stayed in the Beach Campground.  It's not on the beach, but close to it.  There are 3 total campgrounds in the park.  My choice was a very well manicured campground.  The shower house was not open yet due to the time of year, but the drop latrine was open, very clean and well lit.

This little nugget is laid out on a vast prairie.  Most sites have younger trees that provide some shade.  This is not the big wooded type park.  There are trails to get you out and away from the "park" and closer to the rustic woody nature.

Fire rings are all adjustable, sites are well kept and they offer "buddy sites" that are 2 sites really close together for those times when you bring friends, but have too many tents/vehicles to fall into the rules.

Verizon 4G fluctuated between 0-2 bars.  Was able to send pictures and only dropped a call once.

Very little light pollution

Great Winter Camp

A lot of places in Iowa are closed to camping until April or even May. I looked west and quickly found this. There are areas of the park that are "closed for winter", but I was able to find a primitive spot for an overnight to get out and enjoy the rebound from the subzero weather of the previous weeks. Some sites in that section are quite spacious…..although it was just me, so I had a lot of space! there were several water spigots in that section as well, so water is available during the camping season. There was a restroom fairly close by, and in the 15 hours I was there, the ranger checked on the restrooms twice. I didn't use it, but that is an indication that they aren't torn apart. No one was at the entrance, so I had to go the the education center to find self registration. The primitive rate is$15, but they reduced it to$10 in the off-season. A pass is required to camp, so you can add another$5 if you're a Nebraska resident, and$8 if you're from out of state. Season passes are also available.$40 resident,$45 non-resident. All primitive sites had shade. Lots of trees throughout the park. Beautiful.