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    Des Moines West KOA

    4.0 (50 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Sinkhole from rain
    Mark A K.

    Most the employees here are rude, disrespectful, back stabbing, ungrateful gossips & liars! Campground is awesome if you keep to yourself from employees and mind all the rules. Horrible experience for us. Our rig sank into mud sink hole after several rains and NOONE offered assistance! Horrible people here!

    This is our space
    Kate C.

    This is a beautifully kept park, clean, well groomed, safe with lots of activities for everyone! The spaces are generous, the staff are so kind, considerate, knowledgeable and helpful! We had a freshly made pizza delivered after we set up! Nice to be able to order and get it delivered! The manager,Marcus Vangen was amazingly helpful with a small issue we had. We will make this our yearly stay in the Des Moines area! And recommend it to everyone! We even gave a family member here in Des Moines a brief 'staycation' here! If I could give them more than 5 stars...I would!

    Our tent at our campsite
    Cora M.

    We loved this KOA! Everyone there was so incredibly kind and helpful, offering to do everything they could for us. Bathrooms were so clean, pizza was inexpensive and delicious, and the grounds were beautiful. They kindly upgraded our tent site to an rv spot because the bathrooms near the tent sites were being worked on. We slept great and it was nice and quiet through the night. Larry was very helpful and so were all the ladies working inside. We'll be back if we're ever in the area!

    Glamping Tent KOA West Des Moines, Iowa
    Lynde E.

    New management has really improved this campground and we had such a great experience last weekend! Staff is so friendly and the facilities are clean and top notch. We stayed in the new glamping tent and will definitely be returning in the near future. No air conditioner but has several electrical outlets where you can bring your own fans. They do supply one for you. There's also a king size bed with a very comfortable mattress (bring your own linens and pillows), side tables with lamps and a bench. Outside on the porch are nice rocking chairs. We had our own fire pit and picnic table. No bathroom of course but the walk is short to the shower/bathroom that are really clean. Great view towards the pond. What a fun experience! You won't be disappointed.

    Great firepit...other area never gets hot. Great for small children

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    9 years ago

    Camped here with our family on our cross country trip. Great campground and wonderful friendly staff!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Des Moines West KOA

    Review Highlights - Des Moines West KOA

    Everyone there was so incredibly kind and helpful, offering to do everything they could for us.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

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    Shady Brook Camping And Rv Adventures

    Shady Brook Camping And Rv Adventures

    2.7(12 reviews)
    2.0 mi

    My husband and I cannot say enough good things about this campground and the owners/hosts. To begin…read morethe grounds are beautiful and well kept. We arrived late at night and our car ended up breaking down upon arrival. The owners were amazing - helped us to have a mechanic look at the vehicle. Totally went above and beyond to help us and make sure we were all set to be on our way the next day. Our site was just beautiful and private. They all have a place to make a fire. There are endless little walks and trails. For just 5$ you can add firewood to your stay. We loved it so much that we are going back next week. The experience is so different from the larger and more commercial, crowded campgrounds we have experienced in the past. Stay here and you will love it!!

    Shady Brooks campground really lives up to its name. I would not recommend it to anyone. We…read morereserved a spot and when we got to the campground and got to our site we would not fit in that site or any sites there. I went and ask for refund she proceeds to tell me that there will be a $50 fee to return my money and it should take 5-7 business days. Then I wake up to a text several days later stating that Shady Brooks will not be giving me a refund.. Also when I paid for a month she added sales tax . Who does that at a campground because everyone I've been to the tax is already included. They are just scamming left and right at that campground! This is what she sent me: Hi Andrew, this is Dena with Shadybrook Camping. I just wanted to let you know that you will not be getting a refund due to our very strict cancellation policies, and the fact that your camper fit just fine in your site. Or we could have put you in a different site. Our policies are on our website, if you want to look at them. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks. This woman never came out to the campground site so she has no idea how we wouldn't fit there or in any of them to park 44ft fifth wheel with a deck that opens more less park two vehicles, and a enclosed trailer!

    Photos
    Shady Brook Camping And Rv Adventures
    Shady Brook Camping And Rv Adventures - Great group!

    Great group!

    Shady Brook Camping And Rv Adventures - Fun...

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    Fun...

    Acorn Valley Campground

    Acorn Valley Campground

    3.3(3 reviews)
    22.8 mi

    Variety of camping options at Acorn Valley. There's RV spots and a lot for tent camping, you can be…read morein the shade, tucked in the trees, or out in the open. $14 for one night but if you have some pass you can use that and not have to pay. With the variety there are some spots much closer to bathrooms than others. Some spots you'll have a little trek to your site and if you do drive in closer the rangers will ask you to move your car. Nice playground, big shower (singular.. one shower per bathhouse). Bathrooms were pretty nice for a campsite. Drinking fountains were closed. Bugs were pretty pesky in the woods, to be expected with camping. There was a little path to a fishing area - we swam and it was no beach but it was good enough with some shoes that work in water. Decent option for Saylorville lake.

    Got into a bind while traveling on August 17th. We called this place in a pinch about 6:30 and…read moreasked if they had anything open. The woman on the phone said she had 4-5 electric sites open, but we had to leave by 3pm the next day. She kept repeating this over and over like I was 4 years old, and I replied that was fine. In my experience this is a normal campground check out time. We got there about 25 minutes later and parked about 10 ft. from the booth where we could see 2 employees inside. There was a sign in the window with the number to call due to Covid, so we called. Now the woman says since we didn't make reservations, we cant stay. At this point we have no WiFi on the phone to make a reservation. I'm 10 ft away with cash and a mask on. at this point she immediately starts talking to me like I'm a child again, and repeats that we didn't make reservations so we cant stay. Ended up turning around and driving the kids 5 hours back home. If you want rude staff and a bunch of b.s., this place seems perfect. Personally, I'd just skip this place.

    Photos
    Acorn Valley Campground
    Acorn Valley Campground - Visitors to my campsite.

    Visitors to my campsite.

    Acorn Valley Campground - Here's todays visitor. I saw this baby with her Mom a few weeks ago here at Acorn Valley.

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    Here's todays visitor. I saw this baby with her Mom a few weeks ago here at Acorn Valley.

    Spring Lake State Park - Open air skating rink with original wood floor.

    Spring Lake State Park

    5.0(3 reviews)
    38.1 mi

    What a fun place! One of the last open air skating rinks in the country .. in the world? Really…read morenice campsites and grounds. But, the skating rink! It is so cool!

    A beautiful campground, just the right distance away from home…read more Lots of electric sites with easy access. There is a Lake, there is two sides to said Lake. No matter which side you pick to camp on you are going to be close enough to walk to the middle. Or somewhere where there is water to fish in. In the middle is beach area. You can swim at the beach. You can get snacks at the snack house or you can get a paddle boat, kayak, or canoe and rent from the snack house. (They have ice cream too) There is a is even a wood floor skating rink! This was my favorite thing. I am a grown woman and I still love to skate. They pull up the window shutters and play music you can hear all the way out to your camper if you are on the waters edge. We took advantage of their Frisbee course. Its a smaller one, but it was set up nice and a perfect size to teach my parents how to play Frisbee golf. There is a golf cart that comes around in the evenings selling firewood and ice. What a fantastic idea. We only wished there was a little better signage or maybe another dump station. We only located one to fill up and dump for this big campground. I will be back. FYI- this was new. The local golf course was offering free golfing to campers. So it was purchase 9 holes get 9 free for the campers here. They don't have rental clubs yet, so you'll want to bring your own.

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    Spring Lake State Park - Snack bar.

    Snack bar.

    Spring Lake State Park - Campsites

    Campsites

    Spring Lake State Park - Open air skating rink with original wood floor.

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    Open air skating rink with original wood floor.

    Timberline Campground

    Timberline Campground

    3.3(33 reviews)
    10.9 mi

    Lovely campground! Hannah in the Office was so helpful and delightful, from my first phone call to…read moreget a reservation, to our walking in the door to complete the reservation. (A very nice and well-stocked camp store too!) We requested a shaded site for our 25' B class RV, and she made sure that we got one. SUPER CLEAN AND NICE bathrooms! Highly recommend!

    I should have read the reviews on this campground, but I didn't. So during our 3rd day, I'm…read moreenjoying my coffee when I heard a gunshot. Then more gunshots.... scared me to death. I didn't know if there was a crazy person running around shooting a gun. I called a # on their pamphlet which turned out to be the Dallas County Sheriff department. They told me they do get a lot of calls about this, but that there is a gun range north of here. I was shocked that no one mentioned this to me when I booked. I have 2 pups and one of them just freaked out, shaking, and panting, (the other one is older and can't hear well). The gunshots were continuous... How is anyone supposed to enjoy quite relaxing time when from inside their RV and watching TV, you can very well hear gun shots? I called the office to let them know I was upset about this & I should have been made aware of this. The lady told me the range has been here just as long... and they are not going to disclose the shooting range on their website and that she was sorry. Wow! If you have animals that scare from any loud bangs or noises, please be aware and go somewhere else. I WILL be asking campgrounds in the future about any shooting ranges nearby. Who wants to listen to any gun shots while trying to enjoy time in a RV?! We won't be back here ever. Lesson learned.

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    Timberline Campground
    Timberline Campground
    Timberline Campground

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    Griff's Valley View - Park view

    Griff's Valley View

    3.9(17 reviews)
    30.5 mi

    10/7/23 We were…read moreassigned a site in the "G" pinwheel. Very spacious between sites, with tons of grass and trees. Concrete pads. Good hook ups. Very very nice, especially since it rained a couple days. Didn't have to deal with mud. Most of the park is beautifully landscaped. It must take a small army to keep it looking so good. There are three friendly, absolutely gorgeous horses near the park entrance. We asked the owner if they like apples and carrots. He kind of smiled and said he didn't know if they would, but that they like peppermint! We tried to go the apple & carrot route, but had no takers. Didn't try anything peppermint. There's a huge pond with fountains on the property. It's quite nice. One of our neighbors trotted off with his rod and reel one day. Don't know if he had any luck. The larger community building has three toilet stalls and three private showers. Two of the showers are small. The larger (for the mobility challenged??) has no hand rails but the larger toilet stall does. The sink area has an outlet on each side, but there's no place to hang your jacket while you wash your hands. Very inconvenient. There is a shuffleboard table, pool table and two video games, as well as a tv. The laundry room has 4 washers and 4 dryers. There's a nice big room with a sweet kitchen for private parties, as well as a lounge area. Someone used it for a Sweet 16 party during our stay. There are no fire rings or picnic tables at any of the sites, and there was no easy route to the community building from our area. We either had to haul all of our laundry gear using the streets, or take the truck. Cutting across someone's site would have been rude but much faster and easier. There is an overflow parking area for guests with more than one vehicle next to the "G" pinwheel. I wish some of the people who were in our pinwheel would have used it, as they parked their extra vehicles so they were partially in the driving lane. One pickup was parked nose-in to the site, but the back of the truck was so far into the driving lane it was hard to get past it. Bad form. The park is close to all the stores and restaurants in Altoona. It's a good location, and it really is a nice place at a decent price. I would definitely recommend it to anyone coming to this area.

    We stay at Griff's regularly when visiting our daughter's family. An A+ in my book. Clean, nice…read moreamenities, best RV bathrooms and showers I've seen anywhere. Open year round. Fair prices. Propane for sale. A couple of reviewers have called the owner rude. Gruff may be closer to the truth, but extremely helpful.

    Photos
    Griff's Valley View - Site

    Site

    Griff's Valley View - Welcome sign

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    Welcome sign

    John 15 Vineyard - All the amenities of a motel but better and quieter.

    John 15 Vineyard

    5.0(2 reviews)
    46.1 mi

    We celebrated our family Christmas here. There were about 20 of us and we had a blast. The first…read morefloor was equipped with a full kitchen and eating area large enough for all of us to sit and eat comfortably. The kids played upstairs while the adults hung out downstairs so was great for the noise level. Fully equipped with free wifi, direct tv and hotel-like amenities (how can you beat a free homemade continental breakfast?) When the kids got restless we went outside and played in the treehouse, walked to the pond and enjoyed the teeter totter. The owners have thought of everything and provided it! We will definitely be back!

    My family and I stayed in the treehouse campground in late May 2016. Kids were 10, 8, 6, and 4…read more The experience was unforgettable for all of us. The kids enjoyed the tent and camping. They enjoyed the vineyard grounds, tire swing, and play area. We also went fishing and caught twelve fish from sunfish to walleye. The campground is supplied with a tank of water for cleaning or other nonpotable uses. There is a ton of firewood with the fire pit. There's a port a potty. Dean and Nancy have thought of everything. Plus, there is NO ONE around. It's your own private Iowa. There is golfing but our kids brought baseball and football stuff. The big area was huge and they filled their days with sport. Glidden is nearby for swimming. Groceries are 15 mins away. We loved our stay was outstanding and we will definitely be back. By the way, Dean and Nancy are phenomenal hosts.

    Photos
    John 15 Vineyard - Huge treehouse

    Huge treehouse

    John 15 Vineyard - A great place for family, social and business events in a quiet country setting.

    A great place for family, social and business events in a quiet country setting.

    John 15 Vineyard - Drop in your line for bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish.

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    Drop in your line for bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish.

    Des Moines West KOA - campgrounds - Updated May 2026

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