My family and I stayed here while traveling across the country in our RV. The staff was super…read morepolite, super helpful and very attentive. Our site was great. It was a pull in. We had a fire pit which me and the family made s'mores. They had all the amenities and more they had a pool. They had a hot tub ,playground for the kids and he also had a game an it was walkable two of the restaurants in a short drive or Uber to downtown. . We all had a great experience at this site and I will happily go back again.

We stayed at the cabins here during a desperate trip to cross the country, and the staff was the…read moreabsolute best -- helpful, supportive, and compassionate! We left with renewed strength and peace and made it the rest of the way to our new home! I only wish we had gotten to try the pizza -- it looked amazing!!! I believe it was "Steve" who we owe extra thanks to (sorry if I got the name wrong) on our departure morning -- you made all the difference!

We got in too late to truly enjoy the camping, but we did have a lovely hike in the morning before…read morewe left. The parts of the park we saw were clean and the trails were well maintained. Hopefully we can come back in the future- I feel like there is a lot left to explore!

What a hidden gem of a campground. Beautiful spot. Nice level campsites. I can't wait to come back.read more

This place is awesome and always a destination when we need to touch Ledges State Park is one of…read moreour favorite places to take visitors when we want to show off just how beautiful this part of Iowa really is. It never disappoints. We've spent so much time here exploring, hiking, and driving through the water crossings -- which is always a blast, especially when you accidentally (on purpose) splash water all over the kids waiting nearby. So much fun. I have way too many pictures from this place, and somehow it still feels different every time we go. On our most recent visit, we brought Kim's parents to see the fall colors. We missed peak color by a bit, but honestly, it was still beautiful. Even when it's not at its "perfect" moment, Ledges is still worth the trip. If you want nature, scenery, and a spot that never gets old, this is it

Nestled in the Iowa Central Plains, just north of Des Moines, is a hidden gem called Ledges State…read morePark. Established in 1924, this 100-year-old park has beautiful vegetation and wonderful camping spots. Picking Chris are available for those. They just want to stop in and check out the area for the day. Camping spots are a mixed combination of primitive, electric only, and electric / water,/ sewer combo spaces. Bathrooms include showers and are kept in very neat and clean manner. Reservations for camping can be made online and there are a number of spots that are walk in only. June is definitely their high month so checking out availability ahead of time is recommended There are a number of hiking / running paths in the area that allow for all levels of ability. The park includes a boat ramp to the Des Moines river so bring your fishing poles too. Smaller streams in the area offer little swimming spots and splash pads for kids, but does require parental supervision. Camp spots typically include picnic table firing, and well cleared out area for your equipment. Check park rules for details. Leashed pets are allowed. Nice playground offers a great central meeting area for the kiddies. There are camp hosts on site that will immediately attend to any maintenance issue. Within short distance to some of the most excellent bike paths in Iowa including the famous high trestle bridge and definitely some awesome ice cream parlors at trailhead in small towns. The Iowa Arboretum is a short drive from the campground if you want to see some beautiful Flora and Fauna (there is admission fee). An abundance of aviary wildlife in the area for birdwatchers. Exceptionally quiet and a great spot for stargazers. Don't forget your bug spray!

We used the campground as our base of operations. Easy drive to Pella and to Des Moines. A nice…read morequiet campground and very restful. They have a very nice bathhouse and I would not hesitate to stay again. Even the 3 or so miles of gravel through the fields on either side was nice.

Great RV campsites that over looks the Des Moines River and has a pond w/fountain that is stocked…read moreyearly. New shower house and laundry facilities. If you love to listen to frogs and critter sounds in the night you'll enjoy it here. And YES, we now have Wifi. Well maintained and a very accommodating management team. Quiet with beautiful views of Iowa countryside side yet only minutes from town. Wooded trails, dog friendly and an upcoming dog park. I am a long term HAPPY CAMPER with two happy dogs.

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.

I would say location is nice, because it puts you in proximity to a lot of things. Campground…read moreamenities for the price, is not reasonable at least when I came a few weeks ago. I understand that the pool would not been filled yet, however, still for the price I was a little letdown. The person in the check-in office was nice, respectful, courteous, and prompt. I also did not like that. They charged five dollars a day for a firing that you have to take to your campsite yourself. Being in the middle of a city, it was still pretty quiet for the most part. However, some other long-term campers put large items near the trash cans, which made it look a little gross. The shower house and restrooms were not clean, barely operational. However, they did have constant hot water, which was nice. I gave it a three stars simply because of the location and the person working at the check-in office. The signage could be better and the upkeep and maintenance definitely needs to be improved.

This place is run down. Not maintained. Many sites are rutted and not level. Lots of weeds…read more The picnic tables are all warped and unusable---they are redoing some but even the redone tables are only 'half' redone, which makes no sense. I will not stay here again.

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.

This is one of the greatest areas right at the tip of Saylorville Lake, offering a visitor's…read morecenter, playgrounds, walking and hiking trails, and easy access to the Neal Smith trail. Usually, we park the car over at the visitor center, and walk to wherever we're planning to visit throughout the lake and park area. Our dogs are small and get tired fast, so it's nice to have a centralized area with a lot to do, when they need a break. The visitor center provides access to beverage machines, maps, guides, and rules for the park areas. Off the back of the visitor center is a balcony that overlooks the lake, providing a pretty awesome view through the trees out into the water. Just a short walk northeast from the center is a butterfly garden, which actually lives up to its purpose, and just behind the garden is a heavily wooded area that leads to the beach. There are a ton of benches to sit on along the Neal Smith trail, which leads to more campgrounds, boating, and recreational sites. To the opposite direction is the actual dam, which despite its sometimes foul smell, is a sight to see. You're likely to see a few people fishing off of the dam, or just walking around the many secluded trails to view all parts of the park. Definitely recommend starting your next trip to Saylorville off on this side of the lake.

This is a beautiful camping, fishing, and hiking spot off of Saylorville lake…read more There are plenty of benches and picnic areas to enjoy the scenery and take in the great outdoors!!! There is also great fishing right off of the Dam spillway! With lookout areas if you don't feel like fishing. Beautiful grown trees and winding paths all right outside of Des Moines!!

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.