Wow, I went to the Springbrook Conservation Education Center yesterday and was amazed. There was a…read moreFly Fishing Cabin Retreat for Fly Tying sponsored by the center as well as by Central Iowa Fly Fishing. We stayed in the dorms and had our meals at the dining hall. It is truly a 4 star lodging compared to my previous experience at other camps in PA, MA, and OK. There are tons to do if you want a break from fly tying-- Atl-atl (spear throwing), archery, trail hiking, plus exploring the lake. I went ice fishing for the first time at the park and it was pretty cool. The dorms are great-- hot water and heat a major plus in addition to linens and bath towels. Dining hall is pretty large and food was pretty good with sticky buns for breakfast, soft tacos for lunch, and fried chicken for dinner. Be sure to check out a weekend stay for their education series. You will not be disappointed.

The park is nice, however the campgrounds are dirty. Site#41 should be unable to reserve. Rude…read morechildren were not watched by parents yelling screaming and running through our campsite. Let the campgrounds host know, they didn't do anything. Bathrooms dirty website is false no store is open. People racing remote cars up and down the sites could not walk around as we normally would. Left early due to all the chaos. Terribly run. Off the list would not go back.

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.

Every time I drive across the country lake Anita state park is an oasis in the prairie lands…read more The camping spaces are lovely, varied in natures offerings and views, the walking paths are full of beautiful flowers and fields of tall grasses that leave one in awe of Iowa's beauty. Anita is a super cute small town packed with charm and this state park is the perfect place to rest and relax and stretch your legs. They have nice basic facilities and a little free library you can peruse. It is a wonderful park and well kept. It's become one of my favorite places in Iowa to visit and my fondness grows each time.

Lake Anita is a nice little campground in southwest Iowa. They have spots with electric hook ups…read morefor RVs or tent and then non electric spots too. It was pretty basic: a lake, playground, basketball court, beach, and docks. Each spot has a fire ring with a cooking grate and picnic table. Every few spots is a water pump. They have several bath houses around the grounds. It was a pretty quiet time, no one was rowdy or too loud, most people kept to themselves. The campground offers wood and fun events like movies each Saturday. Great hosts, easy to find and book!

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.

Quiet place and the owners are very friendly. The pond has fish in it and if your vehicle breaks…read moreyou can work on it here and not get in trouble for working on it.

If you're in the area or driving through and want a peaceful stay with beautiful sunsets and super…read morefriendly hosts this is the place! We stopped in after we had some camper issues and the owner was super friendly, helpful and accommodating! The sites are super easy to get in and out of and there is a nice pond well fed with fish!!

We stayed here on an RV trip across the country. It was a great site. A load of trails and…read morefriendly people everywhere. Also, as you're in the middle of des moines you can get delivery from the town. The tree coverage is very nice and keeps the place cool during the day and the prices are super reasonable. We really enjoyed our stay here and I would suggest it for anyone looking for an RV campsite in or around Des Moines.

It's a wonderful park that has lots of accessible areas and point of picnic, parking areas…read more They have river access, there's a shelter available for rent, end the camping area that accommodates some r v's. I enjoy the park for the birding opportunities that provides. It has an accessible bird viewing area with easy access for wheelchairs. I've seen red headed woodpeckers there , downey , woodpeckers , flycatchers , wobblers , finches , lots of variety. I also enjoy hiking the trail that's next to the bird area.For a wonderful walk into a burr oak forest with many of the trees looking like they're a several hundred plus years old. It's quiet and cool.Because the trail shaded. The other thing of note is that cut the trail wide enough that you can reasonably avoid ticks. I wish they would create a loop on that trail that would end up , so you would know that you've walked a mile or two. Maybe some volunteers could create 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!

The only reason I'm giving this review a one star is because you can't do a zero. They're…read moreadvertisement is very misleading the road in is a dirt road and at the entrance there is a steep grade to the office from there the road is washed out the entrance to our site (4) was completely washed out. We decided not to risk turning our fifth wheel over trying to get into the site. We proceed to leave and had to put our truck in 4 wheel drive to get up and out of the campground nearly turning our camper over. The campground in next to the interstate and the highway noise is terrible. The owners refuse to reimburse our payment. I Do Not recommend this campground!!!

How lucky were we to find this! The county should be really proud of what they've done here. They…read morehave many very affordable sites, our has full hookups and it it cozy and spacious at the same time. The entire park is beautiful and even has a great looking public golf course. Easily reservable online, we were able to line it up same day and pop right into our pull thru spot as soon as we arrived. The is one street light in the campground and I wish it wasn't right next to site 26, but not enough to spoil a perfect evening. As our campfire dwindles in the late evening, we know the memories and appreciation we have will never fade. Thanks to Hamilton county for a truly wonderful park!

Lovely waterfalls Peaceful trails…read moreNot nearly as crowded as Ledges

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