America’s Camping Report Card
Iowa
#24 of 43 for camping
Better than 45% of graded states · overall grade B+ — campers like it.
Graded on 7,515 written reviews from Iowa - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- beautiful campground82
- beautiful park72
- lake view56
- beautiful place42
- great location34
What campers warned about
- little shade4
- not much shade3
- afternoon shade loss2
- could use more trees2
- few trees2
- Praised by
- 38.7%
- Warned by
- 2.0%
- Rank
- Better than 12% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.367 (±0.012, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- very clean159
- well maintained136
- clean122
- clean bathrooms84
- well kept71
What campers warned about
- bathrooms not clean5
- grass needed mowing4
- grass overgrown4
- bathrooms not very clean3
- grass not mowed3
- Praised by
- 38.4%
- Warned by
- 6.4%
- Rank
- Better than 86% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.320 (±0.013, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites101
- large sites39
- nice campground23
- great place to camp19
- level site19
What campers warned about
- sites close together14
- sites too close together7
- site not level5
- uneven sites4
- little shade3
- Praised by
- 38.6%
- Warned by
- 9.5%
- Rank
- Better than 67% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.291 (±0.014, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- fishing19
- bike trails16
- hiking trails16
- bike trail access14
- playground for kids14
What campers warned about
- no hiking trails3
- bike trails closed2
- fishing access2
- limited things to do2
- no bike trails2
- Praised by
- 27.7%
- Warned by
- 1.7%
- Rank
- Better than 45% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.260 (±0.011, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly staff73
- friendly people27
- friendly and helpful staff26
- friendly and helpful hosts20
- helpful staff18
What campers warned about
- chewed out for not checking in2
- host not very friendly2
- hosts breaking rules2
- hosts not seen2
- never saw a ranger2
- Praised by
- 21.0%
- Warned by
- 3.0%
- Rank
- Better than 29% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.180 (±0.010, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bathrooms and showers49
- restrooms and showers42
- clean facilities30
- full hookups26
- bathrooms23
What campers warned about
- no full hookups14
- dump station availability6
- no dump station6
- cell service5
- no water hookup5
- Praised by
- 25.3%
- Warned by
- 13.8%
- Rank
- Better than 62% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.115 (±0.013, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet181
- quiet campground80
- very quiet59
- quiet atmosphere51
- quiet and peaceful31
What campers warned about
- sites very close together6
- train noise5
- quiet hours not respected4
- sites close together4
- train noise at night4
- Praised by
- 16.0%
- Warned by
- 7.3%
- Rank
- Better than 50% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.086 (±0.011, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy access21
- close to pella13
- close to town13
- close to home10
- easy to get to10
What campers warned about
- no cell service4
- blacktop roads need repair2
- cell service poor2
- dump slope makes draining hard2
- dump station road angle2
- Praised by
- 8.3%
- Warned by
- 4.6%
- Rank
- Better than 88% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.037 (±0.008, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- inexpensive8
- reasonable price8
- great price7
- good price5
- great value4
What campers warned about
- $20 per night; pricier than nearby campgrounds2
- $12 per day dry site1
- $2 per person to swim1
- $22 per night too high for tenting1
- $5 for 6 pieces of wood1
- Praised by
- 3.7%
- Warned by
- 1.1%
- Rank
- Better than 86% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.026 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- family friendly16
- friendly campers11
- friendly people9
- dog friendly5
- friendly neighbors5
What campers warned about
- felt out of place2
- companion felt uncomfortable1
- disrespectful other campers1
- disrespectful people1
- family-friendly atmosphere undermined1
- Praised by
- 2.6%
- Warned by
- 0.3%
- Rank
- Better than 45% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.024 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- safe9
- safe campground4
- dnr and sheriff patrols2
- felt safe2
- felt safe and secure2
What campers warned about
- aggressive loose dogs2
- no ranger on duty2
- speeding cars / wrong-way traffic2
- stuff stolen from camper2
- afraid of snakes in grass1
- Praised by
- 1.4%
- Warned by
- 2.1%
- Rank
- Better than 71% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.007 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy check-in11
- date correction by phone2
- easy check-in and check-out2
- easy online reserve2
- easy to reserve and stay2
What campers warned about
- b and c sites hard to get2
- check-in confusion2
- construction not disclosed when booking2
- hard to get a reservation2
- weekend spot reserved2
- Praised by
- 1.9%
- Warned by
- 3.1%
- Rank
- Better than 83% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.012 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- alcohol free2
- pet friendly2
- quiet hours enforced2
- 14-day limit waived for medical need1
- alcohol-free, no loud parties1
What campers warned about
- quiet hours not enforced11
- rules not enforced7
- dogs off leash4
- checkout time too early3
- must leave by noon3
- Praised by
- 0.5%
- Warned by
- 3.6%
- Rank
- Better than 55% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.031 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- no mosquitoes2
- barely any bugs1
- birds and critters in the woods1
- bug free1
- bugs under control1
What campers warned about
- lots of bugs5
- lots of ticks4
- falling acorns3
- ticks everywhere3
- very buggy3
- Praised by
- 0.3%
- Warned by
- 4.0%
- Rank
- Better than 81% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.037 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 7,515 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Iowa and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Iowa vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.