Fort Defiance State Park

A hidden gem in Northwest Iowa. It is Memerial Day Weekend and on Friday night we had one other tent camper on Friday. None on Saturday.

The bathrooms are the old hole going down into a pit. They are very rustic.

There are plenty of trails in the park. The big creek that runs through the kiddos can play in. It is not deep but it’s water. There are some other small little creeks too.

Around the camping area, the kids rode their bikes. We did ride around the roads as a family.

There are permanent fire rings and grills at each site. Only place to get firewood was at Hy-Vee.

Our site had electricity with 50, 30, & 20 amps. The camp sites are dirt/grass.

There is only one water spot in the campground. We drank the water and didn’t die.

There is a golf course next to the park that is fun.

My only real complaint would be there is a lot of people just driving through.

$10 for non electric site
$16 for electric 20/30/50 amp

Fort Defiance is a rustic camper experience which is exactly what we like.

The state park does not have on-site people but only a drop box for the eleven dollar per night payment for electric and six dollars for non-electric. All sixteen sites are arranged in a circle with everyone backing toward the center. The sites are grass with no ‘pads’, not level, and very close together (some fire rings as close as eight feet apart) with no trees between and only a few oaks in the center area of the circle. However, with the extremely few campers who use the park, crowding is usually not an issue.

The campground is in the middle of a dense oak forest with many hiking trails to enjoy. There is considerable elevation change on many of the trails which is due to the river being quite lower than the main area and many of the trails following the beautiful waterways. Actually one of the routes was steep enough we decided not to go on it.

There is a road which dissects the park and is very near the campground. It appears the locals use the state park to transit the area so there is considerable traffic during some times of the day. However, since the speed limit is quite low, the noise is not very intrusive, only the stare of drivers looking to see who is here.

When scouting the area on the Fourth of July we found the tourist campgrounds fifteen miles away were all full. This campground was completely empty. Also talking to the state park representatives we learned this campground is rarely used. The half week we were here in October we found no one else camping (and local people surprised we were there).

Some of the sites (mostly the non-electric) seem to only have room for a tent or two. Our forty foot fifth wheel fit very nicely in three or four of the electric sites. Each site has a fire ring, and picnic table, some with standing height grill as well. The only facilities are a couple vaulted toilets.

If you’re looking for solitude in the woods this is a great place. We plan on using it as our ‘go to’ park when we’re looking for a couple hour range from home.