Sugar Bottom Campground

Check-in was quick and easy. We proceeded to back-in site 61 with water and electric (50/30/20 AMP). We were one and done on what we thought might be a more difficult back-in, but there was enough level ditch in front to allow an easy swing. Our site was somewhat level, but we did have to put blocks under the passenger-side tires. We could back far enough in our site to park our F-450 in front of our rig at an angle and still put our back deck out. We got 2 bars on Verizon and could put out our Starlink. They have a double-hole dump station that can be accessed in both directions. This large COE has a variety of sites, with the 300 loop being full hook-ups. The sites down by the boat launch have electric only and tent sites. There are shower houses throughout the CG. Compared to other COEs we’ve stayed at, the sites here are closer together. The CG wasn’t full during the week but filled up on the weekend while we were there.

I thought I had hit the jackpot when I was able to book a last minute 65’ site with electric (albeit 30 amp but not complaining) on 4th of July weekend. This is where the excitement ends.

The road into the campground can be a little unnerving if you’re not comfortable with steep inclines as there are 12-15% grades on the drive in.

When we arrived in the campground it was obvious this was ground zero for 4th of July parties. A number of sites had 3-4 tents each with 8-12 people. Roads to the individual sites are tight has well, which the road our site was on had a 180 degree u-turn in it which was impossible to make as the people in the site had a volleyball court set up. When we got to our space there was no electricity running through the post. That said, we left without staying, having to back out all the way to the main road.

Moral of the story: big rigs proceed with caution.

Campgrounds are huge and very busy Our site was great - off the beaten path but still congested and noisy til nighttime. Restrooms/showers were private rooms and quite clean, important since there are no sewer hookups. The older gentleman who checked us in was a complete crab He was not helpful and practically snapped my head off when I asked for a map. We will never go back.

We really like this campground. We pay half price with a golden access pass at federal sites, including this one so normal price is $26 for fhu. On approach, the road is steep at first and quite curvy later as you approach the park. It takes a bit of caution and skill to get to the park, but it is very doable. People come around blind curves so just take things slow and be aware of traffic coming towards you and stay in your lane. The drive is absolutely beautiful, forested and hilly. Don't let the road scare you away from this park, it's not that bad and it is that beautiful.

Inside the park there is a beach that is absolutely wonderful. There are shaded areas with full hookups away from the water, nearer to the dump station and some absolutely gorgeous waterfront sites. There are many sites in between as well that have a water view and are nicely shaded but some are w/e and some are electric only. The 300s where we were at the back away from the water seemed to be all fhu.

AT&T service for us was by far the fastest -- we have 50-75 down and 5-10 up on AT&T. T-mobile was reasonable around 10-15 down and 4-12 up. Sprint/Calyx was a bit more sluggish around 3 down and .5 up. Verizon was surprisingly spotty here with some areas of the park having 20-25 down with .5-2 up and other areas being completely dead zones. We worked easily off of AT&T using the others as backups for streaming and non-essential/non-work stuff with no problems at all.

Partway through our stay a tree branch above us cracked a small amount during a rain storm and started to make a lot of noise like it was going to come down, creaking popping and groaning. We notified the rangers, who came very quickly and moved us to a backup campsite in their camp host area. While not as shaded and not as nice really as where we were, it does not have a big tree above us threatening to damage our RV so we appreciate that. It's also nice to know that campgrounds have some backups for things like this. They will be cutting down that branch.

So many fireflies here at night! They just light up the fields beautifully. The day use area has a disc golf course which is impeccably maintained and some biking trails (concrete, it looks like) that give this park some extra activities. There is a nice kids playground near the entrance to the 300 numbered sites, across from the bathhouse also at that turn.

The park is located close to Solon, which is a small town with a few restaurants, gas stations and has a few small hardware and other stores. In the other direction is North Liberty which has a Walgreens and a CVS and many other stores. Solon is probably 10 minutes away, with the town square being 13 minutes away. That's where a great little mexican restaurant is. North Liberty is ten minutes away the other direction and Iowa City is about 30 minutes away. Within 30 minutes there are many places to get anything you might need, but you also feel remote without actually being super far from things. To us, this makes the location ideal.

This campground has its own boat ramp and beach. 200+ RV sites, some right on the water others with wonderful water views. The entrance into the park is steep with tight curves. We were in #49 with a nice water view. The site had a downward slope resulting in our hitch almost in the gravel to get level. Regardless we’d use this site again. Cell phone access without the booster was 3 for Verizon and 2 for ATT. Great dump station that will handle 4 units at once. There is a centralized garbage collection and recycling bins at the dump station. Firewood is sold on the honor system, 6 pieces/$5.

This campground is very well maintained and although we booked an electric site, we actually had full hook up which is great! Lots of great hiking and near Devonian Fossil Gorge which is really neat and free.

We had one problem when arriving. The 30 amp outlet was melted. They sent a Ranger out that night and it was fully replaced. We have used our surge protectors while here and had no issues.

The roads getting back to camp are a bit challenging but totally doable. Very lovely campground.