Bob Shetler Rec Area, Johnston, IA

Bob Shetler Rec Area in Polk county is located just 16 min west of Ankeny, IA with an elevation of 809 feet. There are a total of 67 campsites. The campground is normally open from the beginning of May to mid October. 61 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 29 and 70 feet. All sites are currently reservable. 61 sites have electric hookups. Fees range from $20.00 to $22.00.

Make a Reservation

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (172)

4.2 out of 5

5 star		48%
4 star		29%
3 star		10%
2 star		8%
1 star		2%

@SharH72E61CFA8 · Camped on Oct 11, 2023 at Campsite #58

This is a beautiful campsite at the base of the dam. We were wishing to bike the Des Moines area trails and after riding a short distance, we were able to connect to the trails leading to Des Moines. Due to the fact it was a rainy day on one of our visits, the distance to Ankeny was a plus. Everyone at the campground were friendly and helpful. Showers and bathrooms. were clean. We will choose this place to stay again.

@PatS5193451 · Camped on Oct 11, 2023 at Campsite #47

We booked site 47 that wasn't easy to get in and out of with our 36 foot 5th wheel. The attendant at the gate suggested we drive across an open segment of grass to park in it and then backed out the same way when we departed. There are several more sites like this. They are the ones closest to the dam. There is no way to tell on the website that they are difficult for longer RVs.

@SandraW9233062 · Camped on Oct 6, 2023 at Campsite #15

Great camp hosts! Too bad our Gov closed So many campgrounds this year - construction didnt need to take all summer! Low bid is not always the best

@RobL6033354 · Camped on Oct 4, 2023 at Campsite #3

They need to crack down on the kids and immature adults with their loud mufflers racing back and forth past the campground. It can be a nice evening and then have to listen to the constant noise pollution from the idiots and their wanna be race cars constantly going back and forth.

@PaulH7895659 · Camped on Oct 3, 2023 at Campsite #54

Nice area close to town to get supplies. Plenty to do and quiet

@TomS3186246 · Camped on Sep 26, 2023 at Campsite #52

Some folks might freak out realizing they are camping at the bottom of a dam with millions of gallons of water, far above your camping level. I was OK with it, I got to sleep OK. The navigation of the park was weird. The dump and fresh water was at the rear of the campground. If you don't have water you should go there first to fill or dump. If you go to your campsite first, the roads are one way, arranged so you'll have to leave the campground and come back in the entrance to access the water/dump site at the rear of the campground. At the end of your stay, to dump you'll have to exit the campground and enter again to get access to the dump in the rear of the campground. It's a weird arrangement, poorly engineered by COE, IMO. Other than that, the park was clean and quite, very quiet. The access streets to get to the park are a bit long and twist from the interstate. The signage isn't good IMO, needs to be improved coming from both directions, west side and east side entrance routes.

@DennisS6139880 · Camped on Sep 26, 2023 at Campsite #3

Dump station is not level

@KathyB2100069 · Camped on Sep 25, 2023 at Campsite #16

We had a very good stay at Bob Shetler. We stayed in site #16, which has a concrete pad, which is super nice! The only reason we gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars was because the concrete at the dump station leans slightly away from the drain instead of toward the drain!! Which makes it harder to completely drain your holding tanks!!

@SteveM7756642 · Camped on Sep 25, 2023 at Campsite #57

Camping at Bob Shetler was generally a very good experience. Sites are spacious. We hope to come back again. Shower building did not appear to have been cleaned every day, but was clean enough.

@CyndiM9CAEEF38 · Camped on Sep 19, 2023 at Campsite #62

Very nice, clean & comfortable.

@RobertB6182770 · Camped on Sep 14, 2023 at Campsite #51

Very quiet and peaceful to camp here.

@DonaldT1196485 · Camped on Sep 11, 2023 at Campsite #4

Who ever was supposed to police sites after people left didn't do it. Our site when we arrived the fire pit was full of junk. The restroom building never got cleaned properly. There was a hair ball in the shower for over a week. Dirty sinks and trash on the floors.

@CherieBE43C7DC · Camped on Sep 11, 2023 at Campsite #53

Nice facilities but felt out of place in a tent. Could stake it on the pad.

@RobertH1222975 · Camped on Sep 10, 2023 at Campsite #55

Very poor water fill & dump site situation. Needs to add water fill places and dump site slopes away steeply making it impossible to complete drain tanks. Host was very good & facilities were clean.

@BrettI93043AB8 · Camped on Sep 8, 2023 at Campsite #40

Nice camp grounds. Could have someone fill in the holes in campground before someone breaks an ankle

@LeRoyH7F9F2D85 · Camped on Sep 6, 2023 at Campsite #9

Enjoyed several days of quiet camping in the southwest section sites 2-11. I'll be back to Bob Shetler Rec Area in 2025 after their facility upgrades.

@JoeM4444950 · Camped on Sep 5, 2023 at Campsite #39

Perfect

@JeanT2574130 · Camped on Sep 5, 2023 at Campsite #6

Our site had very crowded pull through sites with construction. Dusty and loud. It would have been nice to know about construction when booking.

@JeffreyJ698559 · Camped on Sep 4, 2023 at Campsite #46

grass not mowed, rest rooms dirty, toilet paper rough like sand paper and some sites had 4 and 5 vehicles was there for 14 days and a ranger drove thru once. campground hosts have 6 spaces in first row and use 3 sites and put orange cones in the other 3 sites for family and friends to use most time they sit empty. looks like your loosing money on these sites because they sit empty with a cone in front of them

@ForrestJ45F86F · Camped on Sep 3, 2023 at Campsite #12

Quiet site as we wanted. Facilities were all good. We enjoyed a brief visit and thought the grounds were great, welcoming and safe.

@JanetP1353317 · Camped on Aug 29, 2023 at Campsite #12

What an excellent campground! We enjoyed the area and the bike trails are amazing. I especially liked the butterfly garden. We were only there for a couple days and wish we had more time there. Site are nice and big. Quiet and relaxing.

@DianaP6305911 · Camped on Aug 28, 2023 at Campsite #5

Check in volunteers were great but the custodial help was not so great. I don't even think the public bathrooms were clean every day lucky if it was done one time if any. I was not happy about walking down to the spill way as a lot of the fisherman there left there dead bait on the sidewalks and grass. It was very disgusting. I used to like camping there but, won't be back there.

@JeffB8180041 · Camped on Aug 27, 2023 at Campsite #43

Great flat sites and easy access to the bike trail. No view of the water.

@DeborahH212620 · Camped on Aug 23, 2023 at Campsite #50

Large campsites! Great looking lake but could only see it when we drove out of the campground. Grass was way too long.

@MarciaDF92784A · Camped on Aug 22, 2023 at Campsite #5

Level site, clean bathrooms and shower house with hot water and decent water pressure. Convenient location. Would stay here again.

See other campgrounds near Johnston, IA with availability Tonight
See other campgrounds near Johnston, IA with availability This Weekend

Other Campgrounds Nearby

We track all the sites so you don't have to.

13

Reservation Systems

Campsites Tracking

Available Tonight

Available this Weekend

Cancellations Today

PRO $2.50/month

You're in Control. We never save credit card information or auto-renew subscriptions.

Availability Map Search
3000+ Interactive Campground Maps
Campground Virtual Tours
Save Your Favorite Campsites
Favorite Campsites Availability
Campground Mobile Speed Test Maps
National Parks, Forests & Ranger District Layers
Wildfires & Air Quality Map Layer
Satellite View Map Layer
Campsite SMS Cancellation Alerts
Rent your Property & Cabins
Love's & Super Walmart Map Layers
Cracker Barrel & Bass Pro Shop Map Layers
Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) Layer
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Map Layer
RV Propane, Parking, Dump, Water Map Layer

Pro is FREE for 7 days. (No credit card information required!)

Thanks to all our Supporting Members

@BranJen - Santa Clara, CA

I wanted to thank you for this site and especially for the notifications feature. Thanks to your site and my subscription I was able to book a campsite I've been annoyingly trying to book for 5 years unsuccessfully. So thank you.

@Wondering - Oregon

Wow! Woke up this morning to a notification that a favorite had opened at Paulina, and when I went to check, it was there. This membership just paid for itself in the first 24 hours I owned it. Couldn't take the site it conflicted with a trip already set, but it truly was there. Thanks Tons.

@CarlaLThompson - Colorado

I just love this site and I tell everyone about it! It's so competitive to secure desired campsites and the alerts really help track when sites free up. The best part of this story is our alert notified a cancellation the next day!!!!!! Just incredible!!!