Sugar Bottom Campground

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Our Review – Photo Gallery

We originally planned to stay at Sugar Bottom Campground to have full hook-ups after a couple weeks of moochdocking in Kalona and to visit some friends in North Liberty. Although we ended up at the Kalona Park instead of moochdocking, we were still excited to have full hook-ups to catch up on some laundry. Side note – The Kalona Park has power and water at the sites, but there is only a dump station.

Much to our surprise upon arriving at the site we reserved, it was a power only site! AKA it had LESS hook-ups than we had at Kalona Park. It was definitely our error when making the reservation because the campground does have a handful of full hook-up sites, unfortunately for us there weren’t any available for the duration of our planned stay. Thankfully, we had our Ivy Bag Portable Water Bladder. This made it much easier, as Matt was able to refill our freshwater tank when he dumped our tanks with our Camco Rhino RV Tote Tank. This occurred almost everyday since we decided to catch up on laundry anyway (Gesen tries to avoid the laundromat as much as possible). At what age do children stop going through 2-5 outfits per day? In the future, we will pay much closer attention to the site details prior to making a reservation – in addition to the limited hook-ups, the site we reserved was extremely unlevel and barely long enough to fit both the truck and the RV.

We still enjoyed our time at this beautiful campground and had lots of fun exploring the huge recreation area! We loved the lake views and the bike trails. The nearby bike trails made for some fun bike rides with Keahi on his Shotgun seat. The boys had a ton of fun playing at the playground and beach. We were very grateful for our Clam Quick-Set Pavilion because it enabled Matt to work outside most days without being completely overrun by the gnats. It also allowed Gesen to play outside with the boys on a rainy afternoon without getting soaked. Unfortunately, the boys got sick during our stay so we tried to stay away from other kids. This was more challenging on the weekend because the Sugar Bottom Campground was packed! Thankfully there were several different playgrounds, so we were able to go to one without other kids around.

The road to get into the campground has some intense hills. Be prepared! We were not and the truck definitely felt it once we got into the campground. There are a few switchbacks, which made it more strenuous. Having such a long rig required us to go in the opposing lane, but thankfully Matt was able to look far enough ahead to ensure that there wasn’t any oncoming traffic. Don’t rush to get to your campsite, there are several hills with tight turns which could easily turn into a disaster if rushed.

But did She LIKE it?

Overall yes, it was a beautiful campground with a lot to see and do. The boys were easily entertained and had plenty of room to explore. The gnats and biting flies were a bit annoying, but overall we had a really great time. Next time we stay there, it would be extra fun if we could get out on the water. Having such a beautiful place to stay in nature with a less than 30 minute drive to Costco, was amazing. It was also amazing that they had private showers! I was able to take the boys mini pool, so they could have a bath and I could have a shower at the same time. I didn’t have to worry about them running away or causing an embarrassing scene, because I could lock the door. Although I grew up in Iowa going to this kind of “beach,” the time I spent at real beaches in Maui definitely ruined the experience for me. The boys wanted to swim in the lake, so we went, but YIKES was it slimy and so very gross! I was on high alert trying to prevent them from drinking the water and putting the sand sludge in their mouths. If you are squeamish and/or unfamiliar with slimy lake water beaches, you probably want to stay away from the shorelines at this campground.

But did He LIKE it?

Overall yes, the main downside was the morning dump and water fill ups. If we did our due diligence and properly looked at the sites when we made the reservation, I would’ve enjoyed the stay a lot more. We had a gorgeous view of the lake and a big yard for the kids to play outside in. The mountain bike trails was my favorite part! I was able to take Keahi and Autumn out once or twice on the weekends, depending on the weather.

Activities we enjoyed outside the park:

Penn Meadows Park North Splash Pad – the boys had so much fun! Keahi kept running back and forth between the playground equipment and the splash pad. It was such a short drive from the campground, if they would have been feeling better we definitely would have gone there more frequently during our stay (we were only able to go one time after the boys recovered).

Our Review: