As two southeast Iowa state parks are closed for renovations this summer, an influx of campers have come to Lake Darling State Park.
Park Ranger Zach Haworth comments on this summer’s attendance, “The campground this year has been extremely busy. I would have anticipated it being busy regardless, but I think we’re also seeing an influx of folks coming to the park with Geode State Park being down as well as Lacey-Keosauqua being down. We’ve been full every weekend with regards to our electrical and full hookup campsites. Those have been full every weekend since Memorial Day and those tend to fill up rather quickly throughout the week. It’s very, very uncommon for us to have any open electric sites on Friday. Most folks are having to come out on Wednesday and Thursday to get those sites on the weekend.”
Haworth says some nonelectrical sites are typically open on the weekends. Some campsites are reservable for up to three months in advance, whereas others are simply first-come, first-serve. Reservable sites are marked by white signs with red writing, and there are volunteer campground hosts available to assist visitors with the registration process, which Haworth says they are grateful to have some valuable hosts this year. For more information on Lake Darling’s campgrounds or how to become a volunteer, click here.