Lake Pahoja Recreation Area

We stayed at several campgrounds on our most recent road trip, but this one blew the rest out of the water! It is absolutely gorgeous. They have a couple playgrounds for the little ones, a boat launch, a beach, very adequate bathrooms, and a paved walking/running trail that surrounds the lake. They do not have a reservation system - it's first come first serve. It wasn't an issue for us because we were there after Labor Day, but I wouldn't be surprised if they fill up on summer weekends.

This is a great park on a small lake in rural Iowa, not far from South Dakota.

There are a handful of full hookup sites (64-71) and a large number of electric only sites. The electric only sites are first come first serve. I'm not 100% sure on the full hookup sites. Rates for the electric only sites are $20 per night. The sites are very large and well shaded. I can't speak for the bathrooms/showers in the west loop, but the ones in the east loop appear to be fairly new and well maintained. Each room has its own shower, toilet, sink, and changing area.

In addition to camping, the park has playgrounds, picnic shelters, a beach, volleyball courts and a basketball court. They also have several rental cabins along the lake.

The local state parks in the area take reservations and fill up fast. It's hard to get reservations a few weeks in advance. Since Lake Pahoja is first come first serve it's well visited by local campers with last minute plans. Because of this, I'd advise arriving mid-week if you want to camp the weekend.

Even on a busy summer weekend, everyone was very respectful of each other and we didn't have any noise issues.

Stayed for 2 nights to test out our new trailer. Really nice county park set on a pretty, quiet no motor lake. Park is really well maintained. Sites are nicely spaced. Probably only 35% of sites can handle Big rigs. Only about a dozen have elec + water. The rest are electric only. 30 and 50 amp. Dump station. Bathrooms are nice, private suite style that are spacious and clean. Very nice manicured beach and swim area. Many locations for fishing from shore. 3+ mile paved walking trail around the lake. Nice kids playground. Disc golf. This park really has it all. No reservations. FCFS only.

Our nightly rate includes a $5 a day County Park fee. There are electrical hookups at all sites. Also, a water spigot was only 2 hose sections away, and we were able to top off in place. A single RV dump station is conveniently located on the right as you exit the campground. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. All encountered staff were friendly and accommodating. Very quiet surroundings with mature trees.

We may have had one of the best sites in the park, as it was very spacious with a view of the lake. However, we could have done without the overhead flood light on the pole beside our site. Thank goodness it wasn’t too bright.

We chose this park in large part because it has a small 70 acre lake. However, the shallow lake is too full of weeds to really have been much fun. I wouldn’t swim in it, and I didn’t see a tight line all day observing the few fisherman we saw. Also, launching our new fiberglass canoe was a challenge to not scratch up the boat on one of the many rocks thrown about the shore.

We found no recycling binds. As this park is close to a larger urban area, we saw some rigs parked in sites and locked up during the week. I'm guessing that some families are willing to pay the daily fee, but only come out on the weekends.

I’d have to agree with all points made by both of the previous 2021 reviewers. I want to add one observation. We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon in June for a quick overnight and many of the sites (all FCFS) were already taken. By taken I mean a tag on the post and a tent bag on the picnic table. This must be a popular destination for locals. It is after all a nice county campground.