Swede Point Park

Unusual regulations that worked for us. No reservations accepted and no time limits for staying. Most of the area campgrounds were solidly booked on the weekends so we took a chance coming in here on a Thursday and found four available sites which we kept through Sunday morning. Some nice fellow campers, regulars for the most part, with a few seasonal campers. Electric only at site with water taps for filling bottles. Mostly oak trees and a long steep trail down to the Des Moines River. Sorry, no pics. We spent our days visiting my son and family, and I caught a touch of bronchitis which kept me inside.

Swede Point Park is very basic RV camping with 16 spaces very close together. Checking is self service and convenient. All spaces are back-in and long enough for trailer and tow vehicle. Pads are gravel and quite level. There are very nice hiking trails that lead down (steeply) to the Des Moines river. About two miles, some on gravel, to the High Trestle bike trail. Once on the trail, the trestle is only about a mile away. There are tent (some with electricity) and group camp sites as well. Very friendly host with clean and well maintained bathrooms and shower facilities. Located in oak hickory forest land. Was quiet at night. There were 4 other RVs on a Thursday evening. There is a playground, sand volleyball and cement basketball area. I liked the quietness and being close to activities. About 4 miles from Madrid with grocery store, gas, fuel, propane and laundry.

We stayed 3 nights with 40’ 5th wheel. Camp host friendly and helpful. 30amp only with 4 sites per pedestal. So lots of cords laying around. Damp Station and several water spigots around the park. Camp ground is at end of road so there is NO road noise which is important to us. There’s about 16 gravel level sites. 8 and 8 backed up to each other. Those sites are all lined up and pretty congested. Plus 6 sites on small grassy hill.
We chose one of two site on the grassy hill that was anywhere level. Took a little work to get the camper level but we were away from the crowd. If you’re going to stay on grassy hill you’ll need lots of electric cord to reach the Electric hook up. No pads on hill just grass. There are two very nice, tucked in the woods tent areas, away from rv spots also.
They’re definitely bigger and nicer parks in the area but we prefer the smaller ones away from the crowds.
Campground is a first come first serve only which can be kind of scary, especially with a big rig but since it was a Friday and we did not have reservations anywhere and we were just traveling through, it was the only campground in the area that had Availability.