Lake Ahquabi State Park — Attraction in Indianola

My wife and I were just at lake ahquabi with 7 other campers in our group, and from the get go we get threatened with the dnr for simply doing what others were doing in the campground. It didn't take long to figure out that we were camping in a park with a "good ol boy" society. There were aggressive dogs that chased a small child and snapped at my dog and another dog in our group doing nothing more than walking by their camper. Our last night a few of us guys got our hobby grade rc trucks to do some trails which were great, but at the end of a trail we were stopped by the dnr on duty and told we could not run them on the paved roads to get back to our campsite because they're considered a "child's toy". But there were children on bicycles and hoverboard on the very same paved roads. When my group goes camping we aren't there to break rules, just to have a good relaxing time. To make a long story short, my group of seven different campers agreed we WILL NOT be back to ahquabi! Not to mention the other campers that said the very same thing! Do yourself a favor and save your money to...

Pros: Multiple Electrical pull in/thru sites Modern bathrooms and showers available Cheap fees ($16 elec / $11 non) Most campsites reasonably shady Lake concessions is beach adjacent and rents small watercraft Close to Indianola if you're not a camper or need Wal-mart, Fareway, Caseys, or excellent local restaurants. Lots of mowed shore with benches and shade trees Trails, trails and more trails

Cons: Playground is a short walk from campsite, not far but far enough might prefer driving to it with toddlers and younger. A lot of the non-electrical sites were on varying degrees of slope and some electrical sites are not tent friendly Bathrooms at beach area were horrible, soap was empty, hand dryer was broken, urinal was out of order, handicap stall was a mess and clogged. On a Thursday in late June. No T-Mobile signal except in a few spots by the beach. Verizon, AT&T and US Cellular should have better coverage to at least...

It's a nice place but they really did a number on the campground. Now, it resembles more of a parking lot than a campground...kind of like that song that goes:

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot".

Most of the trees and grass are gone, with giant slabs of concrete in their place. The campsites are nice, though, with brand new fire pits and grills.

You used to be able to go tent camping here for $11 a night, but now there is a flat fee of $20 + $4 to process your credit or debit card. I might have missed it, but I didn't see an option to pay in cash like before.

I really wish they would have left this place alone, because it really was a beautiful campground, but not so much anymore. Thankfully, you still have the lake there and hiking trails, so there is still some natural beauty there that wasn't destroyed...by the Department of Natural Resources or whoever's idea it was to renovate...