Tri-State Rodeo — Local services in Fort Madison

We camped for 2 nights over the weekend. This is an excellent location with three 50amp sites and about a dozen 30amp sites. We were able to score the last 50amp site on a summer Saturday late in the day. Most of the 30amp sites were still available. All sites are first come-first served. While I am sure it is more busy for event days, you really can't beat $20 full hookups and our local friends said it was often not busy. There is a lovely park with walking trails, playground and picnic pavilions, as well as a disc golf course that was very fun. No facilities other than a porta-potty. A few trees provide some shaded spots. There is some road noise and a dump across the street so I could see it being smelly on a day the wind blows the wrong direction. We experienced no smell and the road traffic dies down overnight.

Fort Madison is a lovely Mississippi River town with a few cute shops and 2-3 decent local restaurants, as well as the usual supermarkets, fast food and gas options. For train enthusiasts, there is a railroad museum and heavy freight train traffic in town (over 85 trains pass through each day), as well as one of the busiest live streams of railroading on YouTube. There is also an Amtrak stop in town once per day in each direction.

We heard the rodeo is "the thing" each year and it is probably near impossible to score a site during that time unless you have experience or connections (just a guess). Any other time of year you can spend 3-4 days in the area and less than $100 for accommodation, a real value and rewarding experience. We really enjoyed our stay here and recommend to all...

Never again! First time and last. Nothing but young drunk punks everywhere! No security to be found. The police were all in a circle with blondes hanging off them. The dirt was off, every horse was skidding, falling, rolling. The announcers were running their mouths so much and not paying attention that bull riders were out of shoot and seconds went by before they were announced. Then they screwed up another riders town name, I’m not sure if they were drunk or what but it was very unprofessional. Had to wait 20 mins in line for a porta potty with no toilet paper or hand sanitizer. Only positive was the beer prices, they were $7 a beer if you bought in bulk. That’s the only positive other than the staff were amazing and friendly too. We were there on a Saturday night so maybe other nights are better. Don’t think I’ll ever try again. Been to many rodeos and this was a nightmare. Be prepared. Go 2-3 hours before if you don’t want to walk a mile or more. Took 45 mins just to get off the off ramp and go a mile to a spot to park...

My first rodeo, no joke! What an exhilarating experience it was. I was amazed at the amount of adrenaline energy rushing through the horses as they wait for the chute's gate to open. Well organized program, if there were any hiccups they pulled through them with flying colors and fans none the wiser. Lines moved quickly for refreshments and the entry gate. Parking was free but get there early or you may end up walking a mile. Gates opened at 5 giving plenty of time to mill around in and out of the different vendors, grab food, and sign up to enter the various giveaways. If you plan to go and stay for the post-rodeo concert be aware there are gates at the four corners of the arena which open a few minutes before the show and allow fans to rush in, racing to be up front and personal with the performers. We were unprepared/uninformed or we may have tried to get down into the...