Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park

The campground is very flat, excellent for tent or RV. Squirrels and birds are busy all day while possums and coons own the night. Coyotes will be heard in the distance also. Hosts are friendly and helpful. With only 2 flush toilets for women, and 1 flush toilet + urinal for men, as well as a single vault toilet for either, (all are a bit dated) the 21 campsites and 2 shelter houses all must share. 1 shower each for men and women is available. Firewood is $5 for a bundle of 7 sticks. Skies are dark but many trees block except straight up.

We camped out here for the weekend. The campground is one circular lot with I think around 18 spots. Some are basic just for tents and some have water and or electric. The ones on the inside of the circle have more space and are more open but you don't have any privacy. Most spots on the outside of the circle, especially on the north and west sides have more privacy but not as much space. The grounds are well kept with grass while maintained. I hiked on most of the trails in one day. I missed the memorial trail and boardwalk. Home that I walked on will maintained. Some of them are more difficult than others but none of them too strenuous. Note about the lake - Once you get to the parking lot for the lake you'll see nothing but trees. On the east side of the parking lot (next to the state park signage/billboard) there are two trail heads. Take the one on the left. There's a quarter mile hike down to the lake. The way back is mostly uphill. Not too steep, but steep enough you might feel it if you don't do much hiking/walking.

Great place to do the early Halloween event with the kids. I suggest you book your campsite in advance for it. They put on a fun and scary haunted hike through the woods. :) campsite Halloween decorating contest, arts and crafts. The campsites are amazing . They also do weekend programs.

Beautiful campground. The place was literally just us. No one else was really camping here. That being said, do to recent heavy rain the place was full and I mean full of puddles and all kinds bugs. Not the campgrounds fault. But I asked to move to another site under some more shade and away from the puddles which should help w the bugs. After about 3 hours I’m told we can move but it’ll be $4. Are you kidding me?? We were the only ones here and there are only about 4 families coming today. Poor customer service. Not blaming the host, but whomever told him to handle this situation like this is awful js.

We enjoyed a lovely weekend camping with friend in mid-January. The park was quiet with wonderful sunsets. We also enjoyed the many hiking trails.