Nestled in the rolling hills of southeastern Iowa, the River Valley Lodge and Campground is a second home for campers and horseback riders. The campground is located in Farmington, Iowa, which is one of the historic villages in Van Buren county. It has a population of 756 and is home to an annual strawberry festival that is held in June. Farmington is about 20 miles away from the nearest recognizable town in Missouri and borders the Des Moines River.
Here's about how long it takes to get to Farmington from some major Midwest cities:
Des Moines, IA - 145 miles, 2 hours and 30 minutes
Minneapolis, MN - 385 miles, 5 hours and 45 minutes
Rochester, MN - 280 miles, 4 hours and 40 minutes
La Crosse, WI - 265 miles, 4 hours and 50 minutes
Madison, WI - 275 miles, 4 hours and 25 minutes
Milwaukee, WI - 325 miles, 5 hours and 10 minutes
Chicago, IL - 285 miles, 4 hours and 35 minutes
Rockford, IL - 235 miles, 4 hours
Kansas City, MO - 235 miles, 4 hours
Springfield, MO - 315 miles, 5 hours 3 minutes
Columbia, MO - 175 miles, 3 hours
Wichita, KS - 435 miles, 6 hours and 40 minutes
Omaha, NE - 285 miles, 4 hours and 30 minutes
Lincoln, NE - 330 miles, 5 hours and 15 minutes
North Platte, NE - 555 miles, 8 hours and 15 minutes
Sioux Falls, SD - 430 miles, 6 hours and 30 minutes
Pierre, SD - 646 miles, 9 hours and 35 minutes
Bismarck, ND - 810 miles, 11 hours and 40 minutes
The River Valley Lodge and Campground is about one mile from Farmington. When you drive in, there will be a sign to greet you and direct you to the office. You can pay inside the office, and they will give you directions to your campsite.
There are three different types of camping allowed at the River Valley. If you don't want to rough it and if you like air conditioning, there is a bunkhouse or a cabin that is available for rent.
The bunkhouse is actually an old schoolhouse and still has the chalkboard inside. Six people or even more can fit inside. Just bring sleeping bags, pillows, and dishes as a small refrigerator and a microwave are available. One stall comes in the fee with the bunkhouse. $100 per night is the fee. Outside, there is also a bell, as pictured below, and signs that will help you find your way to other buildings. This would be a great place for a family to sleep.
For a single person or two people, the cabin is another housing option for the stay. It's a beautiful, wooden cabin right near all the amenities you'll need like the bathroom, office, and horse barn. You'll have to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, and dishes for the microwave and mini-fridge. This option is less expensive than the bunkhouse at $75 per night, with a horse stall included.
If you have your own camper, there are also 50 campsites with electrical hookup that comes with electricity, water, a picnic table, and a fire pit. One stall is included with the campsite. One of the lodge owners told me that the campsites can fill up fast, so I would suggest planning ahead. The electric campsites cost $25 except on Friday and Saturday, where they are $30.
Lastly, for the real troopers, there's primitive camping. This is what my group did. The lodge owner told me that primitive campsites are always open. They're $15 a night, and I recommend that you all try pitching a tent and sleeping on the ground like a true cowboy!
For the horses, there's also a couple of options. You can rent a covered stall for $5 except on Friday and Saturday when it is $8. If you have two horses that get along, you can put them in one stall. Otherwise, you can get four 20 by 30 foot pens for $10. The high ties are free. You'll just want to make sure that your halter is tight and your knot is secure, as our horses did escape once on the first night!
I also want to mention that the campground does not enforce generator laws. I found this out when my group was somehow thought to be in another group, and our groups were placed together on one campsite. One gal had a horse trailer and ran a generator all night. I went up to the office to see if there was anything we could do, and while the lodge owner apologized for the mistake and offered to move us in the morning, I do wonder how we got paired with this group, as we reserved a campsite for just the three of us, but people do make mistakes.
The office, bathroom, lodge, wash house, and playground are all located in a circle where you first pull in. It's a nice layout, and we found it easy to access, even in the middle of the night when a bathroom break was needed.
Your first stop will be the office, where you check in and pay. Every time I went into the office, the owner was there, day and evening. You will be assigned your campsite from there and given directions to it. The office also offers brochures about the River Valley Lodge and a map of the trails, including the ones leading into the Shimek Forest. The map was somewhat difficult to read, but we managed. Also, I noticed in the office that they did ask for you to report any mountain lion sightings, something to keep in mind while riding on the trail.
Beside the office is the lodge, which is a very elegant place used to hold conferences, weddings, or any other special events. I cannot say enough about the beauty of this building, especially the inside. It would have no problem seating many people. The weekend we were there, a wedding did take place, and the happy couple was escorted out in a horse drawn carriage. Very romantic for any horse lover!
Kids will not be disappointed with the amenities either. River Valley has plenty of places for kids to play, including a typical playground by the lodge and the Injun Fort, which has places to climb and play Cowboys vs. Indians! For younger kids, there is a carousel outside of the lodge that I believe takes some change for a ride.
Although we did not make use of this amenity, a washroom with a washer and dryer is also available. I think it is coin operated, and it sure is nice if your clothes get wet from rain during the night or if you are planning on staying for a while and need to wash some clothing.
The bathrooms were, by far, the best amenity that River Valley had for its campers. It was, hands down, the best bathroom I have ever seen at a campsite. There is a big counter with two nice sinks and a mirror to the right when you walk in the door. There's also a hand dryer. To the left is a ledge that you can put your things on, and farther into the bathroom are the bathroom stalls and a large mirror. At the end of the bathroom are the shower stalls. There are three of them, if I remember right, and one is a handicap accessible shower stall. The bathroom is very clean and is also heated. I felt like I was at a hotel whenever I stepped in.
The decorations in the bathroom were also astounding, and I felt as I was actually out west. Besides the cute little sign (see picture), there was a boot stuffed with flowers (see picture) and a few other western decorations. These people thought of everything! Actually, in every building at River Valley, the interior design and thoughtfulness to aesthetics was amazing.
For riding, there were two arenas that were available and an obstacle course, which I unfortunately did not get any pictures of. There was plenty of room to warm your horse up before hitting the trails. The obstacle course was very challenging, and I was proud that Rusty and I completed most parts of it. I think the biggest hit was the teeter totter, which Rusty did go over once. When the bridge went down, Rusty froze and later, my friends kept telling me how big his eyes got! There was also a wooden post that was attached to a rope that you could pull behind your horse. We did that one, too. Then there was a narrow bridge and an awning that had ribbons covering it that you had to walk your horse through. Those were no problems - thankfully Rusty is not a spooky horse. Then, you could either go and step through the tires, which I did not do, or go to the drop and up, which was similar to what you would see on a cross-country course. Danielle and Brea both completed the drop and up, as Danielle is an experienced cross-country rider and Brea is a talented daredevil that went bareback the entire ride. Rusty got to the edge of the bank (and I'm in my western saddle, mind you), and suddenly LEAPED off of it, nearly throwing me up of the saddle. Needless to say, I didn't try going up. Once you did that, you got to go down to the pond and get your horse through the water, which has never been a problem for Rusty.
The arenas were both large, and one actually had a barrel pattern set up. I think there were also bending poles you could put out, and there was an obstacle that was similar to a door frame that you could walk through. In one of the arenas on Saturday night, a drill team performed, and I have this slideshow from a video I took.
We got to River Valley about six p.m. on Friday night and set up camp with the people who were also at the campsite - that was the mistake that the office made. They were pretty nice, though, and welcomed us to the campfire, and we shared food both nights we were there. On Saturday morning, we hit the trails with this group, who liked to take things at quite a fast pace. They headed right into the Shimek Forest and off of the River Valley trails, so most of my pictures are of the Shimek Forest.
Most of the time, you are not really in the sunlight because you are in the forest. I would not recommend the trails out in the Shimek Forest to novice riders. There are far too many steep hills and narrow trails. Also, there are a couple of gullies out there that can scare the pan
ts off riders that are not used to riding down steep areas. Riders that are afraid of getting lost should either ride with people who know the area or find a good map - you can and will be lost. In most places, the trails are dirt or grass, but there are some rocky areas where tenderfoot horses might appreciate shoes. None of our horses were shod and were fine, but their feet were a little chipped after our ride from the rocky spots. A lot of the people we rode with were riding inexperienced horses. This is quite a challenge for an inexperienced horse and will definitely provide lots of new experiences.
When going out for a ride, I recommend packing an extra coat, a rain coat, food, a high-tie rope, a halter and lead, and water. You could be stuck out there all day, and just in case you need to rest or eat, it would be appropriate to bring these items along. In the summer, I'm guessing bug spray, sunscreen, fly spray, and even a riding fly mask (Cashel makes them) would also be helpful. It would also be wise to bring along a first aid kit, a compass, and your cell phone. The cell reception was fairly good in places.
We did not come across any water crossings out in the Shimek Forest. There were many creek beds that were dried up, showing that the last two summers of drought have affected southern Iowa. However, there were a few muddy areas, especially on the downhills, and it was important to take special note to those. No shoes were sucked off in the mud, though, so it wasn't that bad. The leaves were not yet turning color, even though we went at the end of October. There was plenty of foliage to observe. There was brier deep in the forest, and I'm sure there was plenty of poison ivy, too, so I would recommend being careful where you stop or take a potty break.
One of the biggest hits of the Shimek Forest is something that was called the Bra Tree. When our camp-mates were telling us about it, I was sure that it wasn't real. But sure enough, it exists somewhere out in the Shimek Forest. Legend has it that there is another Bra Tree out there as well, where hundreds of bras are displayed on a trunk. This one had less than ten; it also had some underwear.
The other legend in the Shimek Forest is the Lonesome Dove sign. The group we rode with found the sign the next day, when we did not ride with them. Lonesome Dove was a western show that was quite popular. One of the guys we rode with had a picture of the sign and showed us, so it definitely exists!
One of the most special things about the River Valley that we got to experience was the cowboy church that was held on Sunday morning up by the north arena. It was a small gathering of people. The person who delivered the message was not a minister but had been delivering the message for cowboy church countless times. He read out of the Cowboy Bible, and there were handouts of the book for everyone to take home with them. The message was simple and easy to relate to. Best of all, it served any denomination - Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, etc. It was truly a blessed experience.
After church, it was a great time to ride into town and get breakfast. Farmington is only a mile away from the campground and is horse friendly. There os a restaurant that is open for breakfast, a bar, a grocery store, and several small businesses. There are quite a few nearby hitching posts, and the town is small enough that you don't have to hassle with vehicles or semis.
All in all, the River Valley Lodge and Campground is an experience that will not disappoint. My friends and I want to go back this next summer and fall for another fun-filled adventure. If you're looking for a family-friendly campground, River Valley would suit your interests well. If you have any additional questions about this ride, please feel free to comment below! Also, here is the website to the River Valley Lodge and Campground:
http://www.rivervalleylodgeandcampground.com/
Here are some more pictures that were taken from the ride. The horses in the pictures are Rusty (the red dun, my horse), Sunny (the chestnut Saddlebred), and Kenyon (the gray Arabian/Trakehner corss). Brea, the redhead, owns Sunny and is the one that rode bareback. Danielle, the brunette, owns Kenyon and rode in her cross-country saddle the entire six hour ride! And I'm the blond.
Here's about how long it takes to get to Farmington from some major Midwest cities:
Des Moines, IA - 145 miles, 2 hours and 30 minutes
Minneapolis, MN - 385 miles, 5 hours and 45 minutes
Rochester, MN - 280 miles, 4 hours and 40 minutes
La Crosse, WI - 265 miles, 4 hours and 50 minutes
Madison, WI - 275 miles, 4 hours and 25 minutes
Milwaukee, WI - 325 miles, 5 hours and 10 minutes
Chicago, IL - 285 miles, 4 hours and 35 minutes
Rockford, IL - 235 miles, 4 hours
Kansas City, MO - 235 miles, 4 hours
Springfield, MO - 315 miles, 5 hours 3 minutes
Columbia, MO - 175 miles, 3 hours
Wichita, KS - 435 miles, 6 hours and 40 minutes
Omaha, NE - 285 miles, 4 hours and 30 minutes
Lincoln, NE - 330 miles, 5 hours and 15 minutes
North Platte, NE - 555 miles, 8 hours and 15 minutes
Sioux Falls, SD - 430 miles, 6 hours and 30 minutes
Pierre, SD - 646 miles, 9 hours and 35 minutes
Bismarck, ND - 810 miles, 11 hours and 40 minutes
The River Valley Lodge and Campground is about one mile from Farmington. When you drive in, there will be a sign to greet you and direct you to the office. You can pay inside the office, and they will give you directions to your campsite.
There are three different types of camping allowed at the River Valley. If you don't want to rough it and if you like air conditioning, there is a bunkhouse or a cabin that is available for rent.
The bunkhouse is actually an old schoolhouse and still has the chalkboard inside. Six people or even more can fit inside. Just bring sleeping bags, pillows, and dishes as a small refrigerator and a microwave are available. One stall comes in the fee with the bunkhouse. $100 per night is the fee. Outside, there is also a bell, as pictured below, and signs that will help you find your way to other buildings. This would be a great place for a family to sleep.If you have your own camper, there are also 50 campsites with electrical hookup that comes with electricity, water, a picnic table, and a fire pit. One stall is included with the campsite. One of the lodge owners told me that the campsites can fill up fast, so I would suggest planning ahead. The electric campsites cost $25 except on Friday and Saturday, where they are $30.
Lastly, for the real troopers, there's primitive camping. This is what my group did. The lodge owner told me that primitive campsites are always open. They're $15 a night, and I recommend that you all try pitching a tent and sleeping on the ground like a true cowboy!
For the horses, there's also a couple of options. You can rent a covered stall for $5 except on Friday and Saturday when it is $8. If you have two horses that get along, you can put them in one stall. Otherwise, you can get four 20 by 30 foot pens for $10. The high ties are free. You'll just want to make sure that your halter is tight and your knot is secure, as our horses did escape once on the first night! I also want to mention that the campground does not enforce generator laws. I found this out when my group was somehow thought to be in another group, and our groups were placed together on one campsite. One gal had a horse trailer and ran a generator all night. I went up to the office to see if there was anything we could do, and while the lodge owner apologized for the mistake and offered to move us in the morning, I do wonder how we got paired with this group, as we reserved a campsite for just the three of us, but people do make mistakes.The office, bathroom, lodge, wash house, and playground are all located in a circle where you first pull in. It's a nice layout, and we found it easy to access, even in the middle of the night when a bathroom break was needed.
Your first stop will be the office, where you check in and pay. Every time I went into the office, the owner was there, day and evening. You will be assigned your campsite from there and given directions to it. The office also offers brochures about the River Valley Lodge and a map of the trails, including the ones leading into the Shimek Forest. The map was somewhat difficult to read, but we managed. Also, I noticed in the office that they did ask for you to report any mountain lion sightings, something to keep in mind while riding on the trail. Beside the office is the lodge, which is a very elegant place used to hold conferences, weddings, or any other special events. I cannot say enough about the beauty of this building, especially the inside. It would have no problem seating many people. The weekend we were there, a wedding did take place, and the happy couple was escorted out in a horse drawn carriage. Very romantic for any horse lover! Kids will not be disappointed with the amenities either. River Valley has plenty of places for kids to play, including a typical playground by the lodge and the Injun Fort, which has places to climb and play Cowboys vs. Indians! For younger kids, there is a carousel outside of the lodge that I believe takes some change for a ride. Although we did not make use of this amenity, a washroom with a washer and dryer is also available. I think it is coin operated, and it sure is nice if your clothes get wet from rain during the night or if you are planning on staying for a while and need to wash some clothing.The bathrooms were, by far, the best amenity that River Valley had for its campers. It was, hands down, the best bathroom I have ever seen at a campsite. There is a big counter with two nice sinks and a mirror to the right when you walk in the door. There's also a hand dryer. To the left is a ledge that you can put your things on, and farther into the bathroom are the bathroom stalls and a large mirror. At the end of the bathroom are the shower stalls. There are three of them, if I remember right, and one is a handicap accessible shower stall. The bathroom is very clean and is also heated. I felt like I was at a hotel whenever I stepped in.The decorations in the bathroom were also astounding, and I felt as I was actually out west. Besides the cute little sign (see picture), there was a boot stuffed with flowers (see picture) and a few other western decorations. These people thought of everything! Actually, in every building at River Valley, the interior design and thoughtfulness to aesthetics was amazing.
The arenas were both large, and one actually had a barrel pattern set up. I think there were also bending poles you could put out, and there was an obstacle that was similar to a door frame that you could walk through. In one of the arenas on Saturday night, a drill team performed, and I have this slideshow from a video I took.
We got to River Valley about six p.m. on Friday night and set up camp with the people who were also at the campsite - that was the mistake that the office made. They were pretty nice, though, and welcomed us to the campfire, and we shared food both nights we were there. On Saturday morning, we hit the trails with this group, who liked to take things at quite a fast pace. They headed right into the Shimek Forest and off of the River Valley trails, so most of my pictures are of the Shimek Forest.
Most of the time, you are not really in the sunlight because you are in the forest. I would not recommend the trails out in the Shimek Forest to novice riders. There are far too many steep hills and narrow trails. Also, there are a couple of gullies out there that can scare the pants off riders that are not used to riding down steep areas. Riders that are afraid of getting lost should either ride with people who know the area or find a good map - you can and will be lost. In most places, the trails are dirt or grass, but there are some rocky areas where tenderfoot horses might appreciate shoes. None of our horses were shod and were fine, but their feet were a little chipped after our ride from the rocky spots. A lot of the people we rode with were riding inexperienced horses. This is quite a challenge for an inexperienced horse and will definitely provide lots of new experiences.
When going out for a ride, I recommend packing an extra coat, a rain coat, food, a high-tie rope, a halter and lead, and water. You could be stuck out there all day, and just in case you need to rest or eat, it would be appropriate to bring these items along. In the summer, I'm guessing bug spray, sunscreen, fly spray, and even a riding fly mask (Cashel makes them) would also be helpful. It would also be wise to bring along a first aid kit, a compass, and your cell phone. The cell reception was fairly good in places.
We did not come across any water crossings out in the Shimek Forest. There were many creek beds that were dried up, showing that the last two summers of drought have affected southern Iowa. However, there were a few muddy areas, especially on the downhills, and it was important to take special note to those. No shoes were sucked off in the mud, though, so it wasn't that bad. The leaves were not yet turning color, even though we went at the end of October. There was plenty of foliage to observe. There was brier deep in the forest, and I'm sure there was plenty of poison ivy, too, so I would recommend being careful where you stop or take a potty break.One of the biggest hits of the Shimek Forest is something that was called the Bra Tree. When our camp-mates were telling us about it, I was sure that it wasn't real. But sure enough, it exists somewhere out in the Shimek Forest. Legend has it that there is another Bra Tree out there as well, where hundreds of bras are displayed on a trunk. This one had less than ten; it also had some underwear.
One of the most special things about the River Valley that we got to experience was the cowboy church that was held on Sunday morning up by the north arena. It was a small gathering of people. The person who delivered the message was not a minister but had been delivering the message for cowboy church countless times. He read out of the Cowboy Bible, and there were handouts of the book for everyone to take home with them. The message was simple and easy to relate to. Best of all, it served any denomination - Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, etc. It was truly a blessed experience.
After church, it was a great time to ride into town and get breakfast. Farmington is only a mile away from the campground and is horse friendly. There os a restaurant that is open for breakfast, a bar, a grocery store, and several small businesses. There are quite a few nearby hitching posts, and the town is small enough that you don't have to hassle with vehicles or semis.All in all, the River Valley Lodge and Campground is an experience that will not disappoint. My friends and I want to go back this next summer and fall for another fun-filled adventure. If you're looking for a family-friendly campground, River Valley would suit your interests well. If you have any additional questions about this ride, please feel free to comment below! Also, here is the website to the River Valley Lodge and Campground:http://www.rivervalleylodgeandcampground.com/
Here are some more pictures that were taken from the ride. The horses in the pictures are Rusty (the red dun, my horse), Sunny (the chestnut Saddlebred), and Kenyon (the gray Arabian/Trakehner corss). Brea, the redhead, owns Sunny and is the one that rode bareback. Danielle, the brunette, owns Kenyon and rode in her cross-country saddle the entire six hour ride! And I'm the blond.
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