This internationally known exposition attracts more than a million people each year to America’s heartland, among them fun-loving families who return year after year.
By Crystal Hammes, F508127
June 2024
The Hammes family.
For those who want to check Iowa off their RV bucket list, the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines is a good way to do just that. What could be more fun than 11 days of corn dogs, butter sculptures, Ferris wheels, and agriculture? You can take it all in while camping at the Iowa State Fair Campgrounds!
Located just up the hill from the fairgrounds, the Iowa State Fair Campgrounds encompass 160 acres of rolling hills. They include more than 2,300 sites, with both full-hookup and partial-hookup types available, and enough overflow area for those who have onboard generators. Three large bathhouses and five small bathhouses are scattered around the grounds.
At the 2023 Iowa State Fair, approximately 3,254 campers were registered. You will find campground neighbors who share a common bond. The sites are full of generations of past, present, and future campers celebrating family traditions each day. Family members from all over the United States “come home” for the Iowa State Fair. So, who knows; you may find someone you know while visiting!
Camping here is a tradition for my family, as it is for many. My grandparents started camping at the Iowa State Fair in 1951 with tents and cots. They would cook with a Coleman propane stove and heat water for washing dishes. After several years, the tents morphed into a pop-up camper made of canvas with fold-out beds. Grandma and Grandpa cooked on the Coleman well into the 1980s, and I can still remember warming water for washing dishes. Paper products were too expensive, so we would wash all our breakfast and dinner dishes in tubs — one for soapy water and the other for rinse water. There were times we’d have to start over with the dish water if it got too cold. We washed in a certain order to keep the water from getting too dirty. Cups were first, then silverware, then plates, and then pots and pans. We always needed to finish the work before heading back to the fair.
Giant Slide
As the 1990s and 2000s passed us by, we created memories while camping when we didn’t even realize it. Grandpa had made friends with the Giant Slide owner over the years and would take the grandkids down before the fair opened to get a free ride. We loved it, and the owner was happy we helped clean it. Grandma would make us popcorn and apples as evening snacks, cooking the popcorn in the Samsung microwave they started hauling there in the ’90s. As time has passed, we now have campers with air conditioning, toilets, and showers; use paper products most of the time; and have five generations camping at the fair each year. We are carrying on the tradition my grandparents started 73 years ago.
Volunteering at Little Hands On The Farm in the Kid Zone
Camping at the fair gives you an opportunity to take in small amounts of the activities each day and relax at the RV or visit neighbors when you need a break from the crowds or the heat. Different activities, events, and contests are scheduled each day. These include free concerts and shows. Performers have included Hairball, Megan Moroney, Jason Brown, hypnotist Ron Diamond, Bruno’s Tiger Show, iFlip, the Red Trouser Show, livestock events, and horse hitching shows. Roving entertainment that you can find in different areas of the fair include Bandolini, Robocars, and The Strolling Piano. Extra tickets are needed for grandstand performances, which have featured Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, and Pentatonix, to name a few. Note that entertainment changes yearly.
Kids’ activities are available around the fair as well, such as Blue Ribbon Kids’ Club, Fun Forest, Little Hands on the Farm, art contests, and the Animal Learning Center. Other attractions include daily entertainment on several stages; buildings that house 4H projects and Iowa crafts and antiques; and several bars and craft beer/wine tents.
Meeting in the park for lunch
An average day for our family looks a little like this:
- Coffee and homemade breakfast at our campers.
- Head to the fair to walk through the Varied Industries building.
- Tour product booths under the Grandstand.
- Meet in Central Park for lunch at noon (Anne & Bill Riley Stage).
- Take in a program at the Department of Natural Resources building.
- Visit the Agriculture building for an egg on a stick and to see the butter cow.
- Walk through livestock barns to see the biggest ram, boar, and bull.
- Walk through Pioneer Hall to check out antiques and hear music from yesteryear.
- Meet friends at the Fair View Tap for the best view of the fair, a cold drink, and trivia.
- Head back to the camper for dinner.
- Go back to the fair after dinner for a free concert or to watch the horses hitching.
We have also participated in the egg-rolling contest, tall corn contest, cow-chip-throwing contest, Big Wheel races, and joke-telling contests over the years, and we enjoy volunteering at Little Hands On The Farm. Riding the Sky Glider, the Giant Slide, and Ye Old Mill is a family affair for us, and one day is always set aside just for the kids to ride rides all day and finish it off with cotton candy and a snow cone.
The 2024 Iowa State Fair is set for August 8 through 18. Each day is a little different, but it’s always a good time. If this sounds like something you want to experience, don’t wait until August 8 to travel to the fair campgrounds and expect to get a spot. The 2023 fair had a couple campers waiting outside the grounds, because they were full on the first weekend. If you’d like to camp at the fair in 2024, contact the Iowa State Fair for more information about nonregistered camping. Nonregistered camping is for those who want a permanent spot but have not received one yet. (Editor’s note: Many families stay at the Iowa State Fair Campgrounds year after year, with a long waiting list for the permanent sites. Generator parking and electric sites may be available during the event, however.)
As Iowa’s single-largest event, the Iowa State Fair is one of the top agricultural and industrial expositions in the United States. Daily attendance varies, but there were between 85,714 and 118,286 visitors each day of the fair with a total attendance figure of 1,133,958 during the 11 days of the event in 2023.
Is it time to start a new tradition with your family? Come check Iowa out. See ya at the 2024 Iowa State Fair!
MORE INFO
Iowa State Fair
iowastatefair.org
OTHER CAMPING OPTIONS
Des Moines West KOA Holiday
34308 L Ave.
Adel, IA 50003
koa.com/campgrounds/des-moines
(800) 562-2181
Griff’s Valley View RV Park & Campground
6429 N.E. 46th St.
Altoona, IA 50009
griffsrv.com
(515) 967-5474
River Oaks RV Park
22905 Buchanan Trail
Hartford, IA 50118
riveroakspark.com
(515) 989-0574
Timberline Campground
31635 Ashworth Road
Waukee, IA 50263
timberlineiowa.com
(515) 987-1714