Little Bear Campground, West Liberty, IA

Little Bear Campground is located in West Liberty, IA in the cornfields of the Heartland 206 miles due west of Chicago. The only reason we can think of for coming here is it to have our hydraulic slides and leveling system serviced by HWH Corp. in Moscow, IA. However, upon further consideration, we can understand the attraction this campground has for locals to get away for a weekend. The owner is a personable and congenial fellow who takes pride in maintaining a clean and well landscaped property. The trees are all trimmed up and away from the roadway. The entrance is deceiving and should be entered at the fuel station, not a hundred feet down the road where the Little Bear sign points to enter. Entering the fuel station affords a very wide asphalt entrance and keeping to the left will put one straight into the campground parallel to the office/registration building. The roads in the park are hard pack dirt and the sites are grass; roads are wide enough to carefully maneuver a 45’ motorcoach with a tow with the sites well compacted to support our 27 ton weight. Thick green grass separates the sites with ample space between them. There is a contingent of full time rv’s, the remaining level sites for visitors providing FHU and stable 50 amp service. The office building archetype reveals this as a former KOA which the current owner purchased 14 years ago and has continually upgraded. The office building houses a small and clean laundry center and the bath/shower rooms which are clean. There is a clubhouse which is reserved for rallies and also for the occasional dinner parties hosted by the owner; he also hosts outdoor movie nights on a big screen. The sparkling clear pool has ample lounge chairs and patio furniture around its apron. So a bit pastoral, however a much improved camping experience over those parks exhibiting benign neglect. This demonstrates what pride in ownership accomplishes. The park WiFi was sketchy at best, but hey we are out in the middle of nowhere along the I80 corridor. We used our phone as hotspot and our OTA (over the air antenna) to receive several local channels (too far from Chicago to receive their stations). This campground as mentioned earlier is not near anything nearby (except the HWH Corp located in the middle of cornfields as far as the eye can see…how did this happen?); well actually 6 miles away is the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. FYI, there is actually a good pizza shop, Heb ‘n Lou’s Pizza, west on I80 exit 254 in the little hamlet of West Branch, IA.

The Takeaway: a clean well maintained pastoral campground with well kept grounds offer the visitor a relaxed and peaceful retreat. Dirt roads and level grass sites offer a compacted stable base for trouble-free leveling. The sparkling clear pool and owner sponsored outdoor movie nights hearken back to our parents camping days. A retreat for locals; for the rest of us a good and safe layover spot on the I80 corridor. We visited April 2018 and again May 2019. Go to  www.rickpicks.com for other reviews, critiques and essays.