In 1871, Creston received its charter from the state of Iowa to incorporate. Creston was historically a major railroad hub and a division point where the railroad offices of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad system were located. By the late 1800s, more than 50 trains were passing through the city on a daily basis. Nowadays, Creston is still well-known for being the regional center of southwestern Iowa. The city’s current-day population is fewer than 8,000 people.
Creston’s restaurants include pizzerias, steak houses, cafes, fast food joints, and others. You’ll also find a variety of bars and taverns in the area. Creston is the ideal place to visit if the people in your group are hoping to partake in outdoor sports. The region offers an abundance of recreational land to explore, including five lakes and 6,000+ acres of public parks. The terrain in the immediate area includes woodlands, prairies, and wetlands.
If you’re looking for things to do in Creston, consider visiting the Union County Historical Village and Museum. It’s an 1890s village that’s completely furnished with interesting historic items. There you’ll find a period-style caboose, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, church, and barn. In the neighboring city of Dallas Center, Iowa, about 62 miles away, you’ll find the Brenton Arboretum, which is a noteworthy local botanical garden worth visiting. If you plan to explore Creston in the summertime, you might want to time your visit so you can experience the city’s traditional 4th of July Celebration. If you’d rather opt for a September road trip, you might want to plan your visit around Creston’s annual Hot Air Balloon Days event, which typically takes place on the third weekend in September.
Campgrounds Near Creston, Iowa
Griff’s Valley View RV Park & Campground in Altoona, Iowa offers 142 full-hookup campsites, with 21 of these being suitable for big rigs or long trailers to pull through. Other amenities include restrooms with private showers, laundry facilities, a game room, and a pond where you can go fishing. This facility is open all year long. You must make a reservation to stay here. Rates start at $30 daily.
Whispering Oaks RV Park in Story City, Iowa is a pet-friendly location. They offer a total of 45 spaces with a maximum length of 60 feet. Big rigs are welcome at this facility. Amenities include fire rings, laundry facilities, and restrooms with showers. Tent camping is also available here.
The Iowa State Fair Campgrounds are typically open at selected times during the summer months. Their openings coincide with the fair dates but also include some times when the fair is not in session. These facilities have RV dump stations plus toilets, sinks, and showers housed in three large bathhouses. They offer 2,300 RV-friendly campsites with water and electrical hookups priced at $30 per night. Over 730 of these sites also feature sewer hookups.
State Parks Near Creston, Iowa
The 1,100-acre Nine Eagles State Park is an RVers' paradise offering three campgrounds and some campsites with electricity. The facilities have an RV dump station plus restrooms with showers. Horseback riding enthusiasts and their four-legged companions are welcome here. Some of the park’s main attractions are facilities made for their enjoyment. One of the highlights is a 7-mile equestrian trail. There’s also an option to stay in primitive equestrian campsites featuring amenities such as hitching rails, water, fire rings, and pit toilets.
The 260-acre Walnut Woods State Park is situated alongside the Raccoon River in West Des Moines, Iowa. It’s about a 65-mile drive northeast from Creston to this location. Birding enthusiasts flock to this park to make use of the bird observation stations, which are some of this park’s primary attractions. Walnut Woods is a fantastic place to view a variety of bird species, including flycatchers, warblers, hawks, and owls. RV enthusiasts with kids are sure to appreciate the child-friendly playgrounds, picnic areas, and hiking trails. The park also offers a boat ramp, a day-use lodge, and convenient restroom facilities. This park is inclusive and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The 422-acre Prairie Rose State Park offers a 218-acre lake, which is the primary attraction in the area. The park also has RV-accessible campgrounds and many fun recreational opportunities. Your group can enjoy picnicking, swimming, boating, hiking, and fishing when you visit this Shelby County, Iowa destination. Weather permitting, you can head out on the water in either a boat or a kayak to see if the bass, channel catfish, bluegill, or crappie are biting that day. This park is located about 83 miles northwest of Creston.
National Sites Near Creston, Iowa
Lewis and Clark made a historic expedition that began in 1803 and lasted until 1806. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is a collection of national historic sites intended to educate the public about this crucial time period in American history. The trail spans a distance of 4,900 miles across 16 U.S. states and 15 Native American reservations. One of the trail’s endpoints is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the other is a spot along the Pacific Ocean that’s accessible from Astoria, Oregon. One of the most important landmarks you’ll find along this trail is the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center. This facility is located in Omaha, Nebraska, which is a driving distance of a bit more than 100 miles west of Creston, Iowa.
The Harry S. Truman National Historic Site educates the public about America’s 33rd president, his legacy, his family, and their estates. You’ll find the site about 177 miles south of Creston, Iowa in the Kansas City, Missouri greater metro area. One of the most important landmarks associated with this site is the Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri. The construction of this home took place in 1894. These days, the farmhouse grounds are open to the public daily from sunrise until sunset. Tours of the site are frequently available.
Brown v. Board of Education was a 1954 court case that represented a critical victory for civil rights in the United States. This case was the catalyst for the dismantling of racial segregation between African American and Caucasian people in U.S. public schools. The Brown v. Board of Education Historic Site educates the public about the important details of this pivotal court case. The site is located about 188 miles southwest of Creston, Iowa in the city of Topeka, Kansas. One of the noteworthy landmarks associated with this site is the 1926 Monroe Elementary School. This was one of the four prominent segregated schools involved in the original court hearings.
National Forests Near Creston, Iowa
It’s about a 362-mile trip from Creston, Iowa to Mark Twain National Forest. You might want to make this trip if the people in your group are interested in outdoor sports such as canoeing, rafting, inner tubing, hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and driving off-road vehicles. Some of the main attractions at this location are the 14 recreation-friendly streams and 16 lakes. The Glade Top Trail is one of the other remarkable landmarks in the area near the forest. This trail is one of the most popular scenic byways in the state of Missouri. It is approximately 23 miles of gravel road that takes you through some of the most picturesque terrain in the Ozark Mountains.
It’s about a 424-mile journey from Creston, Iowa to Shawnee National Forest. One of the most popular landmarks in this forest is the Garden of the Gods. There, you’ll find fascinating geological formations, hiking trails, campsites, and picnic spots. The quarter-mile Observation Trail is a particularly impressive hiking trail you’ll want to consider visiting if you decide to stop in this area. The reward for making this rigorous trek is the spectacular panoramic views atop the steep cliffs you’ll climb along the way.
There’s a driving distance of about 442 miles separating Creston, Iowa and Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest. This forest is worth visiting if the people in your group are into hunting, birding, fishing, or camping. The Steer Creek Campground is a destination within the forest that may be of interest to visiting RVers. If you’re hoping to stay on developed grounds rather than roughing it in dispersed camping, this is the spot to go. This campground offers 23 RV-friendly sites that have picnic tables and fire pits but do not have any utilities or hookups. Snake River Falls is one of the most recognizable landmarks near the forest.
