Camping at Sheffield, Iowa's SafeT Home

* I received a complimentary stay provided by the City of Sheffield, Iowa.

All views and opinions shared are my own. *

If you are looking for a unique, camping experience in the Midwest, you should check out Galvin Memorial Park's SafeT Home, a grain bin esque structure built by Sheffield, Iowa business Sukup Manufacturing.

This has been the summer of adventures for our family and we were excited to include camping at Galvin Memorial Park's new SafeT Home to our adventure list!  Galvin Memorial Park is located on the southwest side of Sheffield, Iowa and is a city-owned and operated campground.  The campground includes 10 electrical campsites and the SafeT Home rental cabin.  It also includes a nice bath/shower house (located close the to SafeT Home), shelter house, swing set, the famous Sheffield sledding hill and is uphill from Bailey's Creek.

As soon as we arrived the kids were excited to check out the inside of the SafeT Home cabin.  The SafeT Home features a half loft, two screened in windows, a lock code entry door, several plug-ins and a double-roof, which keeps water out while allowing heat to escape.  Our whole family commented on how spacious the SafeT Home was and how good the ventilation was, especially since we've all had many experiences inside of grain bins on our farm.

The SafeT Home cabin includes two twin foam mattresses (which the kids used up in the loft), three cots, inside table & chairs, shelving for food and supplies, a wash tub and broom & dust pan.  We set up our personal air mattress to accommodate all six of us and we had plenty of space for it.  While staying in the SafeT Home, renters need to bring their own linens or sleeping bags, lawn chairs (as the cabin furniture is not allowed outside), food & beverages along with supplies to cook over the fire pit, as well as cleaning supplies to wash dishes, etc., toiletries and firewood.  We would also recommend bringing a fan, but will admit that we slept with the windows open with just the screens and had to turn off our fan in the middle of the night because it got cool enough.

The SafeT Home was designed by Sheffield, Iowa business Sukup Manufacturing in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.  These structures are built to withstand strong winds and are used as homes, medical clinics, schools and orphanages in Haiti, Peru, Kenya and Uganda.  Relief and missionary organization GoServ Global works with Sukup to provide and build the SafeT Homes across the world.

We had a great time camping in the SafeT Home.  Galvin Memorial Park's Campground was a nice getaway, close to home for us, and everyone we met camping was very friendly.  You can rent the SafeT Home for $35 a night and reservations can be made by contacting the City of Sheffield at 641-892-4718.  The cabin is available May 1st through October 1st.

While camping, our family recommends you check out Bailey's Creek and the grass and wooded area surrounding the campground.  The water was low enough when we were there that we enjoyed creek exploring during our stay.  The Galvin Memorial Park is also located across the road from Ridge Stone Golf Club which includes the Brickyard Bistro restaurant if you are looking for a place to golf or grab a bite to eat.  If you are looking for more things to do with your kids while camping, we recommend going for a swim at the Sheffield Public Swimming Pool and playing at the playground next to the pool.  Sheffield also has a City Park with a playground and the Path of Progress Bike Trail.

So grab your sleeping bags and lawn chairs, pick up some s'mores supplies, and make your reservation today for the SafeT Home cabin at Galvin Memorial Park in Sheffield, Iowa.  We had such a nice stay and can't wait to go camping at the SafeT Home again!  Who else is ready to spend the night in a SafeT Home?