Another busy year in Iowa's state parks will be coming to an end and soon staff will be preparing for the first freezing temperatures of the fall.

State parks will begin winterizing their facilities in mid October, including shutting off water in the campground and closing shower houses. Once the water is turned off, the campground dump station is also closed.

Campers can check the status of water in a particular park by going to the parks reservation system at www.iowadnr.gov/parks and clicking on the Closure Information link in the column on the left. The page is updated regularly by park staff.

If campers have any questions about water or other facilities during the time of their stay, they should contact the park directly.

"We have a number of fall campers who visit our parks after the water is off and they will need to use the RV dump facilities at Iowa rest areas to dump their trailers or motor homes," said Todd Coffelt, chief of State Parks for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Iowa state park campgrounds are open all year long. A list of rest areas with RV facilities is available at http://www.iowadot.gov/maintenance/restareas.html