big treehouse

I took my 13 year old granddaughter and my 5 year old grandson to the Big Treehouse and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! It is very impressive! I agree that the person who thought it looked dangerous could not have actually ever been there! It is very will built and very well cared for!You really need to check it out!

Went with ages from 4 to 60's - everyone seemed to find something enjoyable about the trip. The guides are mother and wife of the builder - the human touch is evident everywhere and makes it an enjoyable family adventure. If you like quirky attractions with clear underlying passion and dedication, you'll love this.

My husband and I took our 4-year old and 6-year old grandsons to the Big Treehouse and they really enjoyed it. Twelve levels up and a spiral staircase back down kept them busy all morning. You need to make a reservation for the tour so it takes a little advance notice but well worth it. We were surprised at how many great details there were like a level for fixing dinner with a grill, microwave, and refrigerator. The boys really liked getting to the top and ringing the bell. We took many great pictures.

Take tour kids, take your grandkids take your grandparents take anybody Young at heart. Well worth it. Quirky and fun, but so unique.

Greetings to everyone,I am the builder of the Big Treehouse. I have worked on this hobby for 30 years! I maintain my tree house for a rustic, natural effect. That is by design. I am unsure who "Mary W" was but I am certain she has not actually seen the treehouse to justify this comment. If she visited the treehouse, I am certain she missed the whole point!My family will continue to share the treehouse for a unique experience. I hope people who visit and critique the treehouse will understand the context that they are visiting my vision and dream. It has made me happy to build and maintain. It has made my family happy to share the treehouse with guests. It has made many other people happy through the years to experience it. Note: The man with the negative comments on our campground also drove off leaving me with a big repair on the water faucet he misused. It was bad enough he did that damage but to also leave with such discouraging comments was totally unnecessary. Mr. BigTreehouse

This was a nice excursion. My family really enjoyed it as it was very engaging. The cost is a little high as it was $5 for each person regardless of age. The tour was about an hour. There is no time to sit and enjoy; you are moved along. The elderly ladies are sweet but are a bit nervous and won't tolerate horseplay or running. The tour was engaging for the kids and the adults.

A fun outing for families (a kid's dream). Call first to verify hours and availability.

Shady Oaks Campground on the Lincoln Highway in Marshallton, Iowa. There are 13 sites with full hookups, plus two more with electric only. All 15 sites offer 30-amp service, & five of them also offer 50-amp service. Five sites are drive-on (back-off) sites for motor coaches (40-foot units). Ten are fifth wheel drive out (back-in) only. The other sites accommodate 30-foot plus units. Site 12 has a 200 year-old oak in the middle of it's entrance so you have to back in caddy corner from site 11 driveway to clear the tree. The park opened in 1850 and it shows with it's run down condition. The cabin was built in 1925 and is the only one of five left standing. We pulled in at 2 am and there were not enough lights to show you the way to park. We had to circle the whole circle drive and pull out into the street and backup and go through the park a second time to find a spot. The nearby freight trains come through every 20 minutes all night long honking their horn at every intersection. Like an unwanted mariachi band that won't quit. We finally gave up on sleep and got up to leave at 6am since the 4:45 am train awoke us and we couldn't get back to sleep after the next 6 trains. We went to leave at 7 am and the dilapitated water hydrant in the ground would not shut off so we left it going and put the raincap back over it. We were going to leave $20 in the check in box at the road but Mary Gift came up and wanted $22 for the 50 amp spot that we slept in for 3 hours. Even though we don't have a 50 amp service and didn't even use their power since it was a 53 degree August night and we ran our LP heater. The 50 amps sites were the only spaces available to motor coaches with the 30 amp sites reserved for fifth wheel trailers. There are no fire rings at the camp sites but rather a communitry fire ring at each end of the park. The sign in sheet has a long list of don't "Do's" as well as saying drink only in your trailer and not outside and "No Guns" are allowed in the park. Bypass this dump and go to Timmons Grove County park for $14 with electrical hook-up.

I have twice tried to view the treehouse and both times have been [----]. Once about 5 years ago or so when I was working in a day-care. The 30 children in the day-care plus staff made the hour trip on a bus one afternoon after setting an appointment back in the spring, only to find out that the lady that had split the group in half (one to view in the morning and the other in the afternoon) but she never called to tell us that our group was split because 30 was too many people at one time (and we even called to confirm the appointment the week before)... so we had 30 disappointed children because the lady did not tell us. The second incident happened today with my brother's boy-scout den. His leader had planned and called to reserve the time to visit for Saturday a month ago... however, today (two days before the boys were suppose to go), the leader emails Mary (the woman you runs it) to verify the tour and she gets a reply saying that she had another group scheduled for Saturday and she had forgotten to put the boy-scouts den on her schedule.

The Big Treehouse is a great place to take your family for great outdoors fun. The big treehouse is a unique 12-level treehouse built in a maple tree. It features music, sound effects, and gardens at the historic shady oaks campgrounds. The big treehouse is fun, educational and an all around beautiful place to be. Iowa life is changing and it is changing for the better.