Awesome Campground in a beautiful area of Des Moines. This looked like a relatively wealthy suburb…read morewith nice houses all around. Walkable access to the lake. About 15-20 minutes away from the City Center of Des Moines but the Farmers Market on Saturday's is an absolutely MUST stop. We really enjoyed our stay, just wish it was longer. Pro's: 1) Beautiful location right on the lake. 2) Long concrete pads that had no problem fitting our 43' TH. 3) Small jungle gym for our kids to play on. 4) Walking distance to the lake beach. 5) Easy to navigate roads 6) Awesome and easily accessible fishing areas around. Con's: 1) Electric only, although they had water throughout the park and a dump station up and the front. 2) Trash dumpsters were VERY far away. Had to truck our trash out to the dumpster. 3) Ants ... Ants, and more ants. Keep anything food related away from the outside of the rig and keep your fingers crossed they don't find the a path to the inside. 4) Power went out in the middle of the night when it was ranging near 100 degree's on the high for the day. It turned back on within minutes, but just a heads up on the power grid of the campground. 5) Pad is concrete (Awesome) but is far from level. Not sure I saw a level site in the entire CG. Even with the con's, its hard to beat $22/night. We'd stay here again in a heart beat. 3-4 days seems to be ideal.

This campground was packed on weekends and dead during the week (which we love!). Our family of 7…read morestayed for 2 weeks. Our site was electric only. There's a dump station and some places to fill water tanks. The playground looks pretty new and our kids enjoyed it. It was a basic, no frills campground that felt like a state park stripped down. The extremely frustrating thing is getting reservations. Every weekend is booked, but the weeks are wide open....yet we were not able to extend our stay to midweek because there is a 14 day limit.

Variety of camping options at Acorn Valley. There's RV spots and a lot for tent camping, you can be…read morein the shade, tucked in the trees, or out in the open. $14 for one night but if you have some pass you can use that and not have to pay. With the variety there are some spots much closer to bathrooms than others. Some spots you'll have a little trek to your site and if you do drive in closer the rangers will ask you to move your car. Nice playground, big shower (singular.. one shower per bathhouse). Bathrooms were pretty nice for a campsite. Drinking fountains were closed. Bugs were pretty pesky in the woods, to be expected with camping. There was a little path to a fishing area - we swam and it was no beach but it was good enough with some shoes that work in water. Decent option for Saylorville lake.

Got into a bind while traveling on August 17th. We called this place in a pinch about 6:30 and…read moreasked if they had anything open. The woman on the phone said she had 4-5 electric sites open, but we had to leave by 3pm the next day. She kept repeating this over and over like I was 4 years old, and I replied that was fine. In my experience this is a normal campground check out time. We got there about 25 minutes later and parked about 10 ft. from the booth where we could see 2 employees inside. There was a sign in the window with the number to call due to Covid, so we called. Now the woman says since we didn't make reservations, we cant stay. At this point we have no WiFi on the phone to make a reservation. I'm 10 ft away with cash and a mask on. at this point she immediately starts talking to me like I'm a child again, and repeats that we didn't make reservations so we cant stay. Ended up turning around and driving the kids 5 hours back home. If you want rude staff and a bunch of b.s., this place seems perfect. Personally, I'd just skip this place.

10/7/23 We were…read moreassigned a site in the "G" pinwheel. Very spacious between sites, with tons of grass and trees. Concrete pads. Good hook ups. Very very nice, especially since it rained a couple days. Didn't have to deal with mud. Most of the park is beautifully landscaped. It must take a small army to keep it looking so good. There are three friendly, absolutely gorgeous horses near the park entrance. We asked the owner if they like apples and carrots. He kind of smiled and said he didn't know if they would, but that they like peppermint! We tried to go the apple & carrot route, but had no takers. Didn't try anything peppermint. There's a huge pond with fountains on the property. It's quite nice. One of our neighbors trotted off with his rod and reel one day. Don't know if he had any luck. The larger community building has three toilet stalls and three private showers. Two of the showers are small. The larger (for the mobility challenged??) has no hand rails but the larger toilet stall does. The sink area has an outlet on each side, but there's no place to hang your jacket while you wash your hands. Very inconvenient. There is a shuffleboard table, pool table and two video games, as well as a tv. The laundry room has 4 washers and 4 dryers. There's a nice big room with a sweet kitchen for private parties, as well as a lounge area. Someone used it for a Sweet 16 party during our stay. There are no fire rings or picnic tables at any of the sites, and there was no easy route to the community building from our area. We either had to haul all of our laundry gear using the streets, or take the truck. Cutting across someone's site would have been rude but much faster and easier. There is an overflow parking area for guests with more than one vehicle next to the "G" pinwheel. I wish some of the people who were in our pinwheel would have used it, as they parked their extra vehicles so they were partially in the driving lane. One pickup was parked nose-in to the site, but the back of the truck was so far into the driving lane it was hard to get past it. Bad form. The park is close to all the stores and restaurants in Altoona. It's a good location, and it really is a nice place at a decent price. I would definitely recommend it to anyone coming to this area.

We stay at Griff's regularly when visiting our daughter's family. An A+ in my book. Clean, nice…read moreamenities, best RV bathrooms and showers I've seen anywhere. Open year round. Fair prices. Propane for sale. A couple of reviewers have called the owner rude. Gruff may be closer to the truth, but extremely helpful.

High prices, average marina experience. Nice people there. Will be nicer once the construction is…read morecomplete.

Rented a boat and tube here and had such a great time. All staff were extremely helpful and very…read morecourteous to us "first timers." The weather ended up not so great so we'll be back for the 2nd half of our day. Such a great place!

This is one of the greatest areas right at the tip of Saylorville Lake, offering a visitor's…read morecenter, playgrounds, walking and hiking trails, and easy access to the Neal Smith trail. Usually, we park the car over at the visitor center, and walk to wherever we're planning to visit throughout the lake and park area. Our dogs are small and get tired fast, so it's nice to have a centralized area with a lot to do, when they need a break. The visitor center provides access to beverage machines, maps, guides, and rules for the park areas. Off the back of the visitor center is a balcony that overlooks the lake, providing a pretty awesome view through the trees out into the water. Just a short walk northeast from the center is a butterfly garden, which actually lives up to its purpose, and just behind the garden is a heavily wooded area that leads to the beach. There are a ton of benches to sit on along the Neal Smith trail, which leads to more campgrounds, boating, and recreational sites. To the opposite direction is the actual dam, which despite its sometimes foul smell, is a sight to see. You're likely to see a few people fishing off of the dam, or just walking around the many secluded trails to view all parts of the park. Definitely recommend starting your next trip to Saylorville off on this side of the lake.

This is a beautiful camping, fishing, and hiking spot off of Saylorville lake…read more There are plenty of benches and picnic areas to enjoy the scenery and take in the great outdoors!!! There is also great fishing right off of the Dam spillway! With lookout areas if you don't feel like fishing. Beautiful grown trees and winding paths all right outside of Des Moines!!

Located only 20 minutes northwest of Ankeny on the western shore of Saylorville Lake, the 1600-acre…read moreJester Park Nature Center has a buffet of options. Whether it is a visit to their elk, hiking, biking, learning, cabins, birding, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, they have a lot to offer! We visited on a moderate winter afternoon and enjoyed spending time with their elk, who roam the property's northwest end. They wander in an area, allowing nearby viewing and enhancing the entire experience. They also have an 18-hole golf course, a 9-hole course, and a driving range with instruction available. I'm returning!

Air riffle shooting was fun, as was the archery, the ice cream also helps! Summer has canoes,…read morefishing, etc. Staff helpful and friendly both times we have been.

Great campground. The bison / elk wildlife preserve is awesome. Located on the north side of…read moreSaylorville lake.

What an awesome campground! Has both electric and non-electric sites. Grounds are clean and well…read moremaintained. Pit toilets and shower houses are available. Large playground for the kids. Golf course and equestrian center nearby. Miles of hiking/walking trails. Loads of trees. Wildlife everywhere to enjoy. A bison and elk herd to watch. Plenty of outdoor activities to keep everyone entertained. Cost is low for camping sites, $20/day for electrical, $15/day for non- electrical. Firewood available for purchase near registration booth. Campground host is very friendly and helpful. Sites available in tree lined area and also overlooking Saylorville Lake. An excellent place for a getaway that is near both Ankeny and Des Moines (about 15 minute drive).

Aside from it being what appears to be a nice park with a swimming pool and a concession stand,…read moreEarl Grimm has a mighty nice baseball field with a rather shallow outfield fence. Des Moines has a semi-pro baseball league. Did you know? We were camping north of the city and happened upon this park. The Nite Hawks were playing the Cubs. The game was free and the entire experience was charming and the announcer plays little samples of classic rock between innings. I tried to buy a T-shirt, since they were advertising shirts for sale, but the DJ/announcer regretfully informed me that the guy in charge of merchandise plum forgot to bring any that night. Mind you, he didn't say "plum" but in my heart, that's what I heard. Nite Hawks!