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Acorn Valley Campground is located on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches over 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley.
The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including camping, bicycling, boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Anglers enjoy the lake for its abundance of walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike.
The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. It is designated as a National Recreation Trail and is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating.
The campground offers 29 family sites with electric hookups and 54 primitive walk-to tent sites. The campground also features 2 group tent camping areas; a youth group camping area with special restrictions to organized youth as well as a standard group area open to all visitors. Amenities include flush toilets, showers, drinking water and a dump station. Nearby facilities include picnic areas with group shelters, boat ramps, a marina and a fishing dock.
The mature Bur Oaks at the entrance to Acorn Valley beckon visitors to explore its 26 acres on the fringe of an upland timber stand. Wildlife is abundant throughout the area. White-tailed deer, turkeys, pheasants, waterfowl and other small game animals roam the lands around the lake.
From I-35/80 north of Des Moines, Iowa, take exit 131 toward Johnston/Saylorville Lake. Turn north on Merle Hay Road and continue for 2.8 miles. At the four-way stop, turn left on Northwest Beaver Drive and continue for 3.7 miles. Turn right onto Northwest Coryden Drive and follow signs into the campground.
🤔 So, they fail to mention the standard electric plug on site 8 is blocked and doesn't work, yet charge $22 per night. It's a gorgeous spot though, not worth $22 if you're staying in a tent like we are. I wish we would've swung out and checked it sooner. Probably a mix up on my part! Keep this in mind. 🙃
Great place to camp just mins from town if you need supplies, very clean bathrooms! We will be back several times
Such a nice campground! Went for our first time a couple weeks ago and loved it, will definitely be back! We had reserved ahead of time but they were willing to let us change campsites to accommodate our family and friends better since they weren’t busy that weekend. Very nice facilities, bathrooms and well kept campground. There is no beach/lake access from the campground, but there are several areas very close by that you can get to it!
Secluded, clean, peaceful place! Large sites for groups. Bathhouse was clean. A volunteer puts reservation cards on posts, we didn’t have one. He showed up on day 2 with it. Snuck up behind me and frightened me. Other than that episode it was a wonderful time.
This is a great campground. We like going here because it’s an alcohol free campground. No late night loud parties. This is a clean place. They have camping for tents and RV hook ups. The bathrooms and showers are well kept. There are places to fish around the campgrounds, and parks for the kids throughout. There are dumpsters for trash, you bring your own trash bags and utilize the dumpsters. It’s a beautiful quiet campground. Handicap accessible.
