Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Saylorville Lake

Above average overall for central Iowa. Views of Saylorville Lake. Plenty of shade. Clean restrooms. It’s a large park and some sites are close together, but generally spacious. Good cell service.

In a grove of trees in a slightly hilly area. Easy access, but sites are gravel. Nice bit of grass with each site, most are at least partially shaded. Small dog park which is pea gravel, not grass.

Cherry Glen is very clean and well managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is one of the main campgrounds that service Saylorville Lake. I highly suggest visiting during the week because on the weekends the local boaters invade.

I would suggest looking for camp sites on the back side of the western loops because they have views of the lake. I would look at sites 111-116 and 72-78. These last six are also very close to a shower house.

The shower houses and bathrooms are clean and well maintained. This is a great place to consider camping if you are spending anytime at Saylorville Lake.

It's just an old basic campground, inexpensive, everyone welcome. No one was loud or anything. Near Saylorville lake for all that stuff. Dump station and water fill in the back.

I tried to stay at Acorn Valley to find out it is closed after Labor Day. Bummer. I was able to get out and look around. It is clean and well maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is near the lake and a nice place to use as a home base for spending time at Saylorville Lake.

This campground has many sites to choose from - RV with hookups as well as some non-electric tent sites. There are quite a few activities in Marshalltown, and it is within the Marshalltown city limits.

The downside is proximity. It is right next to the highway. When I was there in a tent, the hog trucks would drive by all night (loud and smelly). The RV sites are closest to the road, so maybe it is not so bad in an RV, but it is not particularly enjoyable in a tent.

Pros:

+ Marshalltown has quite a few places to eat

+ Nice bike trails (and a great bicycle store downtown)

+ It is near the Iowa River

+ Nice park in general with activities like a dog park

+ Camp host on-site

+ Decent sized campsites

+ Playground for the kids

Cons:

+ It can get busy on a summer weekend

+ Noisy - right by the highway

+ Mosquitos are really bad here

Prairie Flower is run by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is huge! There are so many campsites that when it is full it can become a maze. It is clean and well maintained with lots to do at Saylorville Lake. There are several Recreation areas nearby that don't allow camping, making Prairie Flower a perfect place to stay. By the way, the campground is full of wild flowers, thus the name Prairie Flower.

Went in without a reservation. No problem. Pleasantly surprised to find out it's an Army Corps of Engineers park; meaning if you have a annual National Parks pass, you get a discount. Didn't know that. We paid $11 for a tent site. Lots of RV sites around. The whole area around Saylorville Lake has camping. Lush green plots of land everywhere. I forget how pretty it is in the Midwest when I'm gone for so long. Quiet, relaxing place. Friendly staff. We took a long walk through the campground and others nearby. Boating and swimming in the lake.

The picnic area and campgrounds at Bob Shelter are all clustered together on the backside of the Dam at Saylorville Lake and are right next to the spillway. These campgrounds and picnic area are run by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The campgrounds are clean and well managed with modern bathrooms and showers. I am not a fisherman but there were a lot of folks casting near the spillway.

A long with the campgrounds there are quite a few picnic areas and shelters with playground equipment and plenty of space to run and play games with your kids. All of the public spaces are well groomed and maintained. There are three campgrounds in this area connected to Bob Shelter and they all pretty much look the same. You can't go wrong with any of the sites.

The recreation area and picnic area at Bob Shelter are part of the same complex and campgrounds. They are all clustered together on the backside of the Dam at Saylorville Lake and are right next to the spillway. These campgrounds and picnic area are run by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The campgrounds are clean and well managed with modern bathrooms and showers. I am not a fisherman but there were a lot of folks casting near the spillway.

A long with the campgrounds there are quite a few picnic areas and shelters with playground equipment and plenty of space to run and play games with your kids. All of the public spaces are well groomed and maintained. There are three campgrounds in this area connected to Bob Shelter and they all pretty much look the same. You can't go wrong with any of the sites.

One of the more beautiful places to camp in Iowa. Awesome hiking trails and really well-shaded campsites. The hike in spots are great if you like privacy and being in the middle of the woods - but you don’t want to be THAT far from your car.

Beware of the raccoons. They’re plentiful and crazy smart here. We had one open our cooler, steal an egg from the cartoon - without disturbing anything else. Honestly, I was impressed! But some of our friends had them rip through their tents to get at food - not as impressive.

This place is great! There are 10 beautiful campsites, all with new picnic tables, fire ring and cement pad so you’re chairs are actually level! The fire ring even has a grill you and flip over the fire to cook. There is a vault toilet up on the hill where the campsites are. FYI - the women’s side did not have a lock. The sites were very spacious, some massive and very spread out. You could see neighbors but you aren’t on top on them. And it’s free! You can stay for up to 14 days. They do have registration cards up on the board to complete and post on your site. I had 2-3 bars of LTE via AT&T. The closest gas station is about 7 minutes away and a grocery store about 10 minutes away.

Let’s talk ticks!! I travel with my dog and during the 3 nights I stayed, I was constantly removing them from him, myself and within the inside of my van. They always got on his feet every time he used the restroom and made their way inside. If you travel with a pet, check them constantly and make sure they are on a tick med!

Wonderful trails, lots of space.  Access to DM River, has nice pond, playgrounds, just a beautiful area.  Fishing not the greatest, Pond is silted to about 9ft deep, have caught few small bass, bluegill.  Never tried the river here, but is known for big cats.  Camp sites are best around, large flat white rock cinder size area with picnic table, fire ring.  Sites are well spaced.  Shaded.   Double lane dump station.  Close to home, can usually get site without reservation, IF you roll in on Wed.  By Thurs night, it's full.  Few reservables, 90% i'd say are first come.  The way it should be in my opinion.