We stayed at the cabins here during a desperate trip to cross the country, and the staff was the…read moreabsolute best -- helpful, supportive, and compassionate! We left with renewed strength and peace and made it the rest of the way to our new home! I only wish we had gotten to try the pizza -- it looked amazing!!! I believe it was "Steve" who we owe extra thanks to (sorry if I got the name wrong) on our departure morning -- you made all the difference!

We are in a site with no shade and it's 85 degrees out. No restrooms or showers on this end of the…read morepark, so it's a walk in the heat and humidity to get to the shower, and I needed a new shower after walking back to our site. Right next to the park's wastewater or water treatment pond, so that's fun. And very difficult to get an internet connection. I had to make the hot trek back to the office for their network to pop up on my screen. The teenage boy manning the shop was unhelpful.

So I was looking for a good spot for my Friday night bonfire and this was it!…read more Conveniently located southeast of Des Moines, this has a rugged, wooded terrain with hiking trails, wooded campsites and great picnic areas. The star gazing here is remarkable, unlike the group next to us we did not have a telescope but we could definitely see the stars on a clear night. This is very convenient for a quick jaunt from the city if looking for some sense of rugged wilderness not far from the city lights.

We got in too late to truly enjoy the camping, but we did have a lovely hike in the morning before…read morewe left. The parts of the park we saw were clean and the trails were well maintained. Hopefully we can come back in the future- I feel like there is a lot left to explore!

Really nice park. Definitely the cleanest campground bathrooms I've ever been in. the trails they…read morehave are nice but they should add more. What a pretty place

We had a fun time walking through the creek and enjoying the scenery. We had adults and kids…read more Really enjoyed seeing how much fun all the kids were having. They loved when the cars drove by and splashed them. Beautiful area. We considered hiking, but just too hot today. The creek walk was perfect. Definitely wear water shoes if you plan to walk the creek, and bring sunscreen and bug spray.

Great RV campsites that over looks the Des Moines River and has a pond w/fountain that is stocked…read moreyearly. New shower house and laundry facilities. If you love to listen to frogs and critter sounds in the night you'll enjoy it here. And YES, we now have Wifi. Well maintained and a very accommodating management team. Quiet with beautiful views of Iowa countryside side yet only minutes from town. Wooded trails, dog friendly and an upcoming dog park. I am a long term HAPPY CAMPER with two happy dogs.

We used the campground as our base of operations. Easy drive to Pella and to Des Moines. A nice…read morequiet campground and very restful. They have a very nice bathhouse and I would not hesitate to stay again. Even the 3 or so miles of gravel through the fields on either side was nice.

As good as it gets. pulled in and parked easily. They ask you to call when you arrive so they can…read moreguide you to your spot. They do this by phone. Set up and we were good to go for a month. Our neighbors had to be the most unfriendly young couple I have ever met. We said hi a handful of times and we were given a snarl and a quick look the other direction. All righty then. Oh well, their loss and at least we don't have to worry about them bothering us! Bonus! Like I said we stayed for a month. It was quiet for the most part barring the one guy who got up in the morning and revved the crap out of his car. He did this so he could get to work. If he didn't do this it would keep dying and would never get anywhere. Ugh. I get it but don't want to hear it. 2 separate shower house. Both have tv's and laundry. Cheap laundry was $1.25 to wash and $.75 to dry. Done deal. Awesome! Showers are nice. They do need to fix the showerhead in the smaller bathhouse. It tends to blow off. But, at least there is pressure and hot water. All in all I will take it. Large dressing room behind locked door so privacy is great. The smaller one has minimal space to get ready post shower so unless you are alone you will have to share the one outlet. I ran in to someone 4 times the entire time I was there. Most people must use their own shower in their RV. I used the larger shower house once. It was set up the same way but nicer. You will notice a theme to the park. The nicer more expensive rigs are out back on top of the hill and also have the larger and nicer of the two shower rooms. More hooks on the door, nice mat on the floor and a stool. Not sure if someone stole the stool in the smaller shower house or if there never was one. Oh well, still am not going to complain. Friendly older gentleman riding around the area making sure things were up to par. Nice and for fishing. Nice little bridge too. She animals situated throughout the park such as a bear and elk. Love the location of this place. I have never seen it advertised but in the summer it is impossible to get a place unless you reserved it prior to arriving. Close to Altoona and Ankeny. Easy to get to interstate. Tons of things to do if you want to leave the campground. They sell LP gas which is cheaper than the gas station so just plan on filling up here. Pop machine and candy machine in the common rooms. Fairly priced but I never purchased from it. Nice workout room with a bow flex. I read some reviews and they were bagging on the customer service not being friendly or helpful. I did not have that experience at all. Sure, the other end of the line may not be smiling profusely at you but they get the job done well and efficiently.

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.

I would say location is nice, because it puts you in proximity to a lot of things. Campground…read moreamenities for the price, is not reasonable at least when I came a few weeks ago. I understand that the pool would not been filled yet, however, still for the price I was a little letdown. The person in the check-in office was nice, respectful, courteous, and prompt. I also did not like that. They charged five dollars a day for a firing that you have to take to your campsite yourself. Being in the middle of a city, it was still pretty quiet for the most part. However, some other long-term campers put large items near the trash cans, which made it look a little gross. The shower house and restrooms were not clean, barely operational. However, they did have constant hot water, which was nice. I gave it a three stars simply because of the location and the person working at the check-in office. The signage could be better and the upkeep and maintenance definitely needs to be improved.

This place is run down. Not maintained. Many sites are rutted and not level. Lots of weeds…read more The picnic tables are all warped and unusable---they are redoing some but even the redone tables are only 'half' redone, which makes no sense. I will not stay here again.

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.

Watch out if u have your kids or pets camping with you if you have to run anywhere because they…read morewill call the cops and dhs and they will come take your kids and pets and take you to jail my daughters almost 12 and they had a cell phone and everything

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!!

I have stayed at Timberline for about 7 years and it is always nice to go there all of the staff…read moreare amazing and the place is always clean and well organized, they have a great laundry room and other amenities. I look forward to going back every year.

Lovely campground! Hannah in the Office was so helpful and delightful, from my first phone call to…read moreget a reservation, to our walking in the door to complete the reservation. (A very nice and well-stocked camp store too!) We requested a shaded site for our 25' B class RV, and she made sure that we got one. SUPER CLEAN AND NICE bathrooms! Highly recommend!