About Walnut Ridge Recreation Area
Walnut Ridge Recreation Area is a day-use facility 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 boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting. The 18-hole Walnut Ridge Disc Golf Course runs throughout the recreation area. The beautifully manicured course contains both open and wooded fairways with blind pins and tunnel shots. Visitors come to Saylorville Lake for its great boating, sailing and swimming opportunities. Anglers fish for 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…
- Managed by: Saylorville Lake, USACE
- Where: 3 mi north of Johnston, IA · 41.72972, -93.72111
Things to do:
Official page for this camp (fees, closures, booking)
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: May–Sep (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: Nov–Mar.
Fly over it in 3D, check today's weather and fire news, plan the drive and print a trip plan.
Good to know
Verizon 5G · AT&T 5G · T-Mobile 5G
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way shows only on the best nights, if at all.
Class 6 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Dump station: 0.5 mi
Water fill-up: 4.9 mi
Propane: 3.8 mi
Camps nearby
- Acorn Valley 0.6 mi
- Oak Grove Picnic Area 2 mi
- Cherry Glen Campground 2.1 mi
- Prairie Flower Recreation Area 2.1 mi
- Bob Shetler Recreation Area 2.7 mi
- Bob Shetler Picnic Area 3.1 mi