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Prairie Flower Campground
Army Corps Of Engineers
Write a Review 10498-10534 Northwest Lake Drive Polk City, IA 50226 515-984-6925 Official WebsiteGPS: 41.749, -93.688
Overview of Prairie Flower Campground
Prairie Flower campground will be closed throughout the 2023 recreation season to facilitate upgrades and repairs to water and sewer line systems.
Last Price Paid: $24
Reported by Lowell C. on 9/18/2024
Longest RV Reported: 39 feet (Fifth Wheel)
Reported by Mick & Karla on 6/25/2020
Number of Sites 153
Reservations yes
Elevation 918 ft / 279 m
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Prairie Flower Campground
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 515.984.6925
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Reviews of Prairie Flower Campground 10 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 6 Users
Last reported 5/29/2024
Confirmed by 4 Users
Last reported 9/18/2024
Confirmed by 1 User
Last reported 7/20/2022
“Surrounded By Flowers”
Reviewed 9/18/2024
| Nightly rate: | $24 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | 16 |
Overall Rating
Very nice COE campground with well spaced sites, clean shower house and wonderful native fields around the many camping loops. We stayed in loop A. It is a good overnight location in the DesMoines vicinity
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AT&T 4G
Lowell C. would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Amazing!”
Reviewed 8/5/2024
| Nightly rate: | $22 |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | 179 |
| RV Length: | 22' (Class C) |
Overall Rating
$22 a night for 30amp. Everything looks brand new and grounds are immaculate. Very quiet even though we chose honey loop which is closest to the road. We took the advice of camp host to check out big creek beach, it wasn’t worth it. Water was warmer than tepid and lake foam on the shore, a lot of algae but the kids enjoyed swimming in ... more
$22 a night for 30amp. Everything looks brand new and grounds are immaculate. Very quiet even though we chose honey loop which is closest to the road. We took the advice of camp host to check out big creek beach, it wasn’t worth it. Water was warmer than tepid and lake foam on the shore, a lot of algae but the kids enjoyed swimming in the mud haha I would definitely recommend staying here if you need a day or 2 to restock, dump, break from travel.
Playgrounds were big and a lot of fun things to explore.
TB would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful Campground ”
Reviewed 5/29/2024
| Nightly rate: | $26 |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | 55 |
| RV Length: | 37' (Class A) |
Overall Rating
This is a large COE campground located on Saylorville Lake. The South campground has looks A-D. The North campground has the group sites. Reservations are made through recreation.gov The roads throughout the park are paved. The campground has children’s playgrounds, restrooms, showers, potable water, and a dump station. Bathrooms are... more
This is a large COE campground located on Saylorville Lake. The South campground has looks A-D. The North campground has the group sites. Reservations are made through recreation.gov The roads throughout the park are paved. The campground has children’s playgrounds, restrooms, showers, potable water, and a dump station. Bathrooms are clean. Some of it has been remodeled, but some of it looks dated. Water spigots are located throughout the campground. You may be able to fill your tanks from some of the spigots if you have a long enough hose. The best option would be the potable water near the dump station. The north dump station is closed. It appears to be still under construction. The south dump station has 3 lanes. They are set up to stop at on your way out of the campground. If wanting to use the dump station on the way in you essentially drive past the dump station and make a u-turn. In addition, the dump station is not very level. In order to get the tanks emptied we needed to drop the front jacks and raise the RV.
Checked in on Memorial Day. No host was at the booth, not sure if someone is normally there. There’s an area near the entrance where we were able to disconnect toad before heading to site. No campground map available. Loop A sites are gravel. Loop C had the best views of the lake. There is a path from loop C that leads down to Oak Grove Beach. The beach did not look inviting at all. There was a lot of trees and debris at the end of the path. I’m not sure if this is normal or related to a storm that had gone through recently.
Site B-55 was 70 feet long and a concrete pad. It had a picnic table and fire ring. The sites are fairly large with a fair amount of grass in between. There are a lot of mature trees throughout. There was a water spigot between site B-55 & B-57. There are no trash cans/dumpsters in the individual loops. I did find dumpsters near the main entrance and near the entrance to loop D.
Verizon signal was 2 bars 5G and adequate to talk, text, search the internet, and stream videos. Would definitely stay here again.
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Verizon 5G
Dawn would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Very nice relaxing stay ”
Reviewed 7/20/2022
| Nightly rate: | $10 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | H190 |
| RV Length: | 16' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
Spent 1 night on our way to the scamp rally in Backus Minnesota. 85 degrees at 5pm with a nice breeze. No mosquitos the night we were here.clean restrooms and showers.
T mobile 4 bars with 4G.
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T-Mobile 4G
Mike & Debbie would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Very Pleasant Recreation Area”
Reviewed 8/26/2021
| Nightly rate: | $11 |
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| Days stayed: | 6 |
| Site Number: | 186 |
| RV Length: | 21' (Class B) |
Overall Rating
We camped six nights in early August and thoroughly enjoyed this recreation area. We've camped a number of times at Cherry Glen and this was our first time at Prairie Flower. We loved the access to the Neal Smith Trail and the trails within the campground itself. Friendly volunteers and a well managed Corps campground.
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AT&T 4G
ray01brown would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Immaculate Campground”
Reviewed 8/4/2020
| Nightly rate: | $11 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | C85 |
Overall Rating
This is one of four CoE campgrounds around Saylorville Lake and likely the most popular, probably due to having direct beach access. There are two campgrounds at Prairie Flower: North, which has primitive (non-electric) sites, and South, which has more developed sites, all with electric. In the south campground, there are four loops: A... more
This is one of four CoE campgrounds around Saylorville Lake and likely the most popular, probably due to having direct beach access. There are two campgrounds at Prairie Flower: North, which has primitive (non-electric) sites, and South, which has more developed sites, all with electric. In the south campground, there are four loops: Aster, Blazingstar, Coneflower, and Dogbane. We stayed in the Coneflower loop, which has a trail leading directly to the beach (a short walk or drive) and there are six sites that have a lake view. The sites are very large, all with concrete pads, with a decent amount of spacing between them. The bathrooms were exceptionally clean and they were cleaned twice daily. There is something for everyone here and a great campground for families: hiking trails, a sandy beach with a swimming area, and a nice playground, separated into two age-appropriate sections. Note that you must reserve these sites in advance, and it is easier to do so on the app versus the web (some people including me have seen messages saying these sites are not reservable, which is incorrect). The price ($22/$11 with senior pass) is very reasonable. This was our first camping outing in over four months since the pandemic hit and it was a great re-entry to camping and practically in our backyard!
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Verizon 4G
bbvanlife would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“COEs continue to please.”
Reviewed 6/25/2020
| Nightly rate: | $11 |
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| Days stayed: | 6 |
| Site Number: | 46 |
| RV Length: | 39' (Fifth Wheel) |
Overall Rating
Note as you come into the area, Prairie Flower’s street address is Johnston, IA but the campground is located on the other side of Saylorville Lake outside Polk City. We followed the CV-19 checkin instructions at the gate by calling the stated phone number. We were told to proceed to our site after stopping at the dump station for p... more
Note as you come into the area, Prairie Flower’s street address is Johnston, IA but the campground is located on the other side of Saylorville Lake outside Polk City. We followed the CV-19 checkin instructions at the gate by calling the stated phone number. We were told to proceed to our site after stopping at the dump station for potable water. We later noted that there were water spigots periodically located in the loops, however pulling a large rig over to use those spigots blocked traffic. Prairie Flower was a big CG with about 150 sites organized in separate areas that were electric only. We proceeded to site 46, which was an easy back in due to the angle and wide pad. The site was spacious with no sites near our utilities side as there was a trail entrance next to our site. Downside was that the patio area faces West and received the sun during heat of the day. The restrooms/shower houses were open and we saw children in the playgrounds. The E-O loops to the right of the gate were group sites in a circle that could handle 4 to 10 rigs. The A loop had gravel sites that were fairly level. B loop had level cement pads. The C loop had the best lake views and had cement pads as well. D loop was gravel and had more trees. We enjoyed walking the dogs on the trail head adjacent to our site that led to other trails. We did not receive a trail map so took a picture of the map posted at the trail head on our cell phone. The trails were mowed and most parts were an easy hike with a few spots that went up/down hill and slightly narrow. We had decent Verizon and AT&T service plus plenty of OTA channels. Trees were sparse enough in most areas that you could put out satellite. We had a squirrel get up into our truck and damage our fan belt system causing us stay three extra days for repairs. Since our site was reserved, we moved to an emergency spot near the camp hosts, which we thank the campground for accommodating us over Father’s Day weekend. Tip: Drive the 50 minutes to Winterset to visit John Wayne’s birthplace, which was well worth the $15 entry fee. Then checkout the covered bridges of Madison County.
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
Mick & Karla would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful, clean campground”
Reviewed 6/17/2020
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | H185 |
| RV Length: | 19' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
This is how a campground should be. We pulled into our back in site which was level. It was gravel, surrounded by trees, burn pit with cooking grate and a metal picnic table. We were next to a busy road that was noisy but while sleeping at night the air conditioning drowned out the noise. Our site was 30 amp, $20 per night. We reserved... more
This is how a campground should be. We pulled into our back in site which was level. It was gravel, surrounded by trees, burn pit with cooking grate and a metal picnic table. We were next to a busy road that was noisy but while sleeping at night the air conditioning drowned out the noise. Our site was 30 amp, $20 per night. We reserved the site online. The shower areas were clean and very private and included restrooms. There is a dump station and fresh potable water near the entrance. Everyone was courteous, workers and fellow campers. We really liked this campground and would recommend it.
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Verizon 4G
Mardo would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Inexpensive Overnighter”
Reviewed 7/15/2019
| Nightly rate: | $10 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | H184 |
| RV Length: | 24' (Truck Camper) |
Overall Rating
The pros of this stay included it was inexpensive considering I have a pass that cuts the price in half. It's nicely treed although, that can be an issue for the larger rigs - I trimmed a few of them. The cons include some of the spaces are pretty close together. I got one of the last sites available for the weekend and it backed up ... more
The pros of this stay included it was inexpensive considering I have a pass that cuts the price in half. It's nicely treed although, that can be an issue for the larger rigs - I trimmed a few of them.
The cons include some of the spaces are pretty close together. I got one of the last sites available for the weekend and it backed up next to a main road which, one would think, would have encouraged the folks next to me to follow the leash rule but didn't. There was considerable road noise.
The sites have 30 amp only and no water. I did not check the bathrooms or any other facilities. I did see a dump station near the entrance.
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Verizon 4G
Ponderosa Max would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice campground ”
Reviewed 2/16/2017
| Nightly rate: | $8 |
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| Days stayed: | 14 |
| Site Number: | D128 |
| RV Length: | 31' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
This is another campground we have been to many times due to the location near our children. We have been camping here for over 12 years. We have camped in the H, D and C loops as these are the ones we prefer. The sites are spacious, which seems to be the norm for COE campgrounds. Sites are electric only but there are spigots ar... more
This is another campground we have been to many times due to the location near our children. We have been camping here for over 12 years. We have camped in the H, D and C loops as these are the ones we prefer.
The sites are spacious, which seems to be the norm for COE campgrounds. Sites are electric only but there are spigots around and fresh water is available at the dump station also. We have never had an issue with the electricity even during very hot Iowa summers. Some sites do require a bit of leveling but not severe. This campground is popular and books up quickly. We have experienced some times where the bugs were bad, and others times where they were tolerable. Again, this is Iowa. The frustrating part due to popularity, is the wait time to dump as there are only two dump stations for the whole campground. The dump is easy to access though.
The campground has access to a local bike trail and biking through the campground is popular.
The shower houses are kept extremely clean and monitored during the day and cleaned daily.
Dog poop bags are stationed around the different loops so there is no reason to not pick up after your pet.
Prairie Flower is close to Ankeny and Des Moines with all the various activities the cities offer.
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Verizon 4G
dcjones1068 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
1 review not included in the overall rating
The reviews below are not up to Campendium's standards for quality and reliability and therefore are not counted toward the overall star rating. Please see our FAQ page for more information.
“Site ok, view is crap”
Reviewed 6/7/2019
| Days stayed: | 0 |
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| Site Number: | 16 |
Overall Rating
Please tell us what idiot decided to cut down and leave lay the trees, all over the camp ground. And then cut the bark around the tree on hundreds of other trees so that they would die. You turned a great campground into a crap hole.
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AT&T 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
11 reviews
“Closed For 2023 Season”
noted 2/28/2023
I was looking around places near DesMoines and came across this:
“Prairie Flower and Cherry Glen campgrounds and the Cherry Glen picnic area at Saylorville Lake will be closed throughout the 2023 recreation season.”
This was from the Recreation.gov website
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Amenities
Hookups
- 20 Amp
- water
- sewer
- Full Hookups
Recreation
- playground
- swimming beach
Facilities
- dump station
- restrooms: flush
- showers
- water available
Pets
- pets
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Friendly Manager Said OK. Showed Me where to park. Good breakfast in the morning.
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