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Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Activities powered by Viator. Prices and availability come from each provider and are confirmed when you book with them.

  1. Home
  2. Iowa
  3. Acorn Valley

Camping at Acorn Valley near Johnston

Public campground · Johnston · 81 campsites · 2 group

A forested campground near fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. RV fit varies by site.

About this campground

Acorn Valley sits on the east side of the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, a corridor of reservoir, timber and prairie that follows more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The campground's entrance is marked by mature Bur Oaks and the site occupies a 26-acre fringe of upland timber, where white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, pheasants, waterfowl and other small game are commonly seen.

4.0 on Recreation.gov · 242 reviewsBook on Recreation.gov
View all 6 photos

At a glance

  • RV sites up to 72 ft

    Length limits vary by campsite.

  • Electric hookups
  • Pets welcome
  • Showers
OverviewCampsitesAmenities & locationReviewsPlan your stay

0 available sites

0 open of 81 sites
No sites offered for these dates.

We checked every night of your stay on Recreation.gov: no site is open for all 2 nights. Some sites are open on some nights.

Flexible dates

View the next available two-night stay.

Looking for the next open dates…
Fixed dates

Compare nearby campgrounds open for these dates. Your camping setup, rig size, hookups and dates stay applied.

Nearby campgrounds open for these dates
Check Recreation.gov directly ↗
View full availability calendar · night-by-night from Recreation.gov

Check dates on Recreation.gov. Showing 40 of 83 sites.

SiteFr
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14
Price
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No site is open for every night of your stay

You book directly on Recreation.gov. Rates and availability can change until reserved. Campground page on Recreation.gov ↗

No sites offered for these dates
Book on Recreation.gov

Amenities & location

  • Playground
  • Showers
Check-in
2:00 PM
Checkout
12:00 PM
Pets
Allowed (per listing)
Maximum stay
14 nights

Hookups (individual campsites): 27 electric individual sites · group sites listed separately (1 no-hookup).

Location

SAYLORVILLE LAKE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE
Open in Google Maps ↗

Acorn Valley: questions answered

What is the maximum RV length at Acorn Valley?
Longest RV site listed: 72 ft (28 of 29 RV sites list a length) (per the listing)
Does Acorn Valley have RV hookups?
27 electric individual sites · group sites listed separately (1 no-hookup) (per the listing)
How do I reserve a site at Acorn Valley?
Reservable on Recreation.gov (per the listing)
Are pets allowed at Acorn Valley?
Allowed (per the listing)
Sources and details

At a glance

Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the Recreation.gov listing. Anything we can't source says so.

Max rig length
Listing Longest RV site listed: 72 ft (28 of 29 RV sites list a length)
Hookups & power
Listing 27 electric individual sites · group sites listed separately (1 no-hookup)
Pull-through / back-in
Listing 0 pull-through, 29 back-in
Road & site access
Listing 29 gravel site driveways; 1 hike-in site
Pets
Listing Allowed
Cell signal
Listing Visitor-reported signal on Recreation.gov (higher is better): Verizon 3 (101 reports), T-Mobile 3 (39 reports), AT&T 3 (30 reports)
Water
Listing Water at 3 sites
Shade
Listing 68 of 82 sites that report shade are listed as shaded
Booking
Listing Reservable on Recreation.gov
Price
Listing Lowest listed rate $14/night (live price once you pick dates)
Stay limits
Listing 14 nights max
Getting there
Listing SAYLORVILLE LAKE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE (map in Location below)
Generators · Quiet hours · Starlink / satellite
Not listed — check with campground

Reviews

Selected reviews

Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (242 reviews, ★ 4.0). Not written or edited by us.

“I found the Campground clean and level where I set my tent up. I wish it had been more quiet as there were cars coming and going late into the evening. I certainly understand without having a gate that closes at a certain time, people will come and go throughout the night. ”

Matthew M 4 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov

“Acorn Valley CG - an unexpected, pleasurable experience. We enjoyed a clean and spacious grassy campsite. The walk-in site was just a few yards from the parking. The bathrooms were clean with hooks on the wall. We will stop in again on our next cross country drive.”

Joseph C 4 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov
Nearby

Campgrounds to compare

Prefer a roof?

Prefer a roof over your head

All glamping →
  • Timberline RV Campground13.4 mi · Waukee
  • Timberline West RV Campground, Cabins13.4 mi · Waukee
  • Shadybrook Camping and RV Adventure24.5 mi · Earlham
  • Crows Nest RV Resort28.6 mi · INDIANOLA

Explore nearby

  • Campgrounds near Johnston
  • RV rentals near Johnston
  • Glamping & cabins near Johnston
  • RV rentals in Iowa
  • Glamping in Iowa

Guides for this trip

  • How much does it cost to rent an RV?
  • Camping with dogs
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✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released

Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights7 sites open for every night

Timberline RV Campground

13.4 mi from Acorn Valley (straight-line)
Sites from $35/night
$70 total for Nov 13–15 · before taxes & fees
Rates & availability from Campspot · you book on their site
View Campsites
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights7 sites open for every night

Timberline West RV Campground, Cabins

13.4 mi from Acorn Valley (straight-line)
Sites from $92/night
$184 total for Nov 13–15 · before taxes & fees
Rates & availability from Hipcamp · you book on their site
View Campsites
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights11 sites open for every night

Burkhart Farm

17 mi from Acorn Valley (straight-line)
Sites from $15/night
$30 total for Nov 13–15 · before taxes & fees
Rates & availability from Hipcamp · you book on their site
View Campsites
Ways to stay

Bring a tent or have an RV waiting

  • Tent camping here: 27 sites take tents. See open sites ↑
  • Electric sites: 27 sites have power.

Need an RV for your stay?

Rentals that may deliver here and whose listed length fits sites up to 72 ft. Delivery may be available — confirm fees and dates with the owner before you book.

2022 Jayco Jay Flight SLX
2022 Jayco Jay Flight SLX

Travel trailer · 20 ft · sleeps 5 · 9 mi from campground

$109/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available

View rental
2022 Forest River IBEX 19MBH
2022 Forest River IBEX 19MBH

Travel trailer · 25 ft · sleeps 5 · 11 mi from campground

$110/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available

View rental
2023 Forest River Forester-Your Airbnb on Wheels!
2023 Forest River Forester-Your Airbnb on Wheels!

Class C motorhome · 24.4 ft · sleeps 6 · 14 mi from campground

$250/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available

View rental
Best time to go

Seasons, rates and how booked it gets

  • Peak season May 1–Oct 14: RV & Tent $24–$84, Tent $14 per night
  • Peak season May 1–Oct 14: RV & Tent $24–$84, Tent $14 per night

stays up to 14 nights (Recreation.gov rules).

Plan your stay

How far ahead to book Acorn Valley

For May weekends, book about 31 days ahead. Three in four May Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 6 days or less before arrival. Past timing is guidance, not a guarantee of what is open now.

See booking patterns
Arrival monthFri/Sat arrivals: half booked at leastA quarter at leastOther days: half booked at leastA quarter at least
April19 days ahead160 days ahead29 days ahead150 days ahead
May6 days ahead31 days ahead3 days ahead64 days ahead
June3 days ahead19 days ahead0 days ahead33 days ahead
July2 days ahead11 days ahead1 days ahead21 days ahead
August2 days ahead12 days ahead0 days ahead23 days ahead
September4 days ahead18 days ahead2 days ahead22 days ahead
October6 days ahead23 days ahead3 days ahead19 days ahead

Months with fewer than 30 reservations of that kind are left blank. Sites where nearly every booking was made the day of arrival (pay on arrival) are left out. Closed seasons, windows not yet released for booking, and currently unavailable nights are separate from this history.

Based on Recreation.gov reservations, FY2015–2025 (16,155 reservations in the years scored). Counts reservations made, not nights actually camped: cancellations aren't in the data, and nights a site was closed count as not booked. FY2020–21 (COVID) are left out of the scores.

Compare site types

81 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7 · 2 group sites listed separately. Rates are the listed nightly rates.

Walk to

54 sites · $14/night

Loops: ACORN VALLEY loop (54)

0 open Nov 13–Nov 15

Standard sites with electric

Tent or RV, with power

27 sites · $24, $26/night

Loops: ACORN VALLEY loop (27)

0 open Nov 13–Nov 15

Group walk to (group)

1 site · $70/night

Loops: ACORN VALLEY loop (1)

0 open Nov 13–Nov 15

Group tent only area nonelectric (group)

1 site · $84/night

Loops: ACORN VALLEY loop (1)

0 open Nov 13–Nov 15