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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. Cherry Glen Campground

Camping at Cherry Glen Campground near Johnston

Public campground · Johnston · 118 campsites

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

About this campground

The lake itself stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley and supports a wide range of activities: powerboating, sailing, water skiing, windsurfing, swimming and winter sports on the water and shore. Anglers can target walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike, and wildlife viewers will see white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and waterfowl throughout the area.

5.0 on Recreation.gov · 547 reviewsBook on Recreation.gov
View all 3 photos

At a glance

  • RV sites up to 75 ft

    Length limits vary by campsite.

  • Electric hookups
  • Pets welcome
  • Flush toilets

    Showers on site. Dump station on site.

OverviewCampsitesAmenities & locationReviewsPlan your stay

0 available sites

0 open of 118 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 118 sites.

SiteFr
13
Sa
14
Price
086
standard electric
––$24
067
standard electric
––$24
103
standard electric
––$24
073
standard electric
––$24
010
standard electric
––$24
053
standard electric
––$24
106
standard electric
––$24
052
standard electric
––$24
077
standard electric
––$24
098
standard electric
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

  • Accessible Flush Toilets
  • Accessible Showers
  • Boat Ramp
  • Drinking Water
  • Dump Station
  • Electric Hookups
  • Flush Toilets
  • Parking Area
  • Paved Parking
  • Paved Roads
  • Pets Allowed
  • Picnic Tables
Check-in
2:00 PM
Checkout
12:00 PM
Pets
Allowed (per listing)
Maximum stay
14 nights

Hookups (individual campsites): 118 electric individual sites.

Location

SAYLORVILLE LAKE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE
Open in Google Maps ↗

Cherry Glen Campground: questions answered

What is the maximum RV length at Cherry Glen Campground?
Longest RV site listed: 75 ft (120 of 125 RV sites list a length) (per the listing)
Does Cherry Glen Campground have RV hookups?
118 electric individual sites (per the listing)
How do I reserve a site at Cherry Glen Campground?
Reservable on Recreation.gov (per the listing)
Are pets allowed at Cherry Glen Campground?
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: 75 ft (120 of 125 RV sites list a length)
Hookups & power
Listing 118 electric individual sites
Pull-through / back-in
Listing 0 pull-through, 125 back-in
Road & site access
Listing 4 paved, 121 gravel site driveways
Pets
Listing Allowed
Cell signal
Listing Visitor-reported signal on Recreation.gov (higher is better): Verizon 3 (242 reports), T-Mobile 3 (76 reports), AT&T 3 (69 reports)
Water
Listing Water at 3 sites
Shade
Listing 103 of 106 sites that report shade are listed as shaded
Booking
Listing Reservable on Recreation.gov
Price
Listing Lowest listed rate $24/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

Themes from recent written reviews on Recreation.gov. Quotes are verbatim.

The lake and beach · 2 reviews

“Nice park, good facilities, very pretty area-could see the lake at various places.”

Janet B · Oct 2025

Quiet, wooded sites · 2 reviews

“Enjoyed the busy weekend and also the quiet nights.”

Lori J · Oct 2025

Friendly hosts and staff · 2 reviews

“While a bit dated, all the bathrooms and buildings are kept clean, all the sites are pretty spacious, hosts are great.”

Jesse B · Oct 2025

Selected reviews

Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (547 reviews, ★ 5.0). Not written or edited by us.

“Very friendly camp host and the facility is very well kept. Enjoyed the busy weekend and also the quiet nights. The bike paths were also a highlight.”

Lori J 5 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov

“Nice park, good facilities, very pretty area-could see the lake at various places. Our site had an extreme slope so our front motorhome tires were off the ground a foot. But otherwise very nice.”

Janet B 4 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov
Nearby

Campgrounds to compare

Prefer a roof?

Prefer a roof over your head

All glamping →
  • Timberline RV Campground14.5 mi · Waukee
  • Timberline West RV Campground, Cabins14.5 mi · Waukee
  • Shadybrook Camping and RV Adventure26 mi · Earlham
  • Crows Nest RV Resort27.6 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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$24
114
standard electric
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092
standard electric
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035
standard electric
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072
standard electric
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079
standard electric
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112
standard electric
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014
standard electric
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028
standard electric
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004
standard electric
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038
standard electric
––$24
021
standard electric
––$24
097
standard electric
––$24
100
standard electric
––$24
080
standard electric
––$24
126
standard electric
––$24
094
standard electric
––$24
030
standard electric
––$24
026
standard electric
––$24
045
standard electric
––$24
091
standard electric
––$24
116
standard electric
––$24
032
standard electric
––$24
108
standard electric
––$24
066
standard electric
––$24
037
standard electric
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047
standard electric
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011
standard electric
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042
standard electric
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007
standard electric
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049
standard electric
––$24

✓ 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

14.5 mi from Cherry Glen Campground (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

14.5 mi from Cherry Glen Campground (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

18.8 mi from Cherry Glen Campground (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: 118 sites take tents. See open sites ↑
  • Electric sites: 118 sites have power.

Need an RV for your stay?

Rentals that may deliver here and whose listed length fits sites up to 75 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 · 8 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 · 12 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 · 13 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 Apr 15–Oct 14: Tent $26, RV & Tent $24–$26 per night
  • Peak season Apr 15–Oct 14: Tent $26, RV & Tent $24–$26 per night

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

Plan your stay

How far ahead to book Cherry Glen Campground

For May weekends, book about 122 days ahead. Three in four May Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 49 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
April46 days ahead90 days ahead20 days ahead86 days ahead
May49 days ahead122 days ahead37 days ahead139 days ahead
June64 days ahead122 days ahead31 days ahead110 days ahead
July42 days ahead108 days ahead22 days ahead109 days ahead
August44 days ahead119 days ahead30 days ahead121 days ahead
September24 days ahead63 days ahead15 days ahead59 days ahead
October16 days ahead36 days ahead10 days ahead38 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 (40,196 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

118 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7. Rates are the listed nightly rates.

Standard sites with electric

Tent or RV, with power

118 sites · $24, $26/night

Loops: CHERRY GLEN loop (118)

0 open Nov 13–Nov 15