New sections have best big-rig access. T & L loops in the Tail Water West and East sections, respectively. Great COE facility with THREE campground areas. The Dam Complex has FIVE major loops, plus Sandy Beach and Sugar Bottom. All told, there are well over 300 sites, AND at least 25% are saved for first-come, first-served (off the reservation system). They honor the senior-pass (aka, Golden Age Passport) for half-price camping! We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

We stayed at the Sugar Bottom Campground which is part of the Coralville Lake complex. Contrary to what was stated in one of the previous posts, about a third of the sites at Sugar Bottom have full hookups and many can be reserved. This is one of your typically great COE campgrounds. The rate shown reflects the federal senior discount pass. The full hookup sites are fully paved; the electric only sites are gravel, but all interior roads are paved. The sites are partially to fully wooded; we had no trouble getting satellite reception on ours. Many people are using over-the-air antennas. Verizon service was weak but usable (we do have an external antenna and amplifier). The only slight downside is that the access road is a bit "challenging." It is only a little over a mile long, but there are some tight turns and steep climbs. The good news is that there isn't much traffic, and the road is short! We camped here in a Motorhome.

This is a nice park. Some of the loops are wooded; others are just shaded while other loops are in the sun. Most (not all) sites can accommodate large rigs – without the tow. There are plenty of parking spaces for the tow. Some sites are on gravel and others are on cement. The interior roads are on asphalt. Only Tailwater West has FHU with 50/30 amp service. All other sites have 30/20 amp service only. The electrical voltage was good. Fresh water can be found at the dump station. The loops near the boat dock can be a little noisy. There is also a very large beach area. The bathroom/showers are the typical state park facilities. They are clean but not very appealing. Verizon air card was a little weak but usable. Verizon cell phone had 2 – 3 bars with Broadband access. We would definitely come back here again if we were in the area. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

We love this place. We go every year and get a lakeside view. You can rent boats which we try to do depending on the weather. The people are very friendly. Have nothing bad to say about this place. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Beautiful place to stay. Our site was right on the water. Clean showers and restrooms. Very clean park. Would stay here again. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.

We stayed at Linder Point, with a shady, level, paved site. On walks we noticed that only the first eight sites had full hookups. Other sites had water & electric only, or dry. Our site was a generous 50 feet. Reservations would be a must, especially for football season. We felt very fortunate to find a 2 night opening. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Nice sites in loop W, not paved, but good level small gravel. Some sites flooded when we were there. Did not see any full hookup sites other than camp hosts. 30 amp electric with water available at dump station and the center of the loop. We camped here in a Motorhome.

We stayed in the West Overlook campground which is the closest one to the lake. The sites are large and paved, but the patio's are dirt. The shower room is small for the amount of sites, with just 2 shower stalls for the loop. We were also here over Memorial day weekend. The lake was packed with watercraft. The lake is not very wide, so during peak usage it can be extremely rough water. The biggest negative for the lake was the lack of any type of water patrols by the rangers. There was actually a fatality on the lake on Sunday night. In spite of the unfortunate accident, this is a very nice park. I would stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.

What a find. Only 3 miles north of I-80. There are many waterfront sites, as well as shaded and open ones. Clean, mowed, quiet, and cell phone service was adequate. Very convenient to Iowa City. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

Another fantastic COE campground. Easy access, level sites and friendly staff. Nice scenic walking areas and beautiful views. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

We camped in the Linder Point section with full hook ups. This area is a bit tight, but we found our site to be level and fun for our family. The campground is very close to Iowa City. The hiking around this area was very nice and we enjoyed hiking to the lake. We will stay here again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

This is a Corp of Engineers park on Saylorville Lake. The park is below the dam and is very quiet with great fishing below the dam. My only complaint is the directions to the campground from I-80 on ReserveAmerica had not been updated when we made our reservations. The directions gave instructions to use exit 131. These instructions took you on a route that ended up at a road that had been washed out and closed. We ran into a nice National Guard soldier who escorted us about 15 miles to the correct roads to get into the campground. I reviewed the ReserveAmerica directions after we returned from our trip, and the directions have been updated and changed to use exit 135, which is correct. The sites are nice and level. We would stay in this park again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

Fantastic value! Large sites, very clean and very well maintained. We got electric because our propane fridge is on the fritz. Even so, this is the lowest priced site that we have found in three weeks of camping, and there is nothing wrong with it! The area is beautiful. It is at the downstream side of the dam, and the river gushes up right outside the campgront gates. There are fish cleaning facilities on site, so I suspect that one can actually catch fish! The community offers all amenities, nearby (restaurants, shopping, etc.) Ok, it would be nice to have WiFi, sanitary hook ups and so on, but for "primitive" camping you cannot beat this. We camped here in a Motorhome.

There are a limited number of full hook-up sites available and they appear to be separate from the lake area. We had full hook-ups in the Linder Point section. The sites are concrete with picnic tables and fire rings. The roads are paved. The sites in the Linder Point area are quite close together (more so than in other Corps Of Engineers camp grounds). Good dog walking on the road in our section. Site was level and ok for our 42' motorhome. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Tailwater East is just one of six campgrounds in the Corps of Engineers Coralville Dam Complex. The campground was neat, clean and the sites were level on paved pads with grassy areas between sites. One row of sites has 50 amp. Another row backs up to the river. Site 11 is a very large pull-thru with lots of space around it. Short drive to beach,visitors center, I-80 and Iowa City. Some sites can be reserved. We paid $8 for an electric site with our National Parks Pass. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

I did not stay in the campground, but because it does not have a previous review, this one is being posted. My comments are based on a detailed inspection of the facility. This Corp campground is behind the Saylorville Lake dam and adjacent to the spillway. It has trees that provide some shade for most of the sites. The access roads are paved. There is no water hook-up, but there are community faucets for filling holding tanks. Picnic tables and fire rings/grills are located on each site. There is playground equipment. Most of the sites are level. There are a few pull thru sites. Bathhouses are centrally located and clean. The sites are gravel and they are so big that you could get two large RVs onto one site. The campground only has 30A service, but if you can deal with that this C/G would be ideal for big rigs. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Prairie Flower is one of four campgrounds located on Saylorville Lake, a 26,000 acre COE multipurpose flood control project located approximately fifteen miles upstream from downtown Des Moines. The park’s address is Johnston, but the campground is accessed by Hwy 415 between Ankeny and Polk City. All interior roads are asphalt. A majority of the sites are open, spacious and big rig friendly. (103 sites are available for individual reservations out of the total 245 sites.) The Corp is gradually upgrading the gravel pads to cement. The grounds were well maintained, and the restrooms with showers were very clean. Prairie Flower is popular on weekends. We used Golden Age Passport. We will definitely stay here again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

Very nice COE park just north of Des Moines. Very clean and well-kept. Staff was very friendly and always helpful. Bathrooms were very clean and monitored frequently. Lots of shade in the south campground. The north (group) campgrounds are pretty open, but if you have a large get together, or a lot of friends, this is a great spot for "circling the wagons". We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

This is a very good Corp of Engineer campground. It is one of the more uniquely laid out ones I’ve been in. It is divided into multiple looped sections each with bathhouse and playground facilities that are centrally located and well maintained. The group and tent sections are circular with a pavilion in the center. Tent sites are grass. 30A electrical boxes are positioned around the perimeter so that a small sized rig can also use the section. It is a very nice setup for groups. The roads are paved. Some RV sites are gravel; some are concrete and all have a picnic table and fire ring/grill. Not all gravel sites are level despite the fact that they could be. The area is not hilly. There is a 30A only section, but 50A service is the norm. The voltage was good, but there is no water on the pads. There are numerous community water faucets for filling holding tanks. There is a huge amount of space between most sites. About half are shaded, but trees do not interfere with them or the access roads. The majority have ample parking for your tow or towed vehicle. Each section has a designated parking area for boats. The single dump station is two-way, but there will be a waiting line if the park is full. Trash dumpsters are at the entrance of the campground so you’ll have to driving to them. Downgraded the rating for the lack of water/sewer, some un-leveled, but one of the nicer Corp parks. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Camped here several times while living in IA, one of my favorites. We love site 190, some road noise with windows open. Very flat and great for biking and walking. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Absolutely perfect campground, we would recommend this to anyone wanting a nice relaxing campsite. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.