You can read a follow up review of this campground here.

A short 90 mile trip from Creston, IA brings us to Des Moines at Cherry Glen Campground at the Army Corps of Engineers’ Saylorville Lake. We’re located on the northwest outskirts of Des Moines in a lovely campground that boasts excellent roads and big, level campsites. The hookup situation is a bit strange: no water, no sewer, but 50 amp electric. However, there’s a water station right at the entrance. We stopped there and filled up with 100 gallons of water. If we don’t go nuts using water that should be enough for our eight day stay. We have three waste water tanks on board, and again, that should be sufficient for us.

This is Jackie’s home town and the reason we came to Des Moines was so she could spend some time with her family here. We were super busy through the weekend. (In fact, our being absent from the campground so much is another key to water conservation at the camper!)

We arrived at Cherry Glen campground at the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. Our reservations were absolutely necessary as the place was packed out. There were not only lots of RV’s but also plenty of tenters as well. Friday wasn’t bad if you didn’t mind the temperatures being in the high 50′s. Then, on Saturday it rained and poured with lots of wind. It was miserable weather to be in a nice RV not to mention being in a tent. Still, these hardy folks held in there. On Saturday evening with wet, windy conditions we heard children playing and saw lots of folks sitting around campfires. Hardy folks – these upper mid-westerners (or something!).

In addition to the lake being near by, a wonderful, paved trail passes right by the campground. The Neal Smith trail is something special. It passes through beautiful woods and extends for miles and miles. Our campground is at mile 16 and the campground is no where near the end of the trail. What with family activity and the weather, Jackie and I have only explored a small portion of the trail, but the trail does call to you. There are lots of bicycles on the trail and exploring it by bike is inviting. I confess that it’s pretty hilly. We flat-landers might find that somewhat intimidating.

We give Cherry Glen two thumbs up. If you plan on coming just be aware that this is dry camping and it’s a busy place on summer weekends. Otherwise, you’ll enjoy this nice, wooded campground just minutes from all the amenities of the city.