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Prairie Flower Recreation Area: how hard is it to reserve?
Saylorville Lake · US Army Corps of Engineers · Polk City, IA
As of Oct 10, 2026, 68% of Friday and Saturday site-nights at Prairie Flower Recreation Area over the next 90 days are already reserved, compared with 43% of weeknights. Weekends are much harder than weekdays here — shifting a trip to Sunday–Thursday is the easiest way to get a site. In the next 30 days, 15 of 30 dates have at least one open site (1,155 open site-nights in total; 1,155 over 90 days).
Upcoming weekends
| Weekend (Fri–Sat) | Booked | Open sites Fri | Open sites Sat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16, 2026 | 82% | 30 | 28 |
| Oct 23, 2026 | 40% | 88 | 102 |
| Oct 30, 2026 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6, 2026 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 13, 2026 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 20, 2026 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
Snapshot history
| Snapshot date | Score | Weekends booked | Weeknights booked | Open dates 30d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2026 | 63 | 68% | 43% | 15 |
About Prairie Flower Recreation Area
- 252 campsites (252 listed in availability data)
- $20–$336 per night
- Recreation.gov rating 4.6/5 from 897 reviews
- Equipment: Tent, RV, Trailer
- Activities: Swimming Site, Water Sports, Hunting, Hiking, Fishing, Camping, Boating, Biking
Prairie Flower Recreation Area is located on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches more than 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting.Prairie Flower is a large, open campground covering more than 60 acres. It offers 153 family sites and 10 group sites, all with electric hookups. Many of the family sites in the south end offer a pleasant view of the 6000-acre lake. The north end is made up of mostly group sites in a circle-the-wagon design. Amenities include …
Description excerpt from Recreation.gov.
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Other campgrounds in Saylorville Lake
| Campground | Difficulty | Weekends booked | Open dates (30d) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Glen Campground Saylorville Lake | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
| Bob Shetler Recreation Area Saylorville Lake | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
| Acorn Valley Saylorville Lake | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
Nearby campgrounds
| Campground | State | Difficulty | Weekends booked | Open dates (30d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallashuck Lake Red Rock | IA | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
| Whitebreast Camp Lake Red Rock | IA | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
| North Overlook Camp Lake Red Rock | IA | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
| Howell Station Lake Red Rock | IA | Very hard | 100% | 7 |
| Bridgeview (Rathbun Lake) Rathbun Lake | IA | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |
| Island View (Rathbun Lake) Rathbun Lake | IA | Not measured yet | n/a | n/a |