Walnut Ridge Recreation Area

Walnut Ridge Recreation Area is a day-use facility on the 26,000-acre Saylorville Lake Project, which stretches over 50 miles up the Des Moines River Valley. The lake provides boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and hunting. The 18-hole Walnut Ridge Disc Golf Course runs throughout the recreation area. The beautifully manicured course contains both open and wooded fairways with blind pins and tunnel shots. Anglers fish for walleye, wiper, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and northern pike, and the lake draws boaters, sailors and swimmers. The paved Neal Smith Trail winds 24 miles from Des Moines to Big Creek State Park and connects the campgrounds on the east side of the lake; designated a National Recreation Trail, it is used for biking, hiking, jogging, walking and in-line skating. This day-use area offers three group picnic shelters with water and electricity. Amenities include flush toilets, a playground and hiking trails. The area sits on a wooded ridgeland on the west side of Saylorville Lake, covered in large shade trees. Wildlife is abundant throughout the project, with white-tailed deer, turkeys, pheasants, waterfowl and other small game roaming the lands around the lake.