The Johnston Brief
Here's something Johnston folks tend to under-appreciate: the town sits between Beaver Creek, the Des Moines River, and a 26,000-acre reservoir, laced together by more than 45 miles of trails. You can fish a stocked lake, borrow a kayak for free, ride to a beach without touching a road, or watch bison graze, all within a short drive of home. Let's get outside.
Johnston has 45+ miles of trails, Terra Park and its 8-acre stocked Terra Lake (free summer kayaking), and Saylorville Lake right on its doorstep for beaches, boating and camping. Big Creek State Park and Jester Park are a short drive north, Beaver Creek winds through town with a greenbelt trail and a water trail, and there's disc golf at Lew Clarkson Park.
The Beaver Creek Greenbelt Trail is the backbone: roughly 4.4 miles of asphalt that follows Beaver Creek through the wooded Beaver Creek Natural Resource Area, tying the Johnston Interurban Trail and Trestle to Trestle Trail out to Lew Clarkson Park. From there the Neal Smith Trail runs about 26 paved miles up the Des Moines River to Saylorville Lake and Big Creek State Park, and south toward downtown Des Moines. All told, the City of Johnston reports more than 45 miles of trails, so you can ride for hours and rarely share a road.
Terra Park, at 6400 Pioneer Parkway, is Johnston's outdoor hub: a 200-plus-acre park wrapped around the 8-acre Terra Lake. You can fish from an accessible pier, borrow a kayak for free from June through September, walk a lakeside loop, or hit the pickleball and tennis courts. The lake is stocked with largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill, and the park links to the Beaver Creek Natural Resource Area next door.
About as close as it gets. Saylorville Lake is a roughly 26,000-acre Army Corps reservoir, and the dam, project office and visitor center all sit inside Johnston at 5600 NW 78th Avenue. What's out there:
Water levels swing with flood control, so check current conditions at the visitor center. Our full Saylorville guide has the beaches, ramps and camping.
Just north of Saylorville, Big Creek State Park is the calmer, no-wake sister lake, with one of the largest beaches in the Iowa state park system and the north end of the Neal Smith Trail. On the reservoir's western shore, Jester Park is the Polk County park famous for its free bison and elk herds, plus a nature center, golf, cabins and camping. Both are a short drive from Johnston and easy family outings.
Yes. Terra Lake at Terra Park is stocked with largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill and has an accessible pier, so you can fish from shore without a boat. Beaver Creek runs through town, and Saylorville Lake is one of central Iowa's better big-water fisheries (walleye, white bass, crappie, catfish). Anyone 16 and older needs an Iowa fishing license. For spots and license basics, see our Johnston fishing guide.
Lew Clarkson Park at 7501 NW 54th Avenue has a 9-hole disc golf course, and the Beaver Creek water trail has paddling access in town, including a launch at Lew Clarkson Park. Prefer flatwater? The city's free Terra Lake kayaking runs June through September.
Fishing is open year-round with an Iowa license, no season or tags required. Hunting seasons run mostly from early fall into winter, with waterfowl opening in September, deer archery in the fall, pheasant later in the fall, and spring turkey the following year. Johnston itself is built up, so hunters head to public ground farther out; the Iowa DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manage designated areas around Saylorville. Always confirm current legal dates, zones and tags at iowadnr.gov before you go.
Johnston has more than 45 miles of trails, Terra Park and its 8-acre stocked Terra Lake with free summer kayaking, and Saylorville Lake right on its doorstep for beaches, boating and camping. Big Creek State Park and Jester Park are a short drive north, and Beaver Creek winds through town with a greenbelt trail and a water trail.
The City of Johnston reports more than 45 miles of trails. The paved Beaver Creek Greenbelt Trail is the spine of the network, and the Neal Smith Trail runs along the Des Moines River from Johnston up to Saylorville Lake and Big Creek State Park, so you can ride to the water without touching a road.
Yes. Saylorville Lake sits on Johnston's north and west doorstep, and the dam, the Corps project office and the visitor center are inside Johnston at 5600 NW 78th Avenue. The lake has swimming beaches, boat ramps, a marina, campgrounds and the Neal Smith Trail.
Yes. Terra Lake at Terra Park is an 8-acre lake stocked with largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill, with an accessible fishing pier. Beaver Creek and nearby Saylorville Lake add more water. Anyone 16 and older needs a valid Iowa fishing license.
The City of Johnston offers free kayaking on Terra Lake at Terra Park from June through September, and the Beaver Creek water trail has paddling access points in town. Saylorville Lake, on Johnston's doorstep, is open to kayaks and paddleboards too.
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