🇺🇸 Saylorville Lake
USA · North America · All USA spots →
Best directionW
Wind speed12–20kt
SeasonMay – Sep
Skill levelIntermediate
WaterFlat
A reservoir just north of Des Moines. Genuinely limited kitesurfing-specific documentation found — included on general regional grounds.
View live 5-day wind forecast →Good to know
Getting thereJust 20 minutes north of Des Moines, Iowa, via I-35 and Highway 415. A car is needed for the Army Corps of Engineers recreation areas; free parking at the Cherry Glen or Sandpiper beach lots. The wide sandy shoreline near Sandpiper recreation area gives the clearest staging.
HazardsLarge amounts of floating driftwood, submerged logs, and shifting sandbars tied to seasonal flood control. Watch for a moderate freshwater shorebreak in high wind, and avoid the active commercial marina channels near the dam.
Best time of dayAfternoon, when regional S or NW fronts get a thermal boost across the flat Iowa cornfields. Autumn and spring bring the cleanest, most powerful wind before summer doldrums set in.