Lakes / Iowa / Polk County / Saylorville Lake
Saylorville Lake, Iowa
5,428 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - Iowa
41.76 degrees N, 93.73 degrees W - Polk County. State and county outlines drawn from Census boundary data; the lake marker is placed by its USGS National Hydrography Dataset coordinates, not by eye. Schematic - not a survey map.
How Saylorville Lake Stacks Up
- Ranks #4 for surface area among the Iowa lakes counted so far - 5,428 acres.
- The largest lake in Polk County among those counted.
- About 13 miles from Des Moines, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brenton Slough | Polk | 4.2 mi | 62 acres |
| Big Creek Lake | Polk | 4.3 mi | 856 acres |
| Grays Lake | Polk | 14 mi | 96 acres |
| Dale Maffit Reservoir | Dallas | 17 mi | 187 acres |
| Lake Easter | Polk | 17 mi | 177 acres |
| Lake Colechester | Warren | 18 mi | 153 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Saylorville Lake
How Big Is Saylorville Lake?
Saylorville Lake covers 5,428 acres in Polk County, Iowa.
What Is the Largest Lake in Polk County?
Saylorville Lake is the largest lake in Polk County, at 5,428 acres.
Largest Lakes in Iowa
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rathbun Lake | Appanoose | 13,869 acres | - |
| 2 | Lake Red Rock | Marion | 8,619 acres | - |
| 3 | Spirit Lake | Dickinson | 5,463 acres | - |
| 4 | Saylorville Lake | Polk | 5,428 acres | - |
| 5 | Clear Lake | Cerro Gordo | 3,632 acres | - |
All 220 Iowa lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS NHD (The National Map NHD MapServer layer 12) named waterbodies FTYPE 390/436; counties via Census point-in-polygon lake data (ID 137029050). Verified October 30, 2026.