Lakeview is primarily a spot for scoping the lake.  The large jetty often attracts roosting gulls, terns, pelicans, and cormorants.  From late fall into winter, Lakeview can be a good spot to scan the lake for loons, grebes, and waterfowl, and is often the best spot to scope the evening gull roost as the sun will be setting at your back, providing good light. The vegetation around the parking lots can be good for migrant sparrows and the main entrance road can be good for migrant warblers.

The main entrance is open year round except during weather conditions that make the entrance road unsafe.  The high water boat ramp access is more frequently closed during winter.   The lake freezes over in winter (usually mid to late December) and once it does this area is probably not worth a specific trip until the ice starts melting in late winter/early spring.

Water-related species: large rafts of waterfowl form off Lakeview in fall and spring and large numbers of gulls roost on the lake in fall up until the lake freezes over.  Often diving duck flocks, particularly mergansers and goldeneye, will feed in close to the jetty, attracting eagles, grebes, loons, and especially gulls.  Loon numbers can reach triple digits on peak days in fall, and Pacific and Red-throated are annual or nearly so.  

Important Bird Area.
Located at the south end of the western shore of Saylorville Lake, Lakeview RA is effectively two separate areas with separate entrances.  To reach the main entrance, from just north of Johnston, take NW Beaver Dr. left (ultimately north) a little more than two miles from the four-way stop at Merle Hay Rd. to the Lakeview entrance road on the right.  To reach the Lakeview highwater boat ramp, take the road north at the west end of the dam.  There is official Army Corps signage there which will direct you past the Administrative offices and on to the boatramp and its associated parking areas.

Saylorville Reservoir is an extremely important stopover area for migrating waterfowl, gulls, terns, American White Pelicans, shorebirds, and other waterbirds. It supports nationally important concentrations of several species as well as smaller concentrations of many other species. The adjacent uplands support a variety of woodland species, both during the nesting season and in migration.

Saylorville Reservoir is located on the Des Moines River about 4 miles north of Interstate 80/35 north of Des Moines. Land on both sides of the reservoir is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and includes several access points on both sides of the lake. County owned Jester Park on the west shore of the northern part of the reservoir also offers good access to some important birding areas. Big Creek State Park and adjacent state wildlife areas provide important upland habitat.