Park name |
County or counties |
Nearby city |
Area[1] |
Date established[2] |
Body of water |
Remarks[2] |
acres |
ha |
Ambrose A. Call State Park | Kossuth County | Algona | 130 |
53 | 1925 | Des Moines River | Features heavily wooded hills and a reconstructed log cabin on the site of the first cabin in Kossuth County, built in 1854 by settler Ambrose A. Call. |
Backbone State Park | Delaware County | Strawberry Point | 2,000 |
810 | 1919 | Maquoketa River, Backbone Lake | Features a rock ridge up to 80 feet (24 m) high, a recreational reservoir, and a museum on the Civilian Conservation Corps in Iowa. |
Badger Creek State Recreation Area | Madison County | Van Meter | 1,162 |
470 | | Badger Creek Lake | Features a 276-acre (112 ha) fishing lake outside Des Moines. |
Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park | Warren County | Indianola | 222 |
90 | 2002 | Banner Lakes | Provides fishing and mountain biking opportunities on the site of a rehabilitated open-pit coal mine. |
Beed's Lake State Park | Franklin County | Hampton | 319 |
129[3] | 1934 | Beed's Lake | Surrounds a 99-acre (40 ha) reservoir crossed by a 170-foot (52 m) causeway built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. |
Bellevue State Park | Jackson County | Bellevue | 770 |
310[4] | | Mississippi River | Comprises two units on high river bluffs, with a nature center and butterfly garden. |
Big Creek State Park | Polk County | Polk City | 3,550 |
1,440 | | Big Creek Lake | Surrounds an 866-acre (350 ha) recreational reservoir originally created as a flood control project. |
Black Hawk State Park | Sac County | Lake View | 86 |
35[5] | 1935 | Black Hawk Lake | Comprises shoreline on the southernmost glacial lake in Iowa. |
Brushy Creek State Recreation Area | Webster County | Lehigh | 6,500 |
2,600[6] | | Des Moines River, Brushy Creek Reservoir | Forms one of the state's largest public outdoor recreation properties, with a 690-acre (280 ha) reservoir. |
Cedar Rock State Park | Buchanan County | Quasqueton | 423 |
171[7] | 1981 | Wapsipinicon River | Offers tours of a Frank Lloyd Wright house built in 1950 in his Usonian style. |
Clear Lake State Park | Cerro Gordo County | Clear Lake | 55 |
22 | 1924 | Clear Lake | Abuts the south shore of 3,643-acre (1,474 ha) Clear Lake. |
Dolliver Memorial State Park | Webster County | Lehigh | 600 |
240[8] | 1925 | Des Moines River | Showcases tall river bluffs and narrow ravines. |
Elinor Bedell State Park | Dickinson County | Spirit Lake | 80 |
32 | 1998 | East Okoboji Lake | Provides public access to one of the Iowa Great Lakes. |
Elk Rock State Park | Marion County | Knoxville | 850 |
340[9] | 1978 | Lake Red Rock | Comprises two parcels on Iowa's largest body of water. |
Emerson Bay State Recreation Area | Dickinson County | Milford | 12 |
4.9 | | West Okoboji Lake | Provides public access to one of the Iowa Great Lakes. |
Fairport State Recreation Area | Muscatine County | Muscatine | 17 |
6.9[10] | | Mississippi River | Provides water recreation opportunities 6 miles (9.7 km) from Wildcat Den State Park. |
Fort Atkinson State Preserve | Winneshiek County | Fort Atkinson | 5 |
2.0[11] | 1968 | None | Interprets the remains of a U.S. Army frontier fort manned from 1840-1849 to monitor the resettled Ho-Chunk tribe. |
Fort Defiance State Park | Emmet County | Estherville | 221 |
89 | 1930[12] | None | Commemorates the site of a fort built to protect the Iowa border during the Dakota War of 1862. |
Geode State Park | Henry County | Danville | 1,641 |
664 | | Skunk River, Lake Geode | Features a 187-acre (76 ha) recreational reservoir and a display of geodes, the Iowa state rock. |
George Wyth Memorial State Park | Black Hawk County | Waterloo | 1,200 |
490 | 1940 | Cedar River and several lakes | Protects a natural area within the Waterloo – Cedar Falls metropolitan area. |
Green Valley State Park | Union County | Creston | 990 |
400[13] | | Green Valley Lake | Surrounds a 390-acre (160 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Gull Point State Park | Dickinson County | Milford | 195 |
79[14] | 1933 | West Okoboji Lake | Protects a natural area on one of the Iowa Great Lakes. |
Honey Creek State Park | Appanoose County | Moravia | 828 |
335 | | Rathbun Lake | Provides outdoor recreation opportunities on the north shore of 11,000-acre (4,500 ha) Rathbun Lake. |
Honey Creek Resort State Park | Appanoose County | Moravia | 828 |
335 | 2008[15] | Rathbun Lake | Mixes outdoor recreation with higher-end amenities such as a lodge, luxury cabins, golf course, and indoor water park. |
Lacey-Keosauqua State Park | Van Buren County | Keosauqua | 1,653 |
669 | 1921 | Des Moines River | Protects Indian mounds and a 30-acre (12 ha) lake on a bend of the Des Moines River. |
Lake Ahquabi State Park | Warren County | Indianola | 770 |
310 | 1936 | Lake Ahquabi | Surrounds a 115-acre (47 ha) recreational reservoir named "resting place" in the Fox language. |
Lake Anita State Park | Cass County | Anita | 1,062 |
430 | 1961 | Lake Anita | Surrounds a 171-acre (69 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Lake Darling State Park | Washington County | Brighton | 1,387 |
561 | 1950 | Lake Darling | Honors Ding Darling, two-time Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winner and early conservationist, with a 171-acre (69 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Lake Keomah State Park | Mahaska County | Oskaloosa | 366 |
148 | 1934 | Lake Keomah | Surrounds an 83-acre (34 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Lake Macbride State Park | Johnson County | Solon | 2,810 |
1,140 | 1937 | Lake Macbride, Coralville Lake | Borders an 812-acre (329 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Lake Manawa State Park | Pottawattamie County | Council Bluffs | 1,529 |
619 | | Lake Manawa | Provides boating opportunities in the Omaha – Council Bluffs metropolitan area on a 772-acre (312 ha) lake created by the Missouri River changing course after the Great Flood of 1881. |
Lake of Three Fires State Park | Taylor County | Bedford | 1,155 |
467[16] | 1935 | Lake of Three Fires | Surrounds an 85-acre (34 ha) recreational reservoir named for a Council of Three Fires meeting once held there by three Native American tribes. |
Lake Wapello State Park | Davis County | Drakesville | 1,150 |
470 | | Lake Wapello | Surrounds a 289-acre (117 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Ledges State Park | Boone County | Boone | 1,200 |
490[17] | 1924 | Des Moines River, Pea's Creek | Showcases a 100-foot (30 m) deep sandstone gorge with concretions jutting from its side like ledges. |
Lewis and Clark State Park | Monona County | Onawa | 176 |
71 | | Blue Lake | Commemorates the site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on August 10, 1804; with a replica of their keelboat on a 220-acre (89 ha) oxbow lake. |
Lower Gar State Recreation Area | Dickinson County | Arnolds Park | 7 |
2.8 | | Lower Gar Lake | Provides public access to one of the Iowa Great Lakes. |
Maquoketa Caves State Park | Jackson County | Maquoketa | 323 |
131[18] | 1921 | Raccoon Creek | Preserves 13 caves, some developed with lighting and walkways and others in a natural state. |
Marble Beach State Recreation Area | Dickinson County | Orleans | 64 |
26 | | Spirit Lake | Provides the largest campground in the Iowa Great Lakes region. |
McIntosh Woods State Park | Cerro Gordo County | Ventura | 62 |
25 | 1943 | Clear Lake | Provides the primary boating access to 3,643-acre (1,474 ha) Clear Lake. |
Mines of Spain State Recreation Area and E. B. Lyons Nature Center | Dubuque County | Dubuque | 1,387 |
561 | 1981 | Mississippi River | Features a monument to Julien Dubuque, the first European settler in Iowa, and recipient of a 1796 land and mining grant from then-owner the Governor of Spain. |
Mini-Wakan State Park | Dickinson County | Spirit Lake | 20 |
8.1 | | Spirit Lake | Lies on the north shore of the state's largest natural lake, in the Iowa Great Lakes region. |
Nine Eagles State Park | Decatur County | Davis City | 1,119 |
453 | | Nine Eagles Lake | Features a 64-acre (26 ha) recreational reservoir and surrounding woods. |
Okamanpedan State Park | Emmet County | Dolliver | 19 |
7.7 | | Okamanpeedan Lake | Provides fishing and boating access on the south shore of a lake on the Iowa – Minnesota border. |
Palisades-Kepler State Park | Linn County | Mt. Vernon | 840 |
340 | 1922 | Cedar River | Features dramatic river bluffs and deep ravines on the site of an early 20th Century resort. |
Pikes Peak State Park | Clayton County | McGregor | 970 |
390 | 1935 | Mississippi River | Features a 500-foot (150 m) river bluff named by Zebulon Pike several years before documenting Pikes Peak in Colorado. |
Pikes Point State Park | Dickinson County | Spirit Lake | 15 |
6.1 | | West Okoboji Lake | Offers one of the most popular swimming beaches in the Iowa Great Lakes region. |
Pilot Knob State Park | Hancock County | Forest City | 528 |
214[19] | 1923 | Pilot Knob Lake, Dead Man's Lake | Features an observation tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps on Iowa's second-tallest point, and the state's only sphagnum bog. |
Pine Lake State Park | Hardin County | Eldora | 585 |
237 | | Iowa River, Upper and Lower Pine Lakes | Encompasses two lakes surrounded by 250-year-old eastern white pines. |
Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area | Linn County | Palo | 1,927 |
780[20] | | Pleasant Creek Lake | Surrounds a 410-acre (170 ha) recreational reservoir located between the cities of Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. |
Prairie Rose State Park | Shelby County | Harlan | 661 |
267 | 1962 | Prairie Rose Lake | Surrounds a 218-acre (88 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Preparation Canyon State Park | Monona County | Moorhead | 344 |
139 | | None | Preserves a section of the Loess Hills on the site of a town founded in 1853 by a Mormon splinter group led by Charles B. Thompson. |
Red Haw State Park | Lucas County | Chariton | 649 |
263 | | Red Haw Lake | Surrounds a 72-acre (29 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Rice Lake State Park | Winnebago County | Lake Mills | 15 |
6.1 | | Rice Lake | Abuts a 1,200-acre (490 ha) lake. |
Rock Creek State Park | Jasper County | Kellogg | 1,697 |
687[21] | 1952 | Rock Creek Lake | Surrounds a 602-acre (244 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Springbrook State Park | Guthrie County | Yale | 920 |
370 | 1926 | Middle Raccoon River | Features a conservation education center, a rental retreat, a 17-acre (6.9 ha) lake, and public hunting areas. |
Stone State Park | Woodbury and Plymouth Counties | Sioux City | 1,069 |
433[22] | 1935 | Big Sioux River | Preserves a natural section of the Loess Hills. |
Templar State Recreation Area | Dickinson County | Spirit Lake | 10 |
4.0 | | Spirit Lake | Provides a sheltered lagoon for launching boats on the Iowa Great Lakes. |
Trapper's Bay State Park | Dickinson County | Lake Park | 57 |
23 | | Silver Lake | Offers additional public recreation space on the periphery of the Iowa Great Lakes region. |
Twin Lakes State Park | Calhoun County | Rockwell City | 15 |
6.1 | | North Twin Lakes | Comprises two day-use areas on a 453-acre (183 ha) natural lake. |
Union Grove State Park | Tama County | Gladbrook | 282 |
114[23] | 1938 | Union Grove Lake | Surrounds a 110-acre (45 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Viking Lake State Park | Montgomery County | Stanton | 1,000 |
400 | | Viking Lake | Preserves natural areas surrounding a 110-acre (45 ha) recreational reservoir. |
Volga River State Recreation Area | Fayette County | Fayette | 5,500 |
2,200 | | Volga River, Frog Hollow Lake | Provides wildlife habitat and extensive recreation options along a waterway featuring limestone bluffs and old steel bridges. |
Walnut Woods State Park | Polk County | West Des Moines | 250 |
100 | | Raccoon River | Preserves a bottomland hardwood forest within the Des Moines metropolitan area featuring the largest stand of black walnut trees in North America.[24] |
Wapsipinicon State Park | Jones County | Anamosa | 390 |
160 | 1923 | Wapsipinicon River, Dutch Creek | Features rocky cave- and crevice-ridden bluffs, a nine-hole golf course, and an 1877 steel bridge that is on the National Register of Historic Places. |
Waubonsie State Park | Fremont County | Sidney | 1,247 |
505[25] | 1926 | Lake Virginia | Showcases unique Loess Hills topography, with rental facilities restored from a former Girl Scout camp. |
Wildcat Den State Park | Muscatine County | Muscatine | 423 |
171[26] | | Pine Creek | Features 75-foot (23 m) cliffs, rock formations, and several historic structures, including an 1848 gristmill that is on the National Register of Historic Places. |
Wilson Island State Recreation Area | Harrison County | Missouri Valley | 547 |
221 | | Missouri River | Showcases a bottomland hardwood forest on a former sandbar island named after former governor George A. Wilson. |