Iowa: 49 state parks and 7 recreation areas

Camping, trails, fees and current alerts are on each park’s page. See these parks on a map

All 56 parks

Ambrose A. Call State Park138 acres of rugged hills and virgin timber in a county of gently rolling farmland, near the east fork of the…
Backbone State ParkIowa's first state park, dedicated in 1920 and named for the narrow bedrock ridge the Maquoketa River carved…
Badger Creek State Recreation AreaMore than 700 acres of hunting and birding ground a few miles southwest of the Des Moines metro, popular with…
Banner Lakes At Summerset State ParkA coal mine until it became a park in 2004, now a quiet stretch of rolling ground between Des Moines and…
Beeds Lake State ParkA 99-acre reservoir behind one of the most photographed dams in the Midwest, at the centre of Franklin…
Bellevue State ParkHigh bluffs over the Mississippi in eastern Iowa, split into two separate areas, with an open butterfly…
Big Creek State ParkThe largest beach in the Iowa park system, twenty miles from Des Moines beside Saylorville Lake. Boat rentals…
Black Hawk State ParkBuilt around the southernmost glacial lake in the United States, with much of its stonework laid by the…
Brushy Creek State Recreation AreaOne of Iowa's largest parks at 6,500 acres, holding native prairie, grassland, timber, river and lake. More…
Cedar Rock State ParkThe Walter House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Agnes and Lowell Walter and given to the state with its…
Clear Lake State ParkFifty acres of open ground and mature oak on one of Iowa's most popular lakes — 3,000 acres of water drawing…
Dolliver Memorial State Park594 acres of bluff and ravine above the Des Moines River valley, with Boneyard Hollow, the Copperas Beds and…
Elk Rock State ParkOn Lake Red Rock, Iowa's largest body of water, with more than 50,000 acres of public land around it. Named…
Fairport State Recreation AreaA small campground on the Mississippi near Muscatine, with electric sites looking straight out at the river…
Fort Defiance State Park191 acres of rugged woodland ringed by farmland outside Estherville, with an army-post style lodge at its…
Geode State ParkNamed for Iowa's state rock, with more than 150 acres of Lake Geode for fishing, boating and paddling. Geodes…
George Wyth State ParkAn urban sanctuary of woodland and water between Waterloo and Cedar Falls, threaded with lakes and river…
Green Valley State ParkA family hub for camping, fishing and boating in southwest Iowa, with three more lakes — Three Mile, Twelve…
Gull Point State ParkEstablished in 1933 on West Okoboji Lake, with the largest CCC-era lodge in the system and deep shade over…
Honey Creek State Park828 acres of rolling timbered hills against Rathbun Lake, Iowa's second largest. Deer and turkey are regular…
Lacey-Keosauqua State ParkIowa's second state park, dedicated in 1920 and spanning 1,662 acres of oak-hickory bluff above the Des…
Lake Ahquabi State ParkNamed from the Sauk and Fox word for resting place, dedicated in 1936 and built out by the CCC — the stone…
Lake Anita State ParkA 171-acre artificial lake at the centre of 1,062 acres, built in the 1960s and still one of southwest Iowa's…
Lake Darling State ParkNamed for the conservationist and cartoonist J.N. “Ding” Darling, with woodland hikes and lake recreation in…
Lake Keomah State Park366 acres of deep woods and picnic ground along an 84-acre lake near Oskaloosa. Marshy edges hold bullfrogs…
Lake Macbride State ParkNamed for Thomas Macbride, the father of Iowa conservation, with multi-use trails winding right around the…
Lake Manawa State ParkMore than 1,500 acres around a lake the Missouri River created in an 1881 flood, and western Iowa's premier…
Lake Wapello State ParkMore than 1,000 acres of wooded hillside named for the Meskwaki chief, with scenic picnic ground and a lake…
Lake of Three Fires State ParkA hotspot for equestrian trail riding and camping in southwest Iowa, with an 85-acre lake for boaters and…
Ledges State ParkSandstone ledges tower 100 feet above the Des Moines River here, and a four-mile trail system works through…
Lewis and Clark State ParkA picturesque park on the Lewis and Clark expedition route of 1804, in western Iowa, with full-size keelboat…
Maquoketa Caves State ParkMore caves than any other Iowa state park, with enormous bluffs and a six-mile trail system linking the…
McIntosh Woods State ParkSixty acres on the northwest shore of Clear Lake, founded in 1944 and shaded throughout. Fishing, boating and…
Mines of Spain State Recreation AreaA National Historic Landmark on the edge of Dubuque, where village sites, rock shelters and trading posts…
Nine Eagles State ParkWooded hills and scenic valleys in southern Iowa, with native plant communities that give unusually good…
Palisades-Kepler State ParkDramatic bluffs and deep ravines along the Cedar River outside Cedar Rapids, with hardwood timber and Native…
Pikes Peak State ParkFamed for its view over the Mississippi from a national scenic byway, with eleven miles of trail through…
Pilot Knob State ParkOne of the earliest parks in the system, dedicated in 1924, with a CCC observation tower on the National…
Pine Lake State ParkWooded trails, deep ravines and lake views in the middle of rolling farmland, with CCC and WPA structures…
Pleasant Creek State Recreation AreaBuilt in the 1960s to give eastern Iowa an accessible lake, and now a premier spot for fishing and boating in…
Prairie Rose State Park422 acres in the scenic hills of southwest Iowa, named for a village that once stood nearby. The lake is the…
Preparation Canyon State Park344 acres in the heart of the Loess Hills, on ground that was once the town of Preparation. Backcountry…
Red Haw State Park649 acres in south-central Iowa, best known for the redbuds that bloom around the lake each spring and the…
Rice Lake State ParkFifteen acres on the southern shore of one of Iowa's few natural shallow lakes, in Winnebago County. A stone…
Rock Creek State ParkA premier camping destination in central Iowa with nearly 200 sites, several of them on the water. Boating…
Springbrook State Park930 acres of rolling hills and mature timber in Guthrie County, much of it built by the CCC in the 1930s. A…
Stone State ParkAn urban wildlife sanctuary on the edge of Sioux City, in the heart of the Loess Hills. CCC entrance portals…
Twin Lakes State ParkA 453-acre lake near Rockwell City in northwest Iowa, popular with boaters and anglers. A sandy beach, a…
Union Grove State ParkEstablished in 1938 around a 110-acre lake in Tama County, with an often-photographed waterfall and dam…
Viking Lake State ParkA thousand acres of which most is left in its natural state, thick with wildflowers and native plants…
Volga River State Recreation Area5,700 acres of rugged northeast Iowa that locals call Little Switzerland, with steel bridges over the Volga…
Walnut Woods State ParkIowa's largest stand of black walnut, on the Raccoon River just outside Des Moines, with one of the finest…
Wapsipinicon State ParkOn the edge of Anamosa and listed on the National Register, with a stone arch bridge, lodge and shelters…
Waubonsie State ParkA site on the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail with exceptional views over the Loess Hills and out across the…
Wildcat Den State ParkOne of the most photographed parks in Iowa, where trails wind past sandstone bluffs and geological formations…
Wilson Island State Recreation Area544 acres of cottonwood stands along the Missouri River, named for Governor George Wilson. Secluded…

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Iowa: 49 state parks and 7 recreation areas

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