Backbone State Park, Ledges State Park, Pine Lake State Park in Eldora, Geode, Springbrook…the list goes on and on.  State Parks in Iowa seem to be packed every weekend, and often times they are busy during the week as well.  For those who love to camp, there are a ton of recreation activities available around Des Moines and throughout the hawkeye state.  Hiking, biking, swimming, and bird watching are just a few of the multitude of things you can do on your next visit to one of Iowa’s state and county parks.

Leading the way in maintaining our Iowa state parks is the Iowa DNR (Department of Natural Resources).  Their site is awesome, and it deserves a blog post of it’s own…which I will work on in the near future.  Regarding the state parks Iowa has to offer - I had no idea how many there were.  On several of the sites that I would expect to be an authority on this, I couldn’t find a count.  Finally, after several searches I read that Iowa has 83 state parks and recreation areas.  I’m not sure how updated this information is, but you can see the list here.

With August (2007) only a couple of weeks away, I wonder how many people will visit one of the Iowa state parks between now and Labor Day weekend.  One thing I wasn’t aware of was the fact that the Iowa DNR has a site that allows people to make an online reservation for a campground site, cabin, lodge, or shelter…whether for a vacation or a family reunion.  The site is at ReserveIaParks.com, although it redirects to a subdomain of iowa.gov.  I tried a few reservation attempts and quickly learned that during peak season, you need to reserve a campground for both Friday and Saturday night…and with at least a 2 day advance notice.

I searched for “iowa state parks” on Google and came across a nice alphabetized list of the state parks in IA on Wikipedia.  This list was useful because it also lists the corresponding county and nearby city.  When I learned how many state parks there were, I began to wonder if anyone has made the effort to camp at every one of them.  That would be a fun story to hear about.  I also wonder which is Iowa’s largest state park, which is the oldest, and which is the most popular.

After all my research, I’d say the best place to get started if you’re planning to camp in Iowa is the previously mentioned IowaDNR.com website.  This site lists rules and regulations such as: Accessibility, After Hours Fishing, Animals or Pets, Alcohol Consumption, Disposal of Trash or Garbage, Fires, Ice Fishing Shelters, Metal Detectors, Open and Closing, Firearms, Fireworks, Hunting, Motor Restrictions on Lakes, Recreation Areas, Rock Climbing or Rappelling, Special Events Permits, Swimming/Beach Use, Trail Restrictions, Removal or Defacement of Plant Life and Cultural Features, and Paintball Guns.  It also answers some frequently asked questions like…

1. How do I reserve a cabin?
2. Can I reserve a campsite?
3. When is the water turned on in the parks?
4. What are the camping fees?
5. Is there an entrance fee?
6. Where can I go camping?
7. Where can I rent a cabin?
8. How do I reserve a shelter or lodge?
9. How do I contact a state park?
10. Can I bring my dog to the park?

Anyway, below is a list of all or most of Iowa’s State Parks.  If I’m missing any, please add a comment and I’ll update it.  Also, tell us about your camping experiences at Iowa’s parks.

Ambrose A. Call State Park
Backbone State Park
Badger Creek State Park
Beed’s Lake State Park
Bellevue State Park
Big Creek State Park
Black Hawk State Park
Brushy Creek State Park
Cedar Rock State Park
Clear Lake State Park
Cold Springs State Park
Crystal Lake State Park
Dolliver Memorial State Park
Eagle Lake State Park
Echo Valley State Park
Elinor Bedell State Park
Elk Rock State Park
Fort Atkinson State Park
Fort Defiance State Park
Frank A. Gotch State Park
Geode State Park
George Wyth Memorial State Park
Green Valley State Park
Gull Point State Park
Heery Woods State Park
Honey Creek State Park
Kearny State Park
Lacy-Keosauqua State Park
Lake Ahquabi State Park
Lake Anita State Park
Lake Cornelia State Park
Lake Darling State Park
Lake Keomah State Park
Lake MacBride State Park
Lake Manawa State Park
Lake of Three Fires State Park
Lake Wapello State Park
Ledges State Park
Lewis and Clark State Park
Maquoketa Caves State Park
McIntosh Woods State Park
Mill Creek State Park
Mines of Spain & E.B. Lyons State Park
Nine Eagles State Park
Oak Grove State Park
Oakland Mills State Park
Okamanpedan State Park
Palisades-Kepler State Park
Pammel State Park
Pikes Peak State Park
Pilot Knob State Park
Pine Lake State Park
Pleasant Creek State Park
Prairie Rose State Park
Preparation Canyon State Park
Red Haw State Park
Rice Lake State Park
Rock Creek State Park
Sharon Bluffs State Park
Shimek State Forest
Spring Lake State Park
Springbrook State Park
Stephens State Forest
Stone State Park
Swan Lake State Park
Templar State Park
Twin Lakes State Park
Union Grove State Park
Viking Lake State Park
Volga River State Park
Walnut Woods State Park
Wanata State Park
Wapsipinicon State Park
Waubonsie State Park
Wildcat Den State Park
Wilson Island State Park
Yellow River State Forest

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