Submit your best 2026 Iowa State Park photos for a chance to win a cabin stay and be featured in the 2027 Iowa Outdoors calendar. Show us your outdoor adventures!
Experience Iowa's natural beauty and all the fun our state parks offer. With activities for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, there's something for everyone!
Plan your next outdoor adventure in one of Iowa's beautiful state parks, forests, recreation areas, or preserves.
Get your cabin, lodge or park space reserved at an Iowa state park and review options, guidelines, and more.
Keep our parks healthy, clean, and safe by following our rules and guidelines during your visit.
Sign up and download the Iowa State Parks Passport on your mobile device to earn points toward prizes and giveaway opportunities while discovering Iowa's hidden gems.
Our web-based application helps you identify and map trails maintained in our state parks. Get exploring today!
For current beach advisories please visit the beach monitoring dashboard or call the monitoring hotline at 515-725-3434.
The dashboard and hotline are updated on Fridays during the monitoring season.
Iowa’s state parks and forests offer a variety of ways to enjoy the outdoors, including adaptive equipment, accessible fishing piers, hiking trails, picnic shelters, and campsites.
We’re always working to expand and improve accessibility across our parks. The opportunities highlighted are just some of what’s available, and more features will be added over time. Take a moment to explore the many accessible outdoor experiences available throughout Iowa.
People wishing to swim outside the designated swimming beach areas at Iowa state parks, for example to train for a triathlon, must obtain special permission by completing a registration form and communicating with local park staff.
In fall 2001, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources launched an oral history project to document the Civilian Conservation Corps’ contributions in Iowa during the 1930s and 1940s. Since then, over 125 of several hundred identified surviving members have been interviewed.
Civilian Conservation Corps Oral History Project, Interviews
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You have questions, we have answers. E-mail our State Park team, or visit our reservations page and rules and guidelines page for more.
