Location

• County: Dickinson
• Nearby communities: Spirit Lake, Okoboji, Lake Park, Montgomery, Milford, Arnolds Park

About Big Spirit Lake

• Lake size: 5,684 acres
• Lake depth: average: 24 ft; maximum: 17 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing, boating, swimming
• Interesting fact: Big Spirit Lake is the largest natural lake in Iowa.
• Interesting fact: Big Spirit Lake was called “Minnewaukon” by Native Americans in the area, and “Lac D’ Esprit" by French woodsmen, which translates into “Lake of the Spirits.” According to various Lakota legends, Spirit Lake was believed to be under the watch of an evil spirit.
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About West Okoboji

• Lake size: 3,847 acres
• Lake depth: maximum: 140 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing, boating, swimming, bike trails, scuba diving (can have visibility exceeding 40 ft.)
• Interesting fact: Okoboji in Lakota means "lake of reeds and rushes."
• Interesting fact: West Okoboji is the deepest natural lake in Iowa.
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About East Okoboji

• Lake size: 1,835 acres
• Lake depth: average: 10 ft; maximum: 22 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing, boating, swimming
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About Upper Gar

• Lake depth: average: 5 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing
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About Lower Gar

• Lake size: 242 acres
• Lake depth: maximum: 6 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing, boating, swimming
• Interesting fact: Lower Gar has the largest watershed to lake ratio in the Iowa Great Lakes region.
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About Lake Minnewashta

• Lake depth: maximum: 15 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing, boating, swimming
• Interesting fact: Originally called Middle Gar, it was renamed by Abbie Gardner Sharp, a survivor of the Spirit Lake Massacre. Sharp renamed the lake after the Native American who saved her life.
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About Silver Lake

• Lake size: 1,041 acres
• Lake depth: average: 6 ft; maximum: 11 ft.
• Recreational uses: fishing, boating, swimming
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For More Information
Local:
John Wills
Iowa Great Lakes Watershed Project Coordinator
(712) 336-3782 ext. 3
John.Wills@ia.nacdnet.net
Dickinson County NRCS Office

Statewide:
Steve Hopkins
DNR Nonpoint Source Program Coordinator
(515) 281-6402
Stephen.Hopkins@dnr.iowa.gov