Honey Creek State Park

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Park Alerts & Notices

About the Park

Honey Creek State Park in southern Iowa features 828 acres of rolling, timbered hills with the beautiful backdrop of Iowa’s second largest lake, Rathbun Lake. 

Many wooded areas offer visitors a secluded setting for wildlife viewing, especially abundant deer and turkey, along with numerous bird species. 

Plan Your Visit

• Hike five miles of multi-use trails at Honey Creek or travel along the Woodland Interpretive trail to witness the 17 ancient Woodland Native American mounds in the park.
• Boat or Fish in the waters of Rathbun Lake. The lake is a focal point of the area, and several recreational opportunities such as fishing and paddling can be enjoyed. The North Boat Ramp is the largest on the lake, providing fishing and boating access.
• Stay overnight in one of four rustic camping cabins or at the park’s campground. The pine log cabins feature covered porches, basic furnishings, electricity, microwaves, small refrigerators and heating and air conditioning. Water and sanitary facilities are not available in the cabins, but restrooms and showers are in the campground. The campground has modern sites, a universally accessible site, electricity and a dump station. One fourth of the campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis and advance reservations can be made through the online reservation system for Honey Creek State Park.
• Reserve one of two open shelters for an outdoor gathering during your visit. Picnic shelters overlook the lake and can be reserved through the online reservation system for Honey Creek State Park.

After Hours Fishing

The following specific areas are open to fishing activity between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 4 a.m. in addition to normal park hours. All fishing must be done from the bank in the areas designated for each lake. Vessels are not permitted on the lakes after 10:30 p.m. Parking is allowed in specially marked lots only.

The boat ramp area is located north of the park office, access to which is the first road to the left upon entering the park.

Amenities at a Glance

• Interpretive trails
• Hiking trails
• Playground
• Swimming beach
• Boat ramp
• Fishing dock
• Fish cleaning station
• Shelters
• Restrooms
• Showers
• Camping cabins
• Electric campsites
• Non-electric campsites
• Walk to campsites
• Youth group only campsites
• Dump station

Explore the Park

• Honey Creek State Park map and flyer
• Honey Creek State Park campground map