Start from 23 curated places around Okoboji, IA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Maxwell's Beach Cafe
A longtime lakeside cafe steps from the amusement-park boardwalk, doing scallop pasta, fresh seafood, local pork and beef, and a solid breakfast. The natural lunch or dinner stop on an amusement-park day.
The Ritz
A hometown lakeside bar and grill on the shore of East Lake Okoboji, famous for fishbowl cocktails, a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, burgers, and well-regarded pizza. It is a casual deck scene, not white-tablecloth.
Trails & outdoors
Gull Point State Park
A historic lakeside park on West Lake Okoboji with the largest stone lodge in the system, a shaded shoreline, and easy self-guided hiking. The most scenic, family-friendly walk on the big lake, flat and right on the water.
Elinor Bedell State Park
A quiet park on the shore of East Lake Okoboji with an extensive trail system through restored prairie. Far less crowded than the big-lake parks, the place for a peaceful prairie-and-shoreline walk and birdwatching.
Things to do
Arnolds Park Amusement Park
A historic lakeside amusement park on West Lake Okoboji anchored by the Legend, one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the country, plus a Ferris wheel, log flume, and bumper cars. Admission and parking are free, so you can wander the boardwalk and ride just the Legend.
Queen II
The flagship excursion boat of the local lake fleet, running narrated cruises around West Lake Okoboji from the Arnolds Park dock. The classic way to see the grand lakefront homes from the water.
Landmarks & sights
Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum
A museum at the amusement-park entrance with restored antique wooden boats, historic photos, and exhibits on the nautical and ecological history of the Iowa Great Lakes. Free and air-conditioned, it is a perfect heat-of-the-day or rainy stop.
Abbie Gardner Cabin
A log-cabin historic site preserving the story of an early frontier conflict and the Dakota leader Inkpaduta, one of Iowa's oldest tourist attractions. It is a short, free, sobering counterweight to the amusement-park fun next door.