City of West Okoboji Attractions

Emerson Bay ~ Photo by Brian Craig

The "Iowa Great Lakes area" of northwest Iowa offers a tremendous array of outdoor recreation opportunities, year-round. The unique setting of beautiful and clear Lake West Okoboji and other water bodies truly provides wonderful opportunities for outdoor recreation. The focal point for state parks and recreation areas in this region is beautiful Emerson Bay Recreation Area and State Park.  It provides a pleasing, shaded setting on West Okoboji Lake and offers a well-rounded variety of outdoor recreation facilities. Click here to learn more or make a reservation.

The City of West Okoboji is minutes from the historic mid-western amusement park,  Arnolds Park. Other major landmarks near our city include the Central Emporium shopping mall, Emerald Hills Golf Club, and the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum which highlights the history of the lakes region through photos and artifacts. These items include antique and classic wooden boats, an old boathouse, a replica of the former landmark store, period swimming suits, vintage amusement-park items, and a 1939 Chris-Craft boat that was raised after 50 years in the depths of West Okoboji Lake.

Our area is filled with history. A favorite nearby historical attraction is the Abbie Gardner Sharp Cabin Museum, a site of the 1857 "Spirit Lake Massacre," one of the few violent conflicts between European settlers and Native Americans in the Iowa Great Lakes region.

Trumpeter Swans make their home on West Okoboji lake.