Lake Okoboji

Updated: Sep 20, 2023

We stopped at Lake Okoboji for a couple of nights on our way to Waterloo. We stayed at Emerson Bay State Recreation Area. Steve worked at the State Parks during the summer months at Lake Okoboji back when he was in college at Iowa State. We enjoyed riding around the area; for Anita seeing it for the first time and for Steve reminiscing about all the fun he had as a college kid around here. Steve finds that lots has changed with what used to be gravel roads now being paved and what used to be bungalow or cottage sized houses now being mega million mansions. There are still the small houses interspersed among the big ones, but they are few and far between. We both were grateful to be here during the "off" season when school is in session. This place is likely bumper to bumper traffic with people everywhere in the summer. With a couple of the antics Steve pulled back in college and working here, Anita is really grateful he's alive!

We rode around to Gull Point State Park, Marble Beach State Recreation Area and Elinor Bedell State Park. Steve was trying to find the campground where he collected camping fees, but we didn't find it. We decided it's likely been converted to something else and/or renamed. We did find all the places he had to cut grass! He sure had a beautiful area to spend his college summers as a Fisheries Biology major!