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Okoboji, IA

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	MOSTLY CLOUDY
Temperature:	53°F
RealFeel^®:	60°F
Humidity:	89%
Pressure:	30.06 in/Hg
Winds:	SW at 4mph
Wind Chill:	54°F
Visibility:	8mi
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Family Travel - AmericInn^® of Okoboji, IA

1005 Brooks Park Drive, Okoboji, IA 51355
Toll Free Reservations: 800-396-5007
Front Desk: 712-332-9000

The Perfect Family Destination - Okoboji, Iowa

Enjoy our convenient location only minutes from all Iowa Great Lakes attractions and restaurants. We offer spacious accommodations, complimentary AmericInn Perk breakfast, indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna and high-speed wireless Internet access.

Visitors to Okoboji can enjoy top-notch entertainment throughout the year. Fill your days with visits to our popular amusement parks, local museums, theatres, historical attractions, University of Okoboji events or a scenic lake cruise on the Queen II tour boat. Fill your nights with entertaining bands, comedians, dances, concerts and shows!

Family Amenities and Features

Children 16 and under stay free
Complimentary AmericInn Perk Breakfast
Complimentary wireless high speed Internet access
Spacious accommodations featuring AmericInn SoundGuard^™ Construction
Family/ 2 room suites available
Rooms with mini-refrigerators and microwaves
Heated Indoor Pool
Whirlpool
Guest laundry room
Cable television with HBO
Coffee maker and hair dryer in each room

Family Attractions and Activities

West Lake Okoboji - It was carved by the Wisconsin glacier over 100,000 years ago and is one of only three blue water lakes in the World. Active water sports include boating, fishing, swimming, sailing, water-skiing, para-sailing, canoeing, kayaking and wake-boarding. Covering 3,850 acres and 134' deep at the deepest point, it is the "Blue Jewel" of the Iowa prairie.

University of Okoboji - The Three Sons located in Milford, Iowa is the offical University of Okoboji sportswear headquarters. Imagine a university whose founding fathers prescribed a curriculum fashioned not in academia, but celebration. An institution whose alumni promote get-down-boogie, not bookworms. Actually, such a school exists only in mind and attitude, but it is also steeped in a rich tradition in the vacation paradise of northwest Iowa. The campus is the Iowa Great Lakes, and the halls of knowledge are the pathways of life. The University of Okobji is a mythical, yet vibrant, college of fun and spirit of goodwill. The University of Okoboji is a fictitious univeristy started by three brothers in the 1970's. A trip to Okoboji is not complete without a stop at Three Sons to pick up a University of Okoboji souvenier. University of Okoboji entrance exams are available upon check-in at the front desk! Don't miss the U of O homecoming celebration each July.
Address: 902 10th Street, Milford, IA 51351
Distance: 4.0 miles
Phone: 712-338-2424

Historic Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Built in 1889, during the golden age of amusement parks, Historic Arnolds Park is one of the longest running amusement parks in the World. Return to a time where a ride on a Ferris wheel at sunset was the thrill of a lifetime and a Nutty Bar was the yummiest treat in the World. Hotel packages including Arnolds Park passes can be found on our Specials and Packages page.
Address: 243 W. Broadway, Arnolds Park, IA 51331
Distance: 3.5 miles
Phone: 712-332-2183

The Queen II Tour Boat - The Queen II looks and feels like the steamboats of yesteryear. Tours last one hour and fifteen minutes and include narration on various historical landmarks around the Iowa Great Lakes.
Address: 243 W. Broadway Arnolds Park, IA 51331
Distance: 3.5 miles
Phone: 712-332-2183

Please click here for specials that include Queen II tour boat.

Ranch Okoboji - Featuring an 18 hole mini-golf course, the area's largest arcade, and an ice cream shop, Ranch Okoboji is three acres of fun and attractions! Don't miss Tyotee's Wild Mining Adventure, where kids can mine for rare gemstones, fossils and arrowheads.
Address: 1800 Hwy 71 N., Okoboji, IA 51355
Distance: 0.50 miles

Iowa Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame - Each Labor Day weekend the Iowa Rock n' Roll Music Association honors the bands, musicians, radio stations, ballrooms, music stores and individuals who have made significant contributions to Rock n' Roll by inducting them into its Hall of Fame. Houses instruments, posters and memorabilia from Iowa's very own rock n' roll bands.
Address: Historic Arnolds Park Amusement Park
Distance: 3.5 miles
Phone: 712-332-6540

Okoboji Summer Theatre - For 51 years students from Stephens College have been managing, producing and starring in the theatre's productions. Nine shows run throughout the summer and include Broadway hits, drama, musicals and comedies.
Phone: 713-332-7773

Lakes Art Center - Enjoy viewing works in the gallery's permanent, traveling collections or exhibits by guest artists. For gallery hours and specific event times call the center.
Address: 2201 Highway 71, Okoboji, IA 51355
Distance: 1.5 miles
Phone: 712-332-7013

Dickinson County Recreational Trails - The "Spine" of the trail system is a 14 mile, hard surfaced trail that accommodates two-way recreational traffic winding through the heart of the Great Iowa Lakes.

Abbie Gardner/Sharp Cabin Historical Site - The Abbie Gardner Cabin was listed on the National Register of historic places in 1973. Occurring in 1857 the Abbie Gardner Cabin was home to one of the few violent conflicts in Iowa between European-American settlers and Native Americans. For more information or to schedule a group tour, call the number below.
Address: 34 Monument Drive, Arnolds Park, IA 51331
Distance: 3.5 miles; One block west of Historic Arnolds Amusement Park
Phone: 712-332-7248

Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery - The Spirit Lake Hatchery is a cool water station located in Dickinson County. The facility collects, spawns, incubates, and raises walleye for use throughout the state. Each year between 60 and 70 million walleye fry are hatched at this facility. The number of muskellunge produced is relatively minor when compared to the sheer numbers of walleyes produced; however, this facility serves as the sole source of Iowa's muskellunge. The fish are raised to nine or ten inches before being stocked throughout the state. Tours are available weekdays from 8am - 4pm.
Address: 122 252nd Ave., Spirit Lake, IA 51360
Distance: 6.0 miles
Phone: 712-336-1840

Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum - Relive the days of steamboats, motor launches and wooden cruisers. The museum has amassed a vast collection of local photographs, articles and artifacts from the Iowa Great Lakes early 'golden days' of boating. Includes familiar hallmarks from Arnolds Park earlier days. Located in Okoboji Spirit Center next to Historic Arnolds Park Amusement Park.
Address: 243 W. Broadway, Arnolds Park, IA 51331
Distance: 3.5 miles
Phone: 712-332-5159

The Clay County Fair - What began as a four-day county fair which attracted 28,000 people in 1918 has evolved into the "world's greatest county fair." Best known for its agribusiness machinery displays, the fair devotes 35 acres to agricultural equipment, making it the largest and most comprehensive agribusiness display in the country. The fair also features big name entertainment, 4-H and FFA displays and events, chuckwagon and harness racing, truck and tractor pulls, a rodeo, car races and a carnival. There are approximately 500 commercial exhibit booths. Cattle, horses and sheep are available for viewing all nine days of the fair. Poultry are displayed the first four days and rabbits are on exhibit the last five days.
Address: Spencer, Iowa
Distance: 20.0 miles
Hours of Operation: September 6-14, 2008

Kenue Park - Within this park you will find meadows, oak-savannah forest, and a spectacular overlook from the top of a glacial kame - a large bluff remaining of a river running into a glacial hole. Centrally located in the heart of Dickinson County, this park has picnic areas, nature trails, a physical fitness course, and modern bathrooms. Make sure to visit Westport School also at Kenue Park, and soak up the history of this historical pioneer one-room school house.
Address: 170th St., Okoboji, IA 51355
Distance: 3.0 miles
Phone: 712-338-4238 or 712-332-2355

Horseshoe Bend County Wildlife Preserve - This 180-acre preserve offers an extensive trail system winding through river valley of the little Sioux River, and upland forests, meadows, marshes and oxbow ponds. These diverse habitats are host to a number of creatures including deer, beaver, woodpeckers, songsbirds and hawks. Facilities include a "warming shelter" with a spectacular river valley outlook, a playground featuring a huge 40' enclosed tube slide, wildlife-viewing blind, aesthetic footbridges spanning the river, modern bathroom facilities, and a picnic area.
Address: 3.0 miles S of Milford on Hwy. 71 and 3 miles W on 240th St., Milford, IA 51351
Distance: 10.0 miles
Phone: 712-338-4786

Fishing the Iowa Great Lakes - Visitors to Lake Okoboji find that the fishing is first rate in this Iowa Great Lake. Fishing enthusiasts can fish year round with both warm weather fishing and ice fishing in the well stocked waters. Numerous species of fish swim these waters; your catch may include bass, walleye, catfish, perch, crappie, bluegill or northerns. For anglers looking for more a challenge you can test your skill at fishing for Muskellunge. Seven of the current "Iowa All Time Record Fish" were caught in the Iowa Great Lakes.

Kick off the 2009 walleye season at the Iowa Great Lakes during the 27th Annual Great Walleye Weekend, May 1 and 2, 2009. This two-day fishing tournament benefits Easter Seals.

A record number of anglers cast their line in last year's Great Walleye Weekend, attempting to land one of six specially tagged walleye. The specially tagged walleye are distributed in the West and East Okoboji Lakes and Big Spirit Lake by the Department of Natural Resources. A tagged walleye is worth $10,000 if caught by a registered contestant during the contest hours. if more than one of the tagged walleye is caught, the $10,000 is equally divided. A number of pan fish are also tagged for additional prizes.
Distance: 1.5 miles

Gull Point State Park - This park on West Okoboji Lake is a perfect place to spend a few hours or a whole day! Hiking trails are well-maintained, winding their way through Burr Oak forest and marshes. Gull Point's beach provides a fine place for young and old to sunbathe and splash in the crystal clear water.
Address: 1500 Harpen St., Wahpeton, IA 51351
Distance:3.0 miles
Phone:712-337-3870