Lost Resorts Of The Iowa Great Lakes

Since the first rustic vacation retreat for hunters and fishermen was built in 1871, Okoboji and the Iowa Great Lakes have been a drawing card for families, generation after generation. Over the decades, dozens of vacation resorts, from the magnificent Hotel Orleans on Big Spirit Lake to the iconic Inn on West Okoboji, have lured happy summertime visitors. Just mentioning the name of a resort often evokes memories of swimming, boating, fishing, waterskiing, or just good times spent with friends and family. However, most of these vacation resorts are now gone--The Inn, Manhattan Beach Hotel, Templar Park, and Crandall's Lodge have all been demolished. Vacation Village has become Village West, and the Crescent Beach resort, which at one time boasted over 100 apartments or cottages, now has fewer than 30 motel-style units. Gone too are dozens of friendly mom-and-pop cottage resorts all around the lakes, replaced by condominiums and private residences.

Since the first rustic vacation retreat for hunters and fishermen was built in 1871, Okoboji and the Iowa Great Lakes have been a drawing card for families, generation after generation. Over the decades, dozens of vacation resorts, from the magnificent Hotel Orleans on Big Spirit Lake to the iconic Inn on West Okoboji, have lured happy summertime visitors. Just mentioning the name of a resort often evokes memories of swimming, boating, fishing, waterskiing, or just good times spent with friends and family. However, most of these vacation resorts are now gone-The Inn, Manhattan Beach Hotel, Templar Park, and Crandall's Lodge have all been demolished. Vacation Village has become Village West, and the Crescent Beach resort, which at one time boasted over 100 apartments or cottages, now has fewer than 30 motel-style units. Gone too are dozens of friendly mom-and-pop cottage resorts all around the lakes, replaced by condominiums and private residences.

Generation after generation, families of vacationers have returned to northwestern Iowa's Okoboji and the Iowa Great Lakes for summertime rest and recreation. From the earliest pioneer days to the Spirit Lake Massacre to the first rustic outdoorsmen's accommodations, this deep glacial lake and its sister prairie lakes have been embraced by visitors for more than 150 years. Slow growing until rail service in 1882, the area saw investment in the form of the Orleans, the grandest hotel west of the Mississippi, which was demolished a scant 15 years later. By then, though, word had gotten out, and Lake Okoboji's wooded bluffs and sandy beaches became places of quiet repose for vacationers. Resorts of all sizes drew the wealthy and modest alike. Among the area's attractions were Arnolds Park Amusement Park; the Roof Garden; the Casino, Central, and Inn ballrooms; thrilling boat rides; skating; and summertime "bathing" in the revitalizing waters. Now largely given over to private residences of all sizes, the many marinas and public areas still draw summertime visitors intent on forging their own indelible memories.