Elinor Bedell State Park is a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 of Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, USA. It is located on the east shore of East Okoboji Lake

East Okoboji Lake

East Okoboji Lake is a natural body of water, approximately 1,835 acres in area, in Dickinson County in northwest Iowa in the United States. It is part of the chain of lakes known as the Iowa Great Lakes. The area was long inhabited by the Santee or Eastern Dakota Sioux...

 and represents one of the last remaining open spaces on the Iowa Great Lakes

Iowa Great Lakes

The Iowa Great Lakes are a group of natural glacial lakes in Dickinson County in northwestern Iowa in the United States. The three principal lakes of the group are Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake. They are the largest natural lakes in the state of Iowa. The largest, Spirit...

. The 80 acres (32.4 ha) park was a gift of former U.S. Congressman Berkley Bedell

Berkley Bedell

Berkley Warren Bedell is a former U.S. Representative from Iowa. After starting a successful business in his youth, Berkley Fly Co., he ran for the United States Congress in 1972, but was defeated by incumbent Wiley Mayne...

 and his wife Elinor.

Geography

The park preserves prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

, wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

, and oak savannah. Nearby towns include Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake, Iowa

Spirit Lake is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,261 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County.The town is located along the western shore of East Okoboji Lake, in the Iowa Great Lakes region....

 about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the park, and Okoboji

Okoboji, Iowa

Okoboji is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States, along the eastern shore of West Okoboji Lake in the Iowa Great Lakes region. The population was 820 at the 2000 census. Pikes Point State Park is located within the city limits...

 and Arnolds Park

Arnolds Park, Iowa

Arnolds Park is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,126 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 1,162 population in the 2000 census.-Geography:Arnolds Park is located at ....

 about 5 miles (8 km) around the lake to the southwest.

Facilities

A small campground has eight sites with full RV hookups, a youth group site, a playground, modern restroom and a holding tank dump station

Holding tank dump station

A dump station is a place where raw sewage may be entered into a sanitary sewer system in a safe and responsible way. Dump stations are often used by owners of motorhomes, campervans, recreational vehicle or boats that are equipped with toilet facilities and a sewage holding tank, also known as a...

. A shelter overlooking the lake can be rented for private events. There is no beach or boat ramp within the park but several are accessible at other public facilities around the Iowa Great Lakes.

Recreation

Elinor Bedell State Park has several miles of trails. A wildlife viewing blind is situated just off the trail for use by bird and wildlife watchers. The area's lakes support game fish such as walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, smallmouth bass

Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

, white bass

White bass

The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass (MoroneIt is the state fish of Oklahoma.- Range :White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie...

, perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

, bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

s, crappie

Crappie

Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...

s, catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

, and bullheads.

External links

• Elinor Bedell State Park