Honey Creek

We just got back from a few days at Honey Creek State Park Resort on Rathbun Lake. Which is a brand spanking new resort owned by the Iowa DNR. Rathbun Lake, like most of the lakes in Iowa, is a flood control reservoir. Most of the shoreline property is public land. The state has taken advantage of this by creating a state park resort (which apparently a handful of other states have also done). The south side of Rathbun lake has some Army Corp of Engineers controlled parks and camping...the DNR has a portion of the north side of the lake covered by both a regular state park and this new resort.

A couple of frustrating things about Rathbun lake: there are very few places you can actually access the water--there was only one swimming beach open while we were there and it was at one of the Army Corps parks. Honey Creek State Park's camping spots are entirely surrounded by trees and the only way you can see the lake or the park's namesake creek inlet is to hike out on various trails to the water's edge. It's kind of nice and rustic on one hand, and completely frustrating on the other. My idea of a nice day at the lake is to be in the water...and since we don't own a boat...that was pretty much impossible at Honey Creek. They are building a swimming beach at the resort...and a walking bridge to connect the resort to the state park (which are separated by water)....but that, along with a playground and picnic area and a whole lot of landscaping, have not been completed yet. Both Rob and I expect Honey Creek to be in extreme demand in a few years.

What Honey Creek Resort does have right now is a lovely hotel, a small water park (indoor waterslide and miniature lazy river), a large marina, a bunch of large cabins, a golf course, a restaurant, and access to a ton of rentals (boats, jet skis, kayaks, etc...). It would be an excellent location for a large family or business gathering.

We had a great time on our little getaway...even if beach time wasn't involved (at least I didn't get sunburned...and we did go swimming at the hotel to make up for it). We made a point to drive through and stop at several small Iowa towns. We did a little shopping in Centerville and I was reminded how much I enjoy small town Wal-marts...and antiques (I didn't make Rob do too much of this :). On our way home we went a few miles out of our way so that we could stop in Pella and pick up some pastries at the Jaarsma Bakery (well worth it, I might add).

A few pictures from our trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahjanesetnes/sets/72157621642620477/

Tomorrow we are on the road again, this time for a family reunion in Minneapolis.