 Maritime
Museum
Queens Court, Arnolds Park Amusement
Park
Relive the days of steamboats, motor launches and wooden cruisers
with a visit to the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum. The museum
has amassed a vast collection of local photographs, articles
and artifacts from the Iowa Great Lakes early ‘golden
days’ of boating. Visitors can also view two 11-minute
multi-image presentations featuring the images of local photographer,
David Thoreson, experiencing and preserving the national legend.
Special features of the museum include a fully restored boathouse,
25 classic wooden runabouts, an exhibit of period swimsuits
and recreational fishing and hunting articles. You’ll
recognize several familiar hallmarks from the old amusement
park. Come visit the Maritime Museum at its new location in
the Okoboji Spirit Center. Open year around with extended hours
Memorial Day through Labor Day.
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Queen
II
Queens Court, Arnolds Park Amusement
Park
No visit to Okoboji is complete without a ride on the Queen
II, a replica of the original ‘Queen’—the last
member of the original Okoboji fleet to survive the end of
the steamboat era. Visitors of all ages will enjoy her narrated
cruise around West Lake Okoboji. The Queen II takes passengers
out several times a day and can be chartered for private parties.
Ride tickets can be purchased at the Queen II Dock. |
 The
Okoboji Spirit Center
Queens Court, Arnolds Park Amusement
Park
The Okoboji Spirit Center is a multi-functional center housing
the Iowa State Welcome Center, the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime
Museum and Gift Shop, the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of
Commerce, the Okoboji Tourism Committee, the Queen II office,
the University of Okoboji Foundation, the Iowa Rock 'N Roll
Music Association and the Iowa Great Lakes Corridor of Opportunity.
This large facility is located off U.S. Hwy. 71 in the town
of Arnolds Park, adjacent to the Arnolds Park Amusement Park
with a brand new enhanced swimming beach, park and great shopping
at the Queen’s Court complex.
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Abbie
Gardner-Sharp Cabin
(712) 332-7248
1 block west of Arnolds Park Amusement Park
The Abbie Gardner-Sharp Cabin and the Spirit Lake Massacre
Monument are open seven days a week, beginning Saturday, Memorial
Weekend, through September 30. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. weekends, and 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. weekdays. Admission is
by free-will donation. This 19th-century cabin can be found
one block west of Arnolds Park Amusement Park. Visitors can
learn more about the tragic circumstances surrounding the 1857
massacre on the very site at which many early Iowa Great Lakes
settlers lost their lives, and young Abbie Gardner-Sharp was
taken prisoner. For information call curator Mike Koppert at
(712) 332-7248. Be sure to attend the Abbie Gardner rendezvous
this summer. |
Dickinson
County Museum
West of downtown Spirit Lake, along
US Hwys. 71 and 9
The Dickinson County Museum is open 1–5 pm daily, June
through mid-September. The building is one of the original
depots found along the Chicago- Milwaukee-St. Paul Railroad,
and it now houses an extensive collection that depicts the
area’s historic railroad, agricultural, resort and industrial
eras. The museum is just west of downtown Spirit Lake, along
US Hwys. 71 and 9. |
Higgins
Museum
(712) 332-5859
The Higgins Museum, one of Okoboji’s more unusual attractions,
is devoted to the history of national banking in the United
States from 1863 to 1935. Exhibits of national bank notes from
Iowa and adjoining states illustrate the heyday of America’s
use of hometown paper money. An extensive collection of turn-of-the-century
Iowa postcards and a numismatic research library, which is
available for use by appointment, are also part of the Higgins
Museum. The museum is on Sanborn Avenue in Okoboji, a three-quarter
mile west of U.S. Hwy. 71. Open daily, except Mondays, from
mid-May through September, 11:00 am to 5:30 pm. For group tours
or research appointments, call (712) 332-5859.
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Lakes
Art Center
(712) 332-7013
U.S. Hwy. 71 in North Okoboji
Visitors to the Lakes Art Center can enjoy viewing works in
the gallery’s permanent and traveling collections and
exhibits by guest artists. The Lakes Art Center also contains
the Lauridsen Performing Arts Theatre, the Pomerantz Multipurpose
Hall, an educational interactive art gallery called ART SMART,
a gift gallery, library, and offers art classes for all ages
and skill levels. The Lakes Art Center also hosts a summer
classic and foreign film series and Art in the Park, a summer
celebration featuring the work of local and regional artists.
The Lakes Art Center is located off U.S. Hwy. 71 in North Okoboji
and is open free to the public throughout the year. For gallery
hours and specific event times, call (712) 332-7013. See page
62 for a listing of performing arts and exhibitions.
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Westport
Sesquicentennial School
(712) 332-2969
Kenue Park, one mile west of US Hwy. 71 on the County Farm
Road (170th Street)
To relive days of the past in a one-room school, visit the
Westport Sesquicentennial School. This unique museum is in
Kenue Park, one mile west of US Hwy. 71 on the County Farm
Road (170th Street). The school is open 10 am to 2 pm, Monday
through Friday, July through August. For other times, call
for an appointment at 332-2969.
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Lakeside
Lab
(712) 337-3669
US Hwy. 86
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory is well known to scientists and researchers
throughout the United States. Lakeside Lab is situated northwest
of Milford on US Hwy. 86 on 140 acres of land in Little Miller’s
Bay. It is a research and learning facility where professors,
researchers and students study native ecosystems, in particular,
the water quality of the Iowa Great Lakes and how surrounding
land use affects it. Educational programs and lectures are
open to the public, and tours can be arranged by calling ahead.
Program dates and times are published on page 48 or call the
Lakeside Lab office at (712) 337-3669 for further information.
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