I have to be honest with you guys… I have lived in Iowa for 15 years (give or take) and have never been to Lake Okoboji. *gasp* I know. It is absolutely beautiful, there is tons of fun stuff to do, and it is only 3.5 hours from my house. However, we have just never had the chance to go. And now that I know what I missed, I am absolutely beside myself that it took us this long to find this gem. My husband has lived near Waterloo his whole life, I won’t tell you how old he is, but we will go with 39-ish (give or take), and he has never been to the Okoboji area either. One of the main concerns he had is that we don’t have any type of watercraft, no boat, no jet skis, nothing… which apparently is deemed essential for trips to the lake, otherwise there is nothing to do. Those are his words, not mine, because we all know that I am perfectly happy sitting on a beach.
When I heard that there was a resort there that provides all of the water activities, I was all over it: Fillenwarth Beach Resort, here we come!
And you can’t beat these sunsets:
I set up the reservation for our family to visit Fillenwarth Beach Resort in Arnold’s Park and it was absolutely amazing. The staff and service were fantastic, there were more activities than we could fit into our 3 night stay, and the location was beautiful. And the best part, NO WATERCRAFT NEEDED! Seriously you guys, they provide nearly everything you can imagine doing on a trip to the lake COMPLIMENTARY to all guests. Yes I’m serious, all of their water activities are FREE to everyone in your room/cabin and their rates are not any higher than other resorts in the area. They have also been family owned and operated for over 100 years now! Complimentary activities include: rides on two 49’ cruise boats (with complimentary soda pop, beer, wine, margaritas, mixed drinks, cheese & crackers and nuts), water skiing, sailing (when the wind allow), History cruise, Million Dollar Home cruise, paddleboats, canoes, rowboats, large docks with swimming areas, indoor pool, outdoor pool, arts & crafts and more. We also participated in an evening social event with live music (snacks and drinks included), a fishing clinic, and water ski lessons FREE OF CHARGE while we were there.
| Water Ski Lessons | Paddle Boats | Canoes |
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There are several different buildings with various sizes of units, from 2 person accommodations all the way up to cabins outfitted for 18 people. We stayed at the South Beach location where I got several beautiful sunset pictures from our second floor deck and were a literal “stone’s throw” away from the public beach at Arnold’s Park (it was less than 50 feet from the edge of our building to the beach).
| Arts and Crafts | Fishing Clinic | Waterskiing |
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Check out their location, units, upcoming events and all the fun stuff on their website: https://www.fillenwarthbeach.com/
The regular 2021 season runs from May 1 through September 19, with extended dates at the main beach through October 2. However, the late season may offer limited amenities and activities.
*Money Saving Tips*
– Bring Groceries: Every room at Fillenwarth Beach Resort is equipped with at least a small refrigerator and cook top, most have full kitchens, full size refrigerators, and outdoor grills. The only money we spent on food was ordering pizza delivery one night (when we didn’t feel like cooking) and ice cream on the boardwalk at Arnold’s Park. Not sure what to pack? Take fruit/cereal/granola bars for breakfast, pack a cooler of drinks/waters, another cooler with meat to grill, some sandwich supplies (lunchmeat, cheese, buns), and a grocery sack full of chips/crackers/snacks. We do this for almost every trip, it saves SOOOO much money…
– Take advantage of OFF-SEASON rates: At Fillenwarth Beach Resort, their regular rates are certainly affordable for families of all sizes (especially when they include so many amenities), but they do offer discounted rates at 25%-50% during the less busy/off season. For the rest of 2021, August 14-21 is 25% off and August 22-October 2 (closing day) is 50% off. If you are looking to plan for 2022, discounted early season rates tend to be available through the last weekend of June. So really, any time except July and the first week of August offers great reduced pricing on all sizes of cabins and units.
– Use the FREE activities: You can do any or all of the complimentary activities on any given day, so time the cruises with snacks during the afternoon to tide everyone over until dinner time. Utilize the beach at Arnold’s Park (for FREE), go for a walk on the boardwalk, and visit Iowa State Parks in the area. We did not spend any money doing extra activities or buying snacks/drinks in the middle of the day.
And of course, the best part of family vacations is the memories:
*I did receive a complimentary room in order to share this amazing resort with you, but all opinions are my own and I promise I wouldn’t tell you how fantastic something is if it really isn’t*