When we travel to see our son in college it is so nice to bring our 4 legged family members to run and have fun. We love going to Lake Manawa!
Lake Manawa is pretty and good for a swim, however the campsite should not be listed as a State Park. We came down from Wisconsin for a baseball tournament at the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex which was about 3 minutes away. All of the campsites were grouped together in a small circle, sites were about 20 feet from the next camper. Our site had trash left over from previous occupants. Showers were very dirty and I am an outdoor girl! About 1/3 of the campers were living there as their residence however DNR was very present. When we camp in Wisconsin, we have privacy in the State Parks and are not used to camping right next to another site. Lake Manawa had plenty of space to spread the sites apart throughout the park. On the upswing, wildlife was present and the trails were nice, but I would not recommend for camping.
Stayed just one night before running the Omaha Marathon the next morning thinking that a 'State Park' would be a nice, peaceful, scenic, economical experience. At least it was economical. But...as mentioned it is in and around a bit of a tough looking neighborhood and for a tent camper it was very loud on a Saturday night. There must be a bar somewhere on the lake with live poorly sung rock music until Midnight that carries across the water. And of course the occasional police siren. But the trump card is the constant blowing of train whistles at least every 15 minutes throughout the night. The facilities are on the run down side. If you are planning a quiet getaway weekend to a 'State Park' destination (especially for families with kids of any age) this is absolutely one place to avoid.
We planned to camp at this state park on our way to Alaska. As we drove through looking for a spot to put our tent, we saw nothing but white trash and people who looked like they were on drugs. Our children asked if they would be raped in the restrooms. The whole campground was filthy! It backs up to a crack infested neighborhood with a beautiful scenic view of a power plant. The state of Iowa should be ashamed to have ownership of this campground!! Maybe the state should make a trip to Georgia to see what a state park should look like! I'm embarrassed to even say we drove through this ghetto place!
they have some great bike trails, but the picnic ground area near the "Dream playground" was so littered with trash & the Shelter House restrooms near it were absolutely discusting!We picked up a lot of the trash around our picnic area, but it seems like people just leave their trash from their picnics at the site!This year seems so much worse that I have ever seen it.I had to take my Grandchild to the restroom , the stall doors & toilet areas were filthy!There was running water but no soap or dryer to wash up properly.Please clean up our beautiful park so we can be proud of it again.I have been to many state parks & this is no where near as nice as it should & could be!
Lake Manawa state park was really like no other! It really had everything we wanted for a relaxing family weekend. It had people constantly cruising through with their stereos cranked revving their engines, and they didn't let a little fact like it being 4 in the morning stop them from disturbing everyone. It also had a steady stream of people digging through the trash, tied-up dogs barking, and trashy bathrooms with no soap or temperature controls in the shower. The most amazing thing at Lake Manawa was the constant DNR presence arresting people. What a treat! It provided some great entertainment and provided a learning opportunity for our small children to see first-hand the role law enforcement plays in the community. So as you can see, Lake Manawa really has everything-except my family. We will NEVER camp at Lake Manawa State Park again!
Nice place to relax. Beautiful beach and views. Lots of lily pads. Not too crowded. Lots of friendly people to visit with.
I highly recommend not staying at this campground especially with young children. The facilities are disgusting with dirty diapers, women's feminine products and other trash on the floors. The people at this campground were scary and looked strung out on drugs. Homeless people digging through dumpsters. Neighborhood behind campground looked pretty rough, constant traffic. We saw one person get arrested by DNR. DNR presence was high. Nice fire rings but no wood available to purchase. You couldn't pay me to stay here again. We cut our trip short.
Sites are minimum gravel, fairly close together and overall appearance of the park is dismal. Had we known it looked like this we never would have come here. But traveling across the country and looking for a place to settle for several nights, we chose this park, thinking that as a State Park it would represent Iowa in a good light. Not to be the case. We would NEVER come back to a park as dismal as this. Perhaps the daily rate represents the clientele that frequent here. We had no interest in taking advantage of the lake or its amenities but were only looking for a nice campground to spend 3 nights in and visit nearby sites. Friends of ours who live nearby said 'oh man, that's a nasty place' . . . .We didn't have need to use the 'restroom' and I say that lightly - - it was AWFUL and thankfully we didn't need to use it as we have a self-contained RV.
Yup, we call it mana-swamp. we do go boating there, since the next closest boating lake is an hour away. We have fun there, but there are homeless people, and every year there is a least one murder\hidden corpse. I have never felt unsafe, but that is all relative. The lake is not dirty, it just has poor clarity due to being only 6 ft deep, and warm.(lots of algea) I wouldnt camp there tho. Manawa could be a great lake and park with a little tlc. But that probably wont happen since its in council bluffs, also known as "the dirty armpit of Iowa". Pros- Its close, its cheap, its easycons- Dirty, not patrolled, low-rent. Power plant sky line.