If you follow me on social media, you will know that I am not a huge fan of Monday.
They in fact stress me out.
From the non stop chaos, to the getting back to the work day routine, to the start of a new work/ school week blues, ITS ROUGH.
This series was actually initially intended as Friday Funday, but then I decided Monday needed some fun, and a big cup of coffee.
Memorial Park & Splash Pad
300 Lake Street, Spirit Lake, IA 51360
Cost: FREE
- If you would like to reserve the shelter house closer to the splash pad their is a minimal fee, and you can contact the city hall for more information.
If you are unfamiliar with a splash pad, they are pretty AMAZING.
They are a great affordable alternative to the local swimming pool, it is free, and essentially acts as a fun & fancy permanent sprinkler system that is mounted into a brick or concrete pad.
They are pretty common in larger communities, but slowly and surely the are popping up in smaller communities in the Tri State ( SW Minnesota, NE Iowa, and SE South Dakota) area as well. In communities that may not be able to afford a water park otherwise, so a lot of their community is leaving town to go keep cool somewhere else.
The one we typically visit is Memorial Park & Splash Pad (Spirit Lake, IA)
If you aren’t familiar with my family & I, we live just minutes north of a major tourist attraction of the NW Iowa & The Midwest. The livestock on our farm keep my husband pretty busy, therefore the kids and I will take advantage of the many cool attractions and events that happen in the area because there are A TON.
We love visiting this one as an incentive for Survival on a quick shopping trip to Spirit Lake/ Okoboji/ Spencer IA. Memorial Park is a fantastic place to meet on a playdate, host a picnic, have a birthday party, or just have a fun time.
Typically the splash pad is open from Memorial Day until Labor Day (subject to change).
If you follow me on social media at all, you may have noticed that the kids and I went on a outing (Thursday) and it was SUPER BUSY.
Yesterday I had to make a quick run to Walmart and I packed lunch so we wouldn’t have to go out to eat because it was so close to lunch.
We had a picnic, then we hit the park. We weren’t planning on this because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do all of my shopping in Spirit Lake or have to go to Spencer also. So we didn’t bring out swimsuits
If you aren’t familiar with my family & I, we live just minutes north of a major tourist attraction of the NW Iowa & The Midwest. The livestock on our farm keep my husband pretty busy, therefore the kids and I will take advantage of the many cool attractions and events that happen in the area because there are A TON.
This park/ splash pad is new to the area (2012), but it is very popular for both tourists and locals. It has many qualities I believe that will help it stay around for many years to come. The park contains two rent-able shelters (VERY NICE & affordable), two nice sized play areas, two swing sets, a huge grassy area, walking path, bike path, and who can forget the SPLASH PAD ? . Throughout this post I mainly focus on the playground, shelters, and splash-pad.
As I mentioned above, to play at the park & splash pad is FREE, Which is AWESOME.
The Shelter
Several summers ago, I was actually able to talk my husband into having my daughters birthday party there this summer, and I don’t know who is more excited my daughter or I?? I contacted the City hall office of Spirit Lake IA, and for just $35 deposit* , we are able to rent/reserve the shelter at Memorial Park. Pretty affordable. There are two shelters at memorial park, one directly East of the splash pad/ park & the other to the north.
The “little kid’s park”
I’m pretty sure the slightly smaller playground located directly west of the East Shelter house, is not called the little kids park, but that is what we have been calling it since we started going to this park semi-regularly. We call it the “little kid park because it is geared towards kids (but not limited to) the kids a little younger giving them a space that they can actively play.
The Splash Pad
Last summer, I was chasing after my kids while we were enjoying the splash pad, this summer the first two times that we attended the park, the splash pad was not open yet… Here is a picture of the “overall look of the pad”.
The “big kid’s park”
Finally the “big kid section” of the park. Nicknamed this by my daughter because of the noticeable size difference but similar appearance to the other “little kids park”
Ice Cream truck
If you are lucky enough (we aren’t all of the time) the ice cream man will stop by for purchasing a variety of different frozen treats.
If you haven’t noticed by the collection of photos I am sharing this 10 acre park contains a wide variety of different amenities two shelters, a splash pad, walking paths, bike trails, 1,500 feet of shore line on the beautiful East Lake Okoboji, horseshoe court, two playgrounds, two handicap-accessible piers, 2 fishing/boating docks, park benches, picnic tables, grills, handicap accessible bathrooms… and SO MUCH MORE
We LOVE going to Memorial Park/ Splash Pad of Spirit Lake, IA and you will too..
-Racheal
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