We had a great time playing miniature golf. It was cool to see all the rides and different games they have for families. Highly recommend

I came to Arnolds Park yearly as a kid on summer vacation. I remember such fond memories of riding the roller coaster with my family, making funny faces at the camera. Fast forward a few *cough* decades later and I got the chance to take my kiddos to the newly renovated park. We opted for a day pass for $40 each. I thought we got a lot of bang per buck and loved that we could leave the park for lunch in the air conditioning. The area by the lake (Lake View) is thoughtfully done, parking is a non-issue, staff was pleasant, wait lines were scarce -- and if rides aren't your thing there's a raceway and arcade. All in all a win! Don't go to Okoboji and not stop at Arnold's Park. read more

While it's a bit of a drive from us, Arnold's Park is a fun visit. Great when visiting Lake Okoboji. One can stay in town, enjoy the park, the. The lake, with several good places to eat nearby. Arnolds Park is a proper amusement park with many of the favorite rides. Nestled on the shore of Lake Okoboji, the feel reminded me of seaside and bayside parks. I t would be a great addition to a lakeshore vacation. It's fun, seemed safe, and the cost was reasonable when we went. No notion of the cost now. I expect it's still reasonable. The staff was pleasant and helpful. Parking was plentiful and easy. The food in the park was usual amusement park cuisine. No surprises. Just fun. The roller coaster reminded me of the sound of coasters from my childhood. I want to go back and ride it again. I bet we will, too. read more

Came in for a weekend from out of town and this was a great atmosphere and place to spend our Saturday night! Free concert and fireworks show, plenty of shops for food and drinks all over, crowded but not too much. Great place to hang out! read more

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Daily wristbands best deal for tween/teens. Good variety of rides and games. Roller coaster always a hit along with bumper cars, tipsy house and water flume ride. Most lines not longer than 5 minute wait. New vertical challenge bike race this year. Mighty mouse getting refreshed currently closed. No longer has swings or the twirling rocket ride or swinging ship this year Go kart and putt putt golf extra charge read more

Omg! This place is amazing. A little bit for everyone. Shops and restaurants galore. Beach area access to the lake where you can swim or just lay out in the sand. If you like to shop make sure you walk down through the arches to the Emporium. The energy is fun like an amusement park. Park is clean and well kept. We are going back again to ride some rides and go to free museum. read more

Went to Foreigner concert and had to wait for 45 minutes in line for beer! They need to fix this. Line didn't move read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

A really cool Midwest treasure located in Iowa. Lake Okoboji is a really neat lake town, and Arnolds Park is a cool retro amusement park. There's lots to do and see, and lots of rides to see. This would be a great time for families with kids of all ages. Only knock we had was it was a bit expensive for day passes, and some of the rides were pretty intense! There was a rotating rocket ship ride that gave us a lot of bumps and bruises and left us a little sick for a bit haha. There's also a couple of free museums nearby which are cool as well! read more

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The grounds are nicely planted with flowering shrubs and flowers as you enter the park area. Saturday art in the park and the farmer's market are a treat, though busy. We went at 7:30 am to check out the site and grab coffee before the crowds. Bob's is a great place to grab a hotdog, tavern or ice cream by the lake. read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Entrance to the park area in August - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

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Accessible by boat, with plenty of docking space. Park entry is free, some attractions are free, but the best rides require 'park bucks' or a day pass / membership to ride. Some of my favorite attractions: -- 'The Legend' is one of the 15 oldest operating rollercoasters in the world, having been preserved since pre-depression times. And it is legendary! Truly picturesque from the lake, a 3,000 foot wooden coaster with 5 or 6 great drops, tons of zero-G hangtime, drops and jostles sure to make you scream, and super short lines. Ride it a couple times! -- The 'Tipsy House' (free) is an all-time classic, diagonally constructed right above the passenger loading area of the coaster. Each room is at its own tilt, and the balcony on top is a picture spot worth visiting. -- The 'Log Flume' is okay -- it's no Splash Mountain, but probably worth hitting up on a warm day. -- Lastly, please make sure you don't miss the 'Bug House' -- I can't explain it here because you wouldn't understand!! Arnold's Park also features a large Ferris Wheel, a couple smaller coasters, including a classic 'Wild Mouse' style coaster, as well as a miniature train to ferry young guests around the park. A great Merry-Go-Round with unique animals at every seat greats you at the entrance, followed by several carnival style games, with stuffed animal prizes. The park is also attached to a Mini Golf Course and Go Kart track in the rear. I've been going here on and off since I was a child, and truly Arnold's Park seems like it keeps getting better with age. Nearby shops are cute and worth visiting before, after, or during your visit to the park (exit and re-entry is allowed). Go shopping at 'The Three Sons' outpost outside the park for some 'University or Okoboji' gear (go Phantoms!), watch the classic toffee machine at work at 'Black Walnut Candy', or grab a Nutty Bar (or a chocolate-covered frozen banana) at the next-door 'Nutty Bar Stand'! read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

I love this old amusement park! This is an Okoboji staple everyone who comes to the Lakes Region MUST visit! There is an old wooden roller coaster that brings you up to "the point of no return." There is also the typical ride a of course, tilt a whirl and the bumper cars and the mini rail road for the kiddos and the famous, beautiful lit up Ferris wheel! of course they have arcade games to win a stuffed animal or Iowa basketball. Plus ice cream and all sorts of goodies. Such a fun place to walk around and enjoy the rides. You can enter and just walk around for free! Rides cost money depending on the ride or you can buy a day passes :) read more

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Pretty cool old school park. If you are looking for 6 flags...this isn't it. But we had fun as a family and it is a nice little gem in northern Iowa. read more

Our family is Arnold Park's newest groupies! We are from Omaha and recently visited Okoboji for the first time and spent a day at Arnold Park. We had a blast! With the help of some Groupons, I think the value was clearly there to get an all day pass. We spent the first part of our day exploring and here's the list of highlights. Lots of Shade- since there are patches of grass and trees, you weren't always baking in the sun. Friendly staff- the ride operators were friendly and accommodating to my young kids. For instance, when my 3 year old freaked out and needed to stop a ride early. Also they were pretty lax on the height rules ;) Rides for all Ages- Well...for ages from like 2-12 which so happens to be the range of my kids. Perfect amount of kiddie rides mixed with some "older kid" rides that EVERYONE could find something they enjoyed. Reasonably Priced Concessions- There wasn't much food within the park (since, I assume, there's plenty around there and you are free to come/go into the park) but the food they did have wasn't overly expensive. No gouging on concessions which we all can appreciate! Fairly clean facility/bathrooms- the restrooms were updated and fairly clean all things considered. Obviously they got more gross as the day went on but I think they did a great job of keeping it non-dingy feeling. Overall, it was a great value and my kids will rave about it for years to come! One tip: start in the morning, go back in the afternoon to nap and cool off, and come back st night. read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Train ride at the park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

A classic amusement park that dates back to the 1920s. The wooden roller coaster is the 13th oldest, built in 1927. Nobody can ride The Legend and not wonder if the cars might not come off this time :-) Adds a great thrill factor. We get the park pass mainly to ride that thing until our butts are numb! The Tipsy House is attached to the Roller Coaster and is perhaps the oldest building in the park. It is still just as cool as it ever was when I was a child and now with my children. (see the pano we shot from the roof). I remember the Pink Panther (bar) and getting in even though I was a tad too young :-) It had a wrap around porch on the second floor and was large two story all pink building (kinda obnoxious color). Then The Roof Garden (huge upstairs open dance hall) had live bands, one side for minors one side for adults of drinking age. The first Regal Beagle in Arnold's Park that was between The Emporium and the Park... And not to forget "the girls of summer". The whole area was like one big frat party when I was a kid in the 70's/80's. It has calmed down significantly since then and now that I have kids, I am not complaining ;-) The only complaint I would make is that Arnold's Park's water balloon launch "ride" is not part of the all park access. What a bummer. I would be happy to fill our own balloons! Great fun to hit the edge and shoot the balloons into the unsuspecting crowd, especially the line at the spider ride :-) Great fun for the family with boating, park, emporium, fishing. Great memories for Dad. read more

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A generational favourite! Short of the one at the Santa Cruz Beach Boadwalk, there's not a better wooden roller coaster around. Also try the nutty bars just outside the park, a ride on the Queen II, the Iowa Rock and Roll Museum and of course Lake Okoboji! My only complaint is that the Park is closed for a few days in the middle of the week before Labour Day. School has started and maybe the help and the crowds aren't there. But it's no fun for those of us who happen to be on vacation at that time. read more

Horrible time!!! Paid a lot of money for my family to ride the rides and every worker has the worst attitude and hates their job!! ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT ENCOURAGE ME TO GO BACK WITH MY FAMILY!! Also.... EVERYTHING IS SOOOOOO OVERPRICED!!! skip this place if you want to have a good time and like your money!!!! read more

This amusement park is part of my family history! Every summer we'd spend a week in Okoboji with extended family and every year we looked forward to Arnold's Park! Located on scenic Lake Okoboji, this park still contains remnants of their historic attractions, like the Tipsy House, the Himalayan, and of course, the original roller coaster! Recent additions include lots of little shops, a fudge stand, restaurants, etc. new hotels and vacation condos have also sprung up nearby. I love that I still occasionally get back and take my own children...the family tradition continues! read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

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Fun amusement park. Not a lot of rides but it's not super expensive either. Fun family time.

We came here with a group of friends hoping to ride a couple of rides on the sunset pass before they closed. We ended up getting accused of playing the penis game and saying the f word and got kicked out. We asked to speak with the boss so we could explain but he refused to meet with us because he was to lazy to walk to our side of the park quote of the worker. Mind you it was actually 2 10 year olds playing the game. Anyways I will never waste any money at this shitty amusement park again for the workers to treat us like shit. Anyways sold our house on okoboji and moved to lake panorama because this experience made us want nothing to do with the kind of people that run this place. Peep the new and improved lake panorama. read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

"The Park" has begun to lose its charm. What once had a unique local feel from yesteryear has started to become just another very commercialized touristy trap. In an effort for progress they've ruined what many of us grew up loving. The amusement park itself is fine. The old roller coaster still provides the same thrills it has for the last 90+ years. The shops have become nothing but overpriced tourist traps with very few exceptions. The concerts offer great entertainment every summer weekend but no longer allowed to park and enjoy the green space in the same manner we once could. If you are wanting to rent any portion of what Arnold's Park offers for a venue I wish you luck. They've been known to double book the Pavilion, even when you do get an event booked you have a tough time receiving all that you paid for, mainly service from the staff. read more

This is a great little amusement park, it has a little bit of everything. You can go in free and walk around or pay a day pass with unlimited rides. You don't have to walk a mile or two to get from one side to the other. My favorite ride is the Log Ride. They also have a raceway and a mini golf. We did the mini golf and it was really cool, we had a lot of fun. read more

A Midwest treasure. Great for families with so much to do. A must visit for all. If you haven't been there, the area has had significant upgrades recently. It' just keeps getting better. read more

go carts suck, wait an hour in the slowest line on earth to ride the slowest carts of your life. boooo

Classic Amusement parks are either classic.. cause they are old and cool or classic cause you went there as a kid.. For me this is a bit of both! Yes the Nostalgia is a winning key here, but it's also a nugget from another time. The old wooden roller coaster, the nutty bar stand, the tilt-a-whirl that your dad taught you how to spin so fast it made your sister throw up. It's all here! As well as the Queen 2 which might have been my first boat ride ever.. They also have the Iowa Rock and Roll Museum which I truly love and hopefully that is where they bury my rock and roll ashes! It would be fitting cause I about died on that roller coaster once when I almost flew out! :) The Point of no return! read more

How many amusement parks can you think of that you don't have to pay to enter...just pay for each ride? I had to get over the confusion of Arnolds Park the section of town and this Arnolds park. We parked and walked in to the tourism office, where we were able to walk thru the naval museum for free, use the bathrooms in air conditioning and get all kinds of maps and info on things to do. Then we walked the small main street and visited all of the cute gift shops. At the end of main street is a small section for photos and there are many benches to rest on, with a free beach just a few yards away. This is a must - and is budget friendly. read more

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Disappointing amusement park, rides no better than a county fair. Concerts, Maxwells, nutty bar stand, local shops, fireworks are pretty good but this review is not for them. read more

The workers were very friendly! The rides were fun; we were able to ride again and again, because there were so few people there. The options for snacks was nice; the funnel cake was scrumptious! The price, however, was high for the number of rides available. read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - The Ferris wheel - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

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So many fun things to do here at Arnold's Park! My two favorite things are definitely the roller coaster and the go-karts! There's something about the nostalgia here that just brings out your inner child when you go on the wooden roller coaster! I mean who doesn't love the rush of the turns and going down hill? It's wonderful! I mean if you love roller coasters. The go-karts also bring out the same childhood feeling with a dash of competition! There's nothing like flooring it and trying to beat the people you came with, like my boyfriend and his father, and having a fun story to share with everyone after, even if you lose. This place is quite similar to the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk and that was a great feeling to have knowing that this little bit of nostalgia reminded me of back home. Also if you get a chance to walk down a ways you'll find a delicious little mini donut stand and it's worth every penny and the nice little walk you get! read more

Excellent mini golf!!! All the staff in the park were very friendly. Nostalgic park, kids had a great time. Brought picnic lunch and ate in the nice park next to the amusement area. Park was clean and attractive, rides were well kept up. Go carts were also a blast! read more

Arnolds Park Amusement Park - Mini Golf - Amusement Parks Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

This is a great classic small town amusement park. I love that you don't have to purchase a ticket to walk around, esp when, like me, you go for a ride or two and mostly are there to let the kiddos go wold read more

Awesome small family owned park. Great to bring kids to. Our family had lots of fun here! Super love this park!

This park is great for kids. It only has one roller coaster I think so it's more of a fun park then a thriller park. It doesn't have a very big assortment of rides but it still has quite a lot. read more

I'll admit that this was the first time that I had ever visited the famous Arnold's Park Amusement Park. Growing up in western Iowa, my family always went to Adventureland for our amusement park needs. I did enjoy walking around the park and the broadwalk and checking out the different shoppes. The only ride I was interested in riding was the Tilt-a-Whirl as that has been and always will be my favorite ride ever. So my Partner gets in line to get us tickets for the ride. He's in line for a while as it was Labor Day weekend. We get our tickets and walk towards the Tilt-a-Whirl. We get in line and about a minute later we are promptly informed that the ride operator is due for his break. No big deal. Even on the ride it says when the scheduled breaks were. So we wait and wait and wait. I am all for people getting their breaks, but the scheduled break, according to the sign, was supposed to be 10 minutes. After 30 minutes we decided that this dude was either not coming back or something so we left. We figured we could just stop by the next day and ride. At this point I asked my Partner how much the tickets cost. 12 dollars total. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 12 dollars for 2 people to ride the freaking Tilt-a-Whirl. That's absolutely insane. We come back the next day and the ride operator that day was extremely rude. We had one of the rechargeable cards and not wrist bands and he looks pissed and says "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IS ON IT?!?" My Partner tells him its enough to cover both of us on the ride. The operator says and says "whatever" and lets us on. Nice attitude dude. After the ride is over he opens the gate to let us leave and I smile and say "Thank you." He gives me a dirty look and never said anything. We enjoyed the area, but I wouldn't ride any of the rides again because the prices are outrageous and the employees are rude. I understand that some people feel nostalgic about this place and had I gone here as a child, I probably would too. read more

I've loved Arnold's Park ever since I was a little kid however after taking my kids there Friday I'll probably never go back. The park itself was great but the attendants at every single ride we went on were very rude. They gave absolutely no direction and didn't even help my 7 yr old with the restraints or check to see if she even had them buckled at all. I did it myself...I can't believe there hasn't been any serious accidents. Also, the person in charge of the games spoke so little English that we couldn't play because she couldn't describe how to do it or even how much it was to play. That was pretty much how it was throughout the entire park except at the go karts and mini golf. Those employees were very friendly and informative. They need to find employees for the rest of the park that actually want to be there and care about doing their job well. read more

Classic. Brought the whole family here for mini-golf over labor day weekend (there were eighteen of us, including two boys ages three and five). We got through all eighteen holes in less than two hours and the kids loved it - when they got bored with golfing, they looked at the pirate decorations (pirates and skeletons hiding around the course and a giant captured shark hanging at the entrance). The three-year-old was fascinated by the mini-raceway right next door. I didn't hear any whining the entire time we were there - score! The employees were very nice, enthusiastic, and patient, which I deeply appreciate considering we were a large group there over a busy weekend. Thanks, guys! As for the park itself, I've been going here since I was a little kid, and as far as Iowa amusement parks go, this is the best. Better than Adventureland, better than the State Fair. It rivals the Clay County Fair (which is considered the best in the country and is about twenty miles down the road). Admission is a bit pricey, so you'll want to spend a few hours there, but rides are unlimited and there are rarely any lines. The snacks are yummy (legit saltwater taffy!) and the rides are unique, especially for the Midwest. read more

Kinda like a boardwalk in the middle of Iowa. We didn't go on any rides on this go-round, but the place was very nostalgic for my sister and I. Rides, fun, no admission fee...all the things that kids and grownups love... read more

There are a few rides, but they are more enjoyable than you'd think. The atmosphere and view is enough to satisfy you. To walk in it's free and the pricing is reasonable. I recommend you go because it's enough fun for all of your party! read more

If you go in with the right expectations, Arnolds Park is a decent little place, perfect for small kids. There is a not so tall wooden coaster, baby coaster, go karts and other vintage rides. Prices for a wrist band are reasonable, and there are plenty of cheap food and snack options around. It is really small, so older children may get bored easily. If you don't have kids, you can skip it altogether. The free museums are good for about 20 minutes. read more

I love the legend roller coaster and it has always been my favorite. The workers always are very helpful and kind. When you get on a new ride they always tell u what to do. They have great games, food, and rides. When ever I'm in Okoboji, Arnold's park is always a must-do. read more

Rip off. Maybe 3 rides adults can fit on and appreciate and this place is a flashback to the 1930s.