Lake Manawa is a THE local swimming hole. Its a fairly large lake with lots of trails, parks, wildlife, and scenic beauty. Manawa was formed after the Missouri River changed course in a massive flood in 1881. Within a decade it became quite the recreational place. Had a ballroom. A large amusement park. And swimming beaches. The majority of people born in Council Bluffs learned how to swim in Lake Manawa.

Continuously making updates. Playground is new. In process of updating shelters. Many birds on lake and around on shores throughout the year. Eagles, pelicans,, geese, ducks, as well as many deer. Take deer signs seriously! Paved trails for biking, walking. One of trails in need of repair. No camping now but campground is planned and construction starting soon. Close to many take out places so is great for impromptu picnics or lunch hours.

As always .... Lake Manawa is a pretty, family-friendly lake that is kept very clean and well maintained. Its not huge ... but it is used by many jetski type vehicles and boats of all makes and models. You can camp there, also. Lots of fishing from shore as well as boats. There is a very nice, large playground as well as a nice swimming beach where u pay to swim. There are many picnic pavilions around the lake. Very decent restroom facilities, also. Every time weve been there, weve seen deer on the grounds and theyre pretty calm as cars slow to get a better look. In the fall, weve seen 10 in one visit. Signs are posted so u know where each area is. There are also park rangers in case u need any questions answered. Something else we love is that u see families of every race, make and age. Nice place.

Clean quiet location well kept up and easy access rest rooms for handicapped.

Dreamland Park is the kind of playground where a kid can get lost in their imagination. It has a covered dining area and restrooms, too! It would be better if the restrooms were child-friendly, but Im still giving five stars, because I live in Omaha, where none of the public playgrounds are this awesome, and none have restrooms AT ALL. (Really? Playgrounds with no bathroom? Are small children not well-known for peeing their pants?)I havent explored the rest of the park much, but the lake and the wildlife are pretty cool.

The newer nature trails are well worth a visit a few times a month. Be prepared to see wildlife and take some safari photos. My kids always have a great time.

Large lake that accommodates all kinds of water craft with multiple boat ramps and places to park! Theres miles of paved and unpaved trails surrounding the lake thats great for walking, jogging, or bicycling! Absolutely great for taking your dogs on long walks and getting them some great exercise!! Overall a wonderful park!!

Very nice clean park. However if your going to fish there are lots better places to go. For swimming, boating, bike riding, hiking, picnicking you will be hard pressed to find a nicer place to go. Disney Land play ground for kids extremely nice.

Nice serene place close to Nebraska. You can barbecue. The beach (artificial) is accessible by tickets. Closes at 7 pm.

The people are nice. The beach is great. The activities were fun. Not bad and Im from Florida.

We like to drive around the lake. There is always wild life and fun things to see. Then the kids always have a great time at Dreamland playground!

Where my son first drove a car and practiced parking. Than he put it in drive instead of reverse and almost drive into the lake. No! Son this is not a boat too Just a car.Lake Manawa has many different pavilions for gatherings where you can still spread out and keep that distance but get together and keep social distance. Go fishing Ride a bike go boating Skiing, enjoy Jet skid. And barbeque while the kiddos play at a park. Or practice their driving skills directional.

Nice place for Covid-19 safe outdoor outing. Great for just a drive around the lake, walking or bike paths, picnic tables are available, and plenty of wildlife.

The new updated park from my childhood has made this place even better for our kids today

Gorgeous park! Nice walking trails! I did a photoshoot here the other night and it is absolutely the perfect place to do it!!

Warm water, plenty of room, and they sell or rent anything you may have forgotten, for your day at the lake. Weve been there several times and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Clean, well maintained and tranquil. I love coming out here.

Fun family lake. Didnt catch any fish, but the water sports are lots of fun and my daughter caught a few frogs as pets.

Lake Manawa is a nice place to visit, have family picnics, fish, boat and relax. However, there are only two open bathrooms in Manawa. Which is rediculous because Lake Manawa has 4-5 restroom facilities throughout the lake.

Great place for the family, very cool park, cookout, fishing, and lots of room for tubing.

Tons of deer at dusk! Nice park to drive or take a walk. Enjoyed the sunset. There were tons of cars driving through and people out. Great park close to the city.

This was a peaceful place to walk an just enjoy what earth has to provide us with.

Very clean and relaxing. cleaner than Ive ever seen it. awesome job

Caught some a big cat today and a few other fish, grass was cut which always makes fishing a lot better

We took the kids here to go fishing. We have also taken family pictures here. It is very clean. Even though it is busy, the litter is pretty under control. There are trails, boat landings, and a swim beach. I just wish there was a place to rent boats.

Lovely pavilion right off the lake will definitely rent the space cant wait to see it at night

Nice little place to hang out and swim. Love that they have picnic tables and grills right by the lake

I love the beauty of the reflections on the water. Its not a bad little retreat even for big city folks.

Fun for swimming and renting a paddleboard!! Shallow water for little kids and deep water for adults, super fun!

Decent bass and a wheelchair accessible dock a lake just for dohs to swim and camping

Beautiful, peaceful, plenty to do and see. Wish the beach area were a little bigger but otherwise fabulous

Great local beach with many tables and grills. Also rents kayaks, canoes, and floatables. Nice place for a family afternoon.

A very beautiful park! I highly recommend visiting it.

Depending on your thoughts on crowds, if you dont mind elbow to elbow, you will be able to be alright - better if you have a boat (in my opinion)

Great experience. Wildlife is everywhere. Bald eagles are there this time of year. Playground is new and full of fun for the kids. Great place to take wildlife photos

Beware: Jetski Day with Group - 3 stars - see notes below.5 stars for the lake, boat ramps, people and beaches.I made my first visit here today and it was a good experience. The water was choppy, but the lake was busy because it is a Saturday (August 8th, 2020). We were on a wave runner taking turns and the biggest issue was the rocks near the waters edge. This made it especially difficult to swap out riders, etc. I appreciate the fact that those rocks protect against erosion and there are swim beaches, but it was not ideal for our group of 8 with a single jetski.I also talked to a few people who were pulled over and ticketed on the water (no fire extinguisher after driving to fast near other boats and reckless driving on jetski). I suspect there is more to the reckless story but would suggest good cautious fun in lieu of those details.I had a brief encounter with on-the-water law enforcement and they were very polite and helpful. I made an honest mistake and was provided clarification so that I could take corrective action.I had 2 passengers (3 total including me) on the wave runner and 3 passengers in a tube behind the wave runner. Under Iowa law I was over capacity. My limit was three including on the wave runner. I believe my limit was three because I had a three seater. We immediately returned to our group and corrected our error. Problem solved and a great day overall.No ticket. I think it helped that we were very polite and respectful. He was doing his job to help keep us and everyone on the lake safe. I am grateful!Overall it was still a wonderful day and I would suggest a giant lily-pad or island float to help overcome the rocks beach issue that gave us issues. Keep in mind we had several kids with us and they all had sensitive feet

Close place to put boat in .a little small but it is overall nice

Great Place to take your family and grill out with friends. Safe and they have lifeguards respectable place for Fun in the Sun

Very nice small lake and park. Enjoyed it.

Pretty views, lots of places to ride a bicycle and plenty of fish to catch.

Always enjoy visits. The new dreamland playground is not as good as the old one, but the young kids enjoyed it.Warning. NO swings for little ones.

I love going to the walking Trails here. Have also been to a few company picnics at the dreamland shelter and they were wonderful.

Took mountain bike out there. Nice ride. Look forward to taking the longer path next time.

Beautiful. Literally thousands of various waterfowl to watch!

Beautiful state park with many things to do. Lake is always clean and pleasant to be on. The folks that live on the lake are wonderful people, don’t ever hesitate to ask for help when trailering/launching your boat. They’re always willing to lend a helping hand. Large handful of spots to have birthday parties, grills provided, a public beach with sand, campground, and a really awesome playground for kids. Grocery stores and a shopping area are within a mile if you plan on camping. Wildlife is abundant and really sets the tone of the place. There really is something for everyone!

My family loves coming here. Great place to eat and relax.

It clean, great for hiking, fishing, kayaking, swimming. They have a great beach, with a refreshment stand and small store. Wish they still had camping.

Is a good place to spend a day by the lake in a peaceful ambiance.

Always fun to drive around this lake.

Beautiful place to visit. Fishing, bike and hike trails. Check it out if you get the chance.

Relaxing, quiet area to take pet for walk !

Lots of fun and fun and memories. Gonna miss it.

Really cleaned the place up. They were practicing social distancing. Had an amazing holiday with my family.

This park is LITERALLY the best park Ive ever been too! My kids have an AMAZING time here!!

Lived here all my life and I love it here I love this lake very good catfishing here

Its alright place better then nothing feel me make Lemonade if you catch my drift

Great scenic trails near the river docks! Saw some wild turkey and heard the river most the way.

I had a great time the two days I have been able to travel to Lake Manawa. I saw a deer and turkeys on the road together. I wish the world come be like the simple animals from two different specie families.

I grew up in lake Manawa. I love this area. So clean and well taken care of. Something for everyone. My son likes the Dreamland play ground. I love the beach. This nature area is filled with deer and turkeys. I dont like how they are charging $5 a car to park at a playground.

Fun and safe place for summer especially with the sheriffs around and in the lake.

Fun place to be and have some time with the family. You can bring outside food and drinks.

Doesnt worth going. How can it be a state park. No clue

Huge lake great park green and beautiful

Excellent place for a run, swim, bike ride or picnic. Picnic Shelter #7 is gorgeous and absolutely worth the $85 rental fee. In college my friends and I used to go to the playground late at night to smoke weed. We always ran into other cool kids who were there doing the same. It was probably the coolest place I ever got high.

Great place to boat and play games on the Sand bar. Oh and great sunsets!

Very nice just wish they never took camping out

Nice lake, plenty of parking, most of the trails are paved, not much real hiking.

Its a nice place to grill in the summer

Great place to bring my boys.

Me and my better half enjoyed ourselv

No lifeguard the day we went so we got in for free. No snacks or other options but it was fine

Nice park. Impressive new play area for kids.

I loved it alto but hay didnt they let US in the lake?

This is a good place for relax and party time.

Love it here!! The lake is one of the biggest & most beautiful in Omaha, CB area, in my opinion. The place is well kept & so unbelievably relaxing. The jawdropping nature surrounds you as you drift off into bliss️

Very fun place for boating and jet skiing and fishing all in one place

Very Nice,It is a beautiful park, highly recommended

Love to come watch the wild life here with the kids Cool moon this night as well!

Peaceful but busy park.

Kids had a lot of fun. It is a massive playground with a lot of ways for kids to entertain themselves. However it could use some maintenance work. Graffiti, areas missing pieces, and the wood could use a sanding and touch up.

Is a really beautiful place to enjoy with family and friends

Great place for a outing especially in Summer and Early Fall. They have a new playground for kids which is a great entertainer of all ages. The place is surrounded with very large trees and it will be mesmerizing when you hear the leaves sound during a nice breezy afternoon. I always enjoy this place and we can spend a entire day here with lot of friends. They do have a small beach from Memorial Day till Labor Day, if you want to enjoy in the water. Overall a nice place for a family get together or a picnic.

Beautiful park to visit

Disappointed we picked a picnic spot in advance and pre-paid for it and the park rep gave our spot away assuming we werent coming! We got there and someone was all set in our spot! We were able to get the shelter next to it but it wasnt what we wanted.. regardless it worked out for our family reunion. Nice, scenic and bathroom facility very close.

A very great and beautiful lake and a huge playground. There is a part for little kids at the playground too! There are also beautiful houses. I come here with my friends all the time!

Always a nice view of something and if there not a lot of people being you dogs with leashes

Very beautiful lake and area. Went to run on the trails, first I had to find them, they are marked as bicycle trails or mountain bike trails. Have a beach area, a playground area for kids, you can fish there and have boat ramps for water sports, lots of public parking all around the lake. Didnt see any bathroom places, but Im sure they have them somewhere.

I love this park wish has more stuff and better roads like ways to go around but other than that is one of the best lakes. I love going there just needs new management on the beach also. They are rude and let the kids get into the cooler to get the cans instead of just talking just yelled and that is not the service I want.

There are several aspects to this State Park that I enjoy quite a bit. The walking trails, swimming beach and new childrens play area stand out right away. The picnic areas and parking areas are par for the course with trash usually littering the edges and messes usually left from the groups before.In spots it feels remote but in others you have a backdrop of huge Power Plant Steam Stacks.I would go to this park solely for my kids to play in their outdoor play area.

Did Dreamland park used to have light poles? When did they start leaving corn out for the deer? How come the wild turkeys can fly when they feel so domesticated? When is the water going to rise so high that it washes out the road? How many people can fit on the boys scouts dock area by the Lilly-pads to go fishing? How come people cant camp there anymore? Why are the bathrooms so far from the playground without a trail leading there?The park is neat. I just have so many questions!

Has great running paths. Is beautiful in summer, but is also fun in the winter

Love the walking/biking trails, nice place to fish

The playground is now done and it is awesome!!!! I like the open field right next to it to play fetch with the dogs while keeping an eye on the kiddos.

Nice place to visit

Super fun place! My kiddos loved it and cannot wait to go back. Equipment can get VERY hot, so morning or evenings would be the best time to go!

Always enjoyed this park. A good place for family time, a nice ride around to see nature or even stop to capture some photos.

The beach was clean, staff friendly, extra activities and floats available, and low on numbers in the morning during the week.

Love it, fishing, swiming, boating, you name it, great time!

The kids play area is amazing since they gave it a makeover. The kids loved it.

Always a beautiful, peaceful place to visit. There are birds and waterfowl here all year round. Lots of eagles in the wintertime. Love to watch them sit on the ice waiting for fish. Pelicans migrate thru here in the spring and fall. Always lots of geese and different kinds of ducks. Seeing deer along the roadway is common. We drive around the lake every couple of weeks to see the wildlife and enjoy nature. We dont fish, boat, swim, camp or picnic but if you do this is a great place for it.