Honey Creek Resort State Park
Honey Creek Resort State Park opened September 19th, 2008. The golf course, 105 room lodge, water park, restaurant and conference center are all open. Work continues on the cabins, boat ramp, camping and dock areas, as well as landscaping of the entire area.
Honey Creek Resort State Park, located on the shores of Rathbun Lake, was developed as a high quality natural area with high quality amenities for use by outdoor enthusiasts during all four seasons.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) owns the facilities which include a 105 room lodge; an indoor water park; a large conference center; an eighteen-hole golf course; courtesy docks, trails; boat ramp; RV park; and a swimming beach; two and one-half miles of nature/primitive hiking trails. Future plans include: three miles of paved bike trails, a multipurpose snowmobile/equestrian/mountain bike/hiking trail passing through the park; twenty-eight modern cabins; picnic shelters; and an activities center.
The park has a biologically diverse natural preserve area set aside to protect rare prairie plants within the park. IDNR will provide a wide variety of programming to provide outdoor experiences and learning opportunities to visitors.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is one of several partners in this development project. The Corps of Engineers manages Rathbun Lake, a 34,000 acre, multi-purpose lake project, in southern Iowa. The Corps has leased 450 acres of shoreline and uplands to the State of Iowa for use as at this site. The State of Iowa owns an additional 375 acres of land in the park
Partners in the Honey Creek Resort State Park include Iowa Governor’s Office, Iowa General Assembly, HCRP Bond Authority, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, US Army Corps of Engineers, Appanoose County, Monroe County, Rathbun Regional Water Association, Chariton Valley Electric Cooperative, Iowa Telecom, Chariton Valley R C & D and Rathbun Lake Resort, Inc.
The Corps has worked closely with and assisted the IDNR and Rathbun Lake Resort, Inc (RLR) in the planning and development of the resort since 1999. The Corps of Engineers has assisted with:
- Statewide search for potential development sites
- Selection Rathbun Lake as Iowa’s first resort development project site
- Preliminary Master Plan
- Cultural Resources Surveys (Phases I and II)
- Four-season biological survey
- Master Plan
- Final Master Plan
- Architectural and engineering firm selection
- Architectural plans development
- Engineering design development; review
- Real Estate lease
- Wetland permit review; mitigation
- Funding strategy
- Authorizing legislation bill signing; ground breaking ceremonies
- Utility coordination
- State legislature briefings
- Revenue Bond Authority information
- Private fund raising
- Photo documentation
Central Group Companies, LLC (a private hotel management company) will operate the resort park under a management agreement with IDNR. The park is planned to open in August 2008.
For more information visit Iowa DNR Honey Creek Resort State Park.
Operations Manager, Rathbun Project Office
