Arnolds Park & The Queen II

After visiting the charming Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa, I headed north to the shore of Lake Okoboji to Arnolds Park and a cruise on the Queen II. Besides the lake cruise, there is an amusement park, a music venue, and a few small museums. Let’s take a look.

Arnolds Park Amusement Park

My main goal in visiting Arnolds Park was to see the historic amusement park and roller coaster. It turns out it’s a very small park, and there isn’t much historic character left in it. The Legend roller coaster, built in 1930, doesn’t offer much in the thrills department, and overall, the park seems geared for smaller kids.

Rides

There is another roller coaster, a Wild Mouse relocated from another park, and a kiddie coaster. Otherwise, we have a Log Flume, Tilt-A-Whirl, Octopus, and a small Ferris wheel. There is a fun Mirror Maze and Tipsy House, which you don’t see often, and a Rock-O-Plane and Roll-O-Plane historic rides. I’ve never ridden these – they seem like kid’s rides and are frankly terrifying-looking. A Raceway for all ages is in the back of the park. The other 13 rides look strictly for little kids.

Hours

Arnolds Park Amusement Park is open in 2022 from May 21-September 5. In 2021, it was May 29-Sept 6, so that time frame seems about average for the season. The park always opens at 10 am, with closing times anywhere between 6-10 pm, depending on the season and the day of the week. Always check the operating calendar before your visit.

Tickets

At Arnolds Park, you can pay ~$30 for an all-rides pass or pay per ride. The Legend roller coaster is $8, most of the other thrill rides are $6, and the kid’s rides are $4-5 each. I only paid for The Legend, but I wish I had also done the Wild Mouse and the Log Flume, which would total $20 for all three.

The Racetrack is priced out separately at $6-8 per ride: $6 for a Junior car, $7 for an adult, and $8 for an adult & child to ride together. Or you can pay $25 for an all-day pass.

Here in the off-season, you can buy a Black Friday deal for $45, which would include an all-rides pass, an all-day pass for the Racetrack, and $10 in “park bucks,” a savings of about $20.

Queen II

Right next to the amusement park is the Queen II excursion boat into Lake Okoboji. The Queen II is a small, two-level ship with inside seating and a bar downstairs, and an upper covered deck with standing room forward of the pilot’s cabin. (And if you’re wondering, the Queen I was in service from 1884-1973 and now resides at the bottom of the lake at Adventureland.)

An excursion on the Queen II lasts about 45 minutes or so. A pre-recorded narration details the history of the lake & the town. You can hear the narration best in the seated areas, but the best view is from the bow, where it’s too windy to hear it well. I ended up compromising by standing against the pilothouse where there is a speaker.

It’s so nice to be out on the water, even if the narration is canned, which is a disappointment. And you can get a nice view of the amusement park from the water.

Hours

The Queen II sets sail 1-5 times a day, depending on the date. Sail times tend to be at 11:00 am, 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, and 7:00 pm, though not all of those are available every day, or even most days. The last day of operation this year was August 18, so it closes up a little earlier in the year than the amusement park. I imagine it starts operation sometime around May, though the current calendar doesn’t go back (or forward) that far. Make sure to check the times before you go.

Tickets

I wrote before that tickets for the Queen II are included with park admission, but I’m not sure that’s true. (I must have seen it someplace, but I can’t verify it now in the off-season.) As it is, individual ride tickets for the boat ride are $16,95 per person, $14.95 for ages 62 and up, and $5.95 for kids between 36-47 inches tall, accompanied by an adult. Purchase cruise tickets in the same place you buy your park tickets, from a window near the dock.

Free Museums

In the same area as the amusement park and the Queen II, there are three small museums. Each is free to visit, though there is a box for donations at the entrance to each one.

Maritime Museum

The biggest of the free museums is the Maritime Museum, accessed through a large gift shop/visitors center. This large room holds several beautiful classic boats and historical artifacts from the lake’s history. There is a well-preserved motorboat that was dredged up from the bottom of the lake, a recreation of the town’s first post office and general store, even a cute little “honeymoon” tent in the style of the early 1880’s visitors.

Arnolds Park Museum

In a room behind the Maritime Museum is the Arnolds Park Museum (accessed by walking around to the side of the building.) Here are some really interesting classic Arnolds Park amusement rides and vehicles. You can slide down a polished wooden slide for $1. Two other turn-of-the-19th-century “rides,” a once-rotating wooden barrel and a spinning wooden bowl, are just for display.

Around the room are other bits from the old park, like a scary figure from a funhouse, tiny bumper cars, old pinball machines, and more. I’m glad Arnolds Park celebrates its history, but this room makes me feel like it might have been more fun in the past than it is now.

Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame

Last is the smallest of the free museums, celebrating rock music in Iowa. It mostly seems to celebrate bands from the ’50s-’70s that visited the Roof Garden music venue in days past. You’ll see names like the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and The Guess Who. And you can buy a brick of mystery 45’s (record singles), which I think is a lot of fun.

The Roof Garden is still around – rebuilt in 2019 (and rockin’ since 1923.) Acts these days include Paul Revere’s Raiders and other classic rock bands, a Big Band Christmas show, comedy acts, and regional bands.

Parking/Layout

If you expect to be driving to a typical amusement park, you might get a little confused when you arrive here. Arnolds Park is part of a larger entertainment complex of buildings with one free parking lot serving them all. You can see a roller-coaster arch from this lot with “Welcome to Arnolds Park” and a short stretch of road toward the lake.

Directly in front of the parking lot is a large building with a visitors center and gift shop, the three free museums, and a row of tourist shops leading down the street to the water. At the end are a cafe and a Nutty Bar ice cream shop. A pretty plaza with a sculpture and benches is right at the water, along with a floating bar barge and some rental shops surrounding the dock for the Queen II. Heading back up the street on the other side is the entrance to the amusement park, the large Roof Garden building, and pirate-themed mini-golf.

The best news is that you can walk around this area, and even the amusement park, totally free. Only when you want to ride any rides or take the boat cruise does it cost any money. There is also a small downtown area to the right/east of the amusement park and a string of restaurants nearby. Otherwise, Arnolds Park seems to be mostly made up of holiday homes and campsites. It’s moderately fun to visit, but I wouldn’t make Arnolds Park a destination in and of itself.