ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa (KCAU) — Even though we are still seeing warmer weather in the Iowa Great Lakes, the summer season has come to an end, and the numbers show that it was a successful summer.

According to "Vacation Okoboji", over 720,000 visitors traveled to the Lakes region.

"We were down about three percent in visitation this year but, again, it was a really strong summer. We had people staying an average of five days while they were here, which was really great to see. We weren't sure what to expect when we saw gas prices skyrocket and uncertainty for people and the economy. To see people still choosing to come to the Iowa Great Lakes, we're very grateful," says Kiley Zankowski, Executive Director of Vacation Okoboji.

People visiting the Lakes are coming from farther away.

"Of course, we had strong markets in Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Des Moines, Omaha, and Minneapolis, but we really captured people from Chicago, Kansas City, and even Wisconsin, which has been a project we've been working on for a couple of years," adds Zankowski.

As expected, holiday weekends brought the most visitors to the area.

"Our 4th of July visitation was over 90,000 people and we actually had visitors from all 50 states and quite strong visitation from all 50 states which is really exciting to see," says Zankowski. "When you think of the Iowa Great Lakes we only have 18,000 residents-so to, to talk about having 70-90,000 people every single weekend, it's a huge testament to the work that our community puts in."

According to the numbers, nearly everyone who goes to the Iowa Great Lakes visits Arnolds Park Amusement Park.

"We had a great summer of visitors at Arnolds Park. It's hard to imagine packing a few more people in, but we had a great summer. We had almost 700,000 visits to our property according to Placer Data, which means that about 350,000 people, which is right on par where we've been the last couple of years, so people still love coming back to Okoboji and we're having a great time," says Jon Pausley, CEO of Arnolds Park Amusement Park.

And, of course, all those people visiting the area means more money flowing into the community.

"In 2024, we saw over $340 million dollars in direct visitor spending here in Dickinson County which is huge for a small community like ours. It helps with state and local tax. It helps with keeping businesses open and supporting our local individuals who are grateful for the tourist economy that we have," notes Zankowski.

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