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Lake Macbride State Park |
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Facilities and Activities
Picnicking/Shelters
Lake Macbride State Park is a great place for a family picnic or get-together.
Four open picnic shelters are available and may be reserved for a fee through
the park manager. A day use lodge is also available and great for family
reunions. To reserve the lodge please contact the park manager.
Camping
Lake Macbride State Park has two campgrounds. The modern campground in the
northern unit of the park has 50 sites with 37 electrical hookups and 13
without, a shower and restroom and a trailer dump station.
The non-modern campground in the southern park unit has 60 campsites and a
non-flush restroom. This campground is located in a beautiful shaded setting
near the lake. Both campgrounds have a playground nearby. Starting February 13,
2006 advance campsite reservations can be booked through the park reservation
system. Half of the campsites are still available for self-registration on a
first-come, first-serve basis.
Trails
Multi-use trails wind for miles around the lake. All park trails offer
opportunities for the sights and sounds of Iowa at its best. Bird watchers will
thrill to the sight of nearly every songbird native to the region. During the
spring and fall, shorebirds, waterfowl and ospreys are frequent visitors. During
winter months, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are popular.
Lake Macbride offers a five-mile scenic multi-use trail located along the lake
from Solon to near the entrance to the park. This trail is very popular with
bicyclists.
Volkssport Trails & Events. Six permanent Volkssport trails have been
established for seasonal use within state parks and recreation areas.
Lake Activities (Swimming, boating, fishing)
Lake Macbride offers swimming as well as refreshments at the beautiful beach
area. The Macbride beach is a great place for young and old to cool off on a hot
summer day. Swimming is restricted to the designated beach area only.
Lake Macbride is an angler's delight! Good catches of walleyes, channel catfish,
crappies and bluegill await the angler in the 812-acre artificial lake.
Walleyes, channel catfish and muskies are stocked annually. Lake Macbride may be
the only lake in Iowa in which the prized Kentucky spotted bass can be caught.
Good lake access is available for both shoreline and boat fishing.
There are seven boat ramps on the lake and one on Coralville Lake. Pontoons,
motorboats, canoes and paddle boats are available for rent near the beach. The
boat rental number is 319/624-2315. A 10 horsepower motor limit is in effect on
Lake Macbride from May 21 through September 7. At other times there is an
unrestricted horsepower motor limit operated at a no-wake speed. Any size motor
may be used on Coralville Lake. Pontoon docking spaces are available for rental,
as are dry-storage spots for boats.
Lake Macbride State Park's 2,180 acres offer much to the outdoor enthusiast:
fishing, picnicking, swimming, hiking, camping, boating and lots more. The park
is located in two units. The northern unit lies at the end of County Road F-16,
4 miles west of Solon. Here you will find a modern campground, boat ramps, beach
and boat rental, picnic areas and the park office. The southern unit is located
off County Road F-28 (Fifth Street in Solon), 3 miles west of Solon. The
southern unit offers a non-modern campground, boat ramps, picnic areas, a
frisbee golf course and a prairie.
History
An effort to establish the wooded valleys of Mill and Jordan Creeks as a state
park was initiated by the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce and J.N. "Ding" Darling,
a noted Iowa Conservationist. To raise funds to purchase additional land for the
park, lots were sold in the area.
In June, 1937 the park opened to the public. The name for the park was selected
from several hundred contest entries. Thomas Macbride had a distinguished
40-year career as professor of botany and president of the University of Iowa.
He has been called the "father" of conservation in Iowa. In 1895 he addressed
the members of the Iowa Academy of Science on the need to establish a statewide
system of "country" or "rural" parks.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a number of facilities at Lake
Macbride in the 1930's including the beautiful stone shelter and beach building.
In 1955, the lake was enlarged. A portion of the park borders Coralville Lake,
one of Iowa's largest artificial lakes, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.
Nearby Towns
Solon, located 4 miles east of the park, has restaurants, groceries and
churches. Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, is 14 miles south on
Highway 1. Cedar Rapids, Iowa's second largest city, is just 12 miles north of
the park via County Road W6E.
Contact Information
3525 Highway 382 NE
Solon, IA 52333
ph. 319/624-2200
fax 319/624-2188
E-mail address: Lake_Macbride@dnr.state.ia.us |
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