Right Beaches › Iowa
Iowa beaches
18 beaches, with the parking, the walk to the water and the tide for each one.
Where are you starting from?
What matters today?
Start here
Good places to start
Lake MacBride Beach
Walk to water160 ft
Parking150 ft away
CostFree
Whitebreast Beach
Walk to water100 ft
Parking325 yd away
Raccoon River Swimming beach
Walk to water50 ft
Parking575 yd away
Big Creek Beach
Walk to water30 ft
Parking150 yd away
CostFree
North Overlook Beach
Walk to water100 ft
Parking375 yd away
CostPaid parking
West Lake Beach
Walk to water60 ft
Narrow it down
Lists for a particular day
Shortest walk
Park almost on the sand
Clear Lake · the listing sits on the shoreline
Iowa · the listing sits on the shoreline
Milford · the listing sits on the shoreline
Iowa · the listing sits on the shoreline
Iowa · 30 ft to the water
Iowa · 30 ft to the water
Iowa · 40 ft to the water
Iowa · 40 ft to the water
Free parking
Beaches where parking is free
Solon · free parking · visitors report
With little kids
Calm water and bathrooms nearby
Solon · bathrooms nearby · mentioned by 7 visitors · 2018–2026
Knoxville · bathrooms nearby · mentioned by 2 visitors · 2017–2026
West Des Moines · bathrooms nearby · mentioned by 5 visitors · 2017–2026
Pella · bathrooms nearby · mentioned by 5 visitors · 2015–2025
Clear Lake · bathrooms nearby · mentioned by 4 visitors · 2017–2026
Iowa · bathrooms nearby · mentioned by 3 visitors · 2018–2026
Browse
All beaches
- Lake MacBride BeachSolon · water 160 ft · parking 150 ft
- Whitebreast BeachKnoxville · water 100 ft · parking 325 yd
- Raccoon River Swimming beachWest Des Moines · water 50 ft · parking 575 yd
- Big Creek Beachwater 30 ft · parking 150 yd
- North Overlook BeachPella · water 100 ft · parking 375 yd
- West Lake BeachDavenport · water 60 ft
West Overlook Beachwater 100 ft · parking 250 ft
City BeachClear Lake · on the shoreline · parking 300 ft
Clear Lake State Park Beachwater 30 ft
Buffalo Shores Beachwater 400 yd
Emerson Bay Public BeachMilford · on the shoreline · parking 200 ft
Pine Lake Beachon the shoreline · parking 525 yd
Gull Point Public Beachwater 40 ft · parking 200 yd
Manhattan Beachwater 60 ft
Easter Lake Beachwater 40 ft · parking 230 ft
Sugar Bottom Day Use Beachwater 90 ft · parking 100 ft
Terrace Beachon the shoreline
Little River Beachwater 100 ft
Every beach
All 18 beaches, by how many people rate them
| Beach | Town | Walk to water | Parking | Fee | Restrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake MacBride Beach | Solon | 160 ft | 150 ft | free | yes |
| Whitebreast Beach | Knoxville | 100 ft | 325 yd | – | yes |
| Raccoon River Swimming beach | West Des Moines | 50 ft | 575 yd | – | yes |
| Big Creek Beach | 30 ft | 150 yd | – | yes | |
| North Overlook Beach | Pella | 100 ft | 375 yd | paid | yes |
| West Lake Beach | Davenport | 60 ft | – | – | – |
| West Overlook Beach | 100 ft | 250 ft | paid | – | |
| City Beach | Clear Lake | on the sand | 300 ft | – | yes |
| Clear Lake State Park Beach | 30 ft | – | – | yes | |
| Buffalo Shores Beach | 400 yd | – | – | – | |
| Emerson Bay Public Beach | Milford | on the sand | 200 ft | – | yes |
| Pine Lake Beach | on the sand | 525 yd | – | yes | |
| Gull Point Public Beach | 40 ft | 200 yd | – | – | |
| Manhattan Beach | 60 ft | – | – | – | |
| Easter Lake Beach | 40 ft | 230 ft | – | yes | |
| Sugar Bottom Day Use Beach | 90 ft | 100 ft | – | yes | |
| Terrace Beach | on the sand | – | – | – | |
| Little River Beach | 100 ft | – | – | – |
Walk and parking distances are measured on OpenStreetMap. Fee and restrooms come from counted visitor reviews and mapped facilities. A dash means we have no evidence either way, not that the answer is no.
Questions
Common questions
Which Iowa beach has the shortest walk from the car?
City Beach in Clear Lake has the listing right on the shoreline. We measure the straight line from the listed location to the mapped waterline for every beach, so the table above ranks them all.
Do you have to pay to park at Iowa beaches?
Mostly yes. Of the 18 beaches here, 2 have visitors reporting a parking or entry fee and 1 report free parking. Reported fees run from $20 to $35 a day in season, and several beaches drop the fee after 5pm or outside the summer.
Which beaches have restrooms?
11 of the 18 beaches have restrooms mapped on site or reported by visitors. Seasonal closures are common: several National Seashore beaches close their facilities outside the summer.
How current is this?
Tide, waves, wind and water temperature are fetched live in your browser from NOAA and Open-Meteo. Parking and facility positions come from OpenStreetMap; imagery from USGS NAIP. Facts counted from visitor reviews carry the year range they were written in.
How we know
Where this comes from
Place details from the public Google business listing. Beach shape, parking and facility positions from OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Aerial imagery is public-domain USGS NAIP. Tide comes from NOAA, and weather and water from Open-Meteo. Map drawings are redrawn from that aerial imagery by an image model. Markers, distances and every fact on this page come from OpenStreetMap and counted reviews, never from a drawing. Review text is never republished.
