Awaysis Park anchors Storm Lake's beach, trails and tourism appeal

Awaysis Park is where Storm Lake’s lakefront becomes useful, not just visible. At 1400 E. Lakeshore Drive in the King’s Pointe Resort area, the city’s biggest beach brings together swimming, walking, boating, playground space and sunset views in one public place.

That combination matters because the park is built for daily use by families, walkers, event groups and visitors who want a dependable place to spend a summer afternoon. It is also one of the clearest examples of how Buena Vista County’s largest lakefront public space is being maintained, marketed and improved at the same time.

A lakefront park designed for real use

The City of Storm Lake describes Awaysis as the ultimate destination for tourism and beachgoers, and the details support that claim. The park offers Storm Lake’s largest beach, lakeside trail access, watercraft rentals, a modern playground and a setting that looks straight out over the water. Travel Iowa also places Awaysis in the center of a 48-hour Storm Lake visit, pointing to the park’s role in the broader visitor experience.

The practical value is hard to miss. Awaysis is one of the few parks in town that combines a swimming beach, boat rentals, public docks, concessions, a lake trail, an open shelter and playground space in the same area. That makes it less like a passive greenspace and more like a lakefront hub where a family can swim, eat, rest and keep moving without leaving the park.

The city’s parks division says it maintains more than 100 acres of public parks and open spaces, most of them along the north shore of Lake Storm Lake. Awaysis sits inside that larger investment, which helps explain why the park carries so much weight in how Storm Lake presents itself to residents and visitors alike.

What people can actually do there today

Awaysis works because it offers a clear set of activities that fit different kinds of outings. Some people come for the beach. Others use the trail, rent watercraft or gather under a shelter for a group event. The park’s layout makes it possible to stay on site for several hours without running out of things to do.

Key features include:

• Swimming beach
• Boat rentals
• Public docks
• Concessions
• Lake trail
• Open shelter
• Playground

The city also allows pets in its parks as long as they are leashed, which makes Awaysis easier to use for households that do not want to leave a dog at home. That detail may sound small, but it is part of what makes the park feel like a true public asset instead of a special-event destination.

The setting adds to the appeal. Awaysis is known for sunset views over Lake Storm Lake, and that evening draw matters as much as the daytime beach traffic. For newcomers, the park offers a quick way to understand the lakefront. For longtime residents, it is where summer in Storm Lake often feels most visible.

Shelters, picnics and group gatherings

Awaysis is also built for gatherings that need structure. The city’s facility listings show AWAYSIS Pavilion East and West, and each pavilion has six picnic tables available. Rentals cost $25 per time slot, and the city offers three reservable periods: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

That schedule gives families and local organizations a straightforward way to plan reunions, birthday parties and community outings around the beach. The reservation model also suggests how the city wants people to use the park, in organized but flexible blocks that keep the space accessible for more than one group over the course of a day.

For residents, that matters because a public park is only as useful as its ability to handle real-life events. Awaysis does that well, with enough seating, shelter and shoreline access to support both casual visits and planned gatherings.

Part of a larger trail and park network

Awaysis is not standing alone on the lakefront. The Storm Lake trail system ties the park into a broader outdoor network, and Travel Iowa describes the Storm Lake Trail as running about five miles from Lakeside at the east end of Storm Lake to Emerald Park at the west end. Much of that route hugs the shoreline and connects the city’s park spaces into a single recreational circuit.

That broader geography helps explain why Awaysis matters beyond its own boundary lines. It functions as one of the key public stops in a lakefront system that encourages walking, cycling and time near the water. In practice, that makes the park part of a citywide pattern of access rather than a single isolated attraction.

The lighthouse project gives the park a civic identity

Awaysis also sits inside one of Storm Lake’s most recognizable public-art efforts: the lighthouse project. The city says the effort began in 2021, when two local art teachers commissioned the first fiberglass lighthouses, turning a familiar local symbol into a community canvas.

The lighthouse theme now reaches beyond Awaysis Beach. Storm Lake has signature lighthouses at the Highway 71 entrance to town, in Scout Park near Buena Vista University and at Awaysis Beach on the lakefront. The result is a visual thread that links travel, school art, public space and local identity.

That matters because the park is doing more than hosting recreation. It is also one of the places where Storm Lake tells its own story in public, with art that reflects the lake, the town and the long effort to make both feel more connected.

Upkeep and revitalization are part of the story

Awaysis is not static, and that is important to understanding its value. A Storm Lake Times Pilot report said the city began planning a multi-year revitalization because the playground had aged and the concession building had become a blight on the area. In response, Finance Manager Brian Oakleaf recommended $80,000 for docks around the lighthouse concession building, which had been empty for years, with the intention of eventually leasing the space to a third-party vendor.

The same reporting said the city approved a $90,000 appropriation to buy bikes, kayaks and other watercraft for Awaysis rentals, along with a computer-based rental system. King’s Pointe Resort was set to rent out those bikes, kayaks and other watercraft from the park that summer, tying private activity to a public lakefront asset.

That kind of upkeep is not cosmetic. It is what keeps a park like Awaysis dependable for families, tourists and local groups who want the beach, the trail and the shoreline to work as promised. In Storm Lake, the park remains one of the clearest signs that public investment still shapes how summer on the lake gets used.