Trip on a tankful: Honey Creek Resort State Park offers everything from a championship golf course to a water park

Paula Reece
Special to the Register
The lodge at Honey Creek Resort State Park.

Experience a resort getaway only 1 1/2 hours southeast of Des Moines. Located on the 11,000-acre Rathbun Lake, Honey Creek Resort State Park on Rathbun Lake offers a variety of accommodations as well as activities for everyone in your vacation party.

Honey Creek Resort General Manager Scott Mason calls it “the perfect setting to reconnect with friends and family.”

The resort has 85 lodge rooms, ranging from $129 to $189 per night depending on the season. It also offers one-, two- and four-bedroom cottages with full-sized kitchens and air-conditioning.

“If you double up the kids and use the pull-out couch, you can sleep 10-plus in a four-bedroom cottage,” said Mason.

The bar at Honey Creek  Resort State Park's lodge.

Rates for cottages range from $209 to $579 per night, depending on the season and number of rooms. Yet another option is to bring your own RV and stay in one of 14 full-service spaces.

For an additional $25 per night, per room, cottage or RV space rental, all registered guests get access to Honey Creek’s Buccaneer Bay Indoor Water Park, beach volleyball, disc golf, naturalist programs, bikes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, fishing equipment and boat mooring and dock usage. Guests can also rent pontoon boats.

This summer, guests also will be able to enjoy the newly constructed Rathbun Lake Aquapark, a 3,900-square-foot floating watersports attraction with 16 different inflatable components. Currently, Honey Creek Resort is not offering day passes to non-guests, so the only way to enjoy the aquapark is to stay at the resort.

Trip on a Tankful series:

The Preserve at Rathbun Lake is Honey Creek Resort’s 18-hole championship golf course. Golfers of all ages and skill levels are invited to play this course, which offers tee time availability to both guests of the resort and the general public. The 7,000-yard course, laid out through scenic prairie and oak savannas.

The golf course at  Honey Creek Resort State Park.

Weekday greens fees for 18 holes are $42, or $35 after 2 p.m. Weekend rates are $49, or $40 after 2 p.m. Kids 17 and under are $25 on weekdays and $30 on weekends. Cart rental is included.

Address: 12633 Resort Drive, Moravia

Online: honeycreekresort.com

Distance from downtown Des Moines: 82 miles

Fishing in Rathbun Lake at  Honey Creek Resort State Park.

Kids: Obviously, the water parks are natural kid magnets. Marina staff also offer free fishing equipment for each kid. “Many kids catch their first fish here!” said Mason. The resort also offers naturalist programs designed to educate children on the various ecosystems at Lake Rathbun.

Fun fact: Honey Creek Resort is managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and is a leader in conservation and sustainable practices in the state. The resort is one of Iowa’s only hotels to receive LEED certification, The Preserve is an Audubon-certified golf course and the activities building is designed to be a net-zero energy user.

Upcoming events: Honey Creek Resort will offer three free summer concerts on the Great Lawn July 1, Aug. 5 and Sept. 2.

Rathbun Lake at Honey Creek Resort State Park.

Also in the area: Mason suggests checking out the numerous antique shops in nearby Ottumwa, Albia and Centerville.

Where to eat: At  Honey Creek Resort is Rathbun Lakeshore Grille, which is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with theme days including Margarita Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays and Wine Down Wednesdays. If you want to venture off the resort, Mason recommends trying Canteen Lunch in the Alley in Ottumwa at 112 E. Second St.. “It’s been serving ‘loose meat’ sandwiches for over 92 years with 17 stools around a horseshoe counter,” he said.