| Lake Anita State Park | |
| 55111 750th St., Anita, Iowa 50020 Located on Hwy 148, 1 mile South of Anita For Information and Campground Reservations Phone: 712-762-3564 or visit the DNR website for Lake Anita State Park. | Click on map for aerial of Anita. |
Several annual events are being held in 2007. Scheduled so far are Prairie Rescue, Free Camping Weekend, Kid's Fishing Day, and Whaletown Days. The Friends of Lake Anita are working hard to bring these events and more to our park this year. For complete details, and new events as they are scheduled, go to www.lakeanita.com | ||
 A view of the boat launch at Lake Anita. (Photo courtesy of the Anita Tribune.) | ||
| Lake Anita was established in 1962 and formally dedicated on May 30, 1969. The total park area is 1,062 acres, 942 acres of wildlife preserve and 120 acres public hunting land. The lake covers 171 acres and drains to the west into the Nishnabotna River. Nearby recreation includes The Crestwood Hills 18 Hole Golf Course, Saturday night Bingo at the American Legion Hall, Monday night auctions at Vais Auction House, the Anita Public Library, and The Oak Tree Opry House. The lake is also home to part of our annual Whaletown Triathlon, visit our Calendar of Events page often as we update information on all our events as they become scheduled. In Anita there is a grocery store, a laundromat and car wash, gas stations, carry out pizza, restaurants, lounges, and shops. Our City Directory page has complete listings and information. | ||
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There are 6 miles of hard surfaced roads in the park that make for a scenic drive. For hiking and biking there is a 4 mile trail that runs completely around the lake and hooks up the Grass Roots Recreational Trail that runs from the north end of the park to the city of Anita. The Lake Anita Trail is currently surfaced with gravel and the Grass Roots Trail is paved. The Lake Anita Campground has 161 sites with 2 that are ADA accessible. There are 69 sites with no electricity, 52 electric sites, and 40 sites with full hookups (electricity, water and sewer). The campground has 2 modern shower buildings, and a modern rest room for campers to use. There are 8 open picnic shelters in the park. All can be reserved for a small fee through the park office, or can be used on a first come, first serve basis. Along with the shelters there are many other picnic areas. | ||
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Due to the recent lake renovation, fishing has really rebounded at Lake Anita State Park. There are large numbers of nice sized fish in the lake. The average angler should be able to spend a day at Lake Anita and be very happy with their results. Granted, a person will not catch anything huge but the lake should be full of keeper sized fish. The main problem with the fishing at Lake Anita will be getting access to the lake. A dry winter has not helped in filling the lake and it is still around 7 feet low. All of the boat ramps are dry so the only way to get a boat on the water is to carry it. Also due to weeds on the lake bottom it is difficult to walk to the water. Park staff has been mowing some areas to make access easier but you may have to work a little to get to your favorite fishing spot. Hopefully a good spring will bring the lake up enough to make access easier and fishing more enjoyable at Lake Anita State Park.Lake Anita is well known for its great fishing, and recent draining and restocking of the lake will make for spectacular fishing. Somehow yellow bass got into the lake and their population was getting out of control, which can have a devastating effect on the other fish species in the lake. In September of 2003, the lake was drained and Rotenone (a natural chemical) was used for the fish kill. Restocking of the fish population began on October 24, 2003. First stocked were 1,800 channel catfish, which were 11-12" long and about 1lb. in weight. Next stocked were 150,000 1-3" bluegill, 3,600 5" largemouth bass, and 45,000 red ear (a relative of the bluegill that grows to a good size of about 1lb.) The nice size of the fish used to restock should give us good fishing in summer of 2004 and really great fishing by 2005. Crappies will be added in April of 2005; the Fisheries Dept has determined this is the best way to restock so that their numbers stay in check. Work on the shoreline, fish habitat structures, and fish jetty improvements are nearly complete. For more info visit Iowa DNR Fisheries Page. | |