Skip to content
Lake Darling State Park, Brighton, IA

Photo: en:User:Cburnett, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Lake Darling State Park

A southeast Iowa state park centered on a 302-acre lake, with trails, fishing, boating, cabins, and a campground.

111 Lake Darling Road, Brighton, IA 52540 · Brighton, IA

About Lake Darling State Park

Lake Darling State Park sits in Washington County in southeast Iowa and is named for conservationist and cartoonist J.N. Ding Darling. Visitors can hike or bike trails that wind past wetlands, remnant prairie, and an 1800s cemetery. The park offers a paved fishing trail, a beach, and boating on the lake, where motors are allowed at no-wake speed. Boat rentals are offered through a concession, and anglers can fish from a jetty, a trail, and a pier. Overnight options include modern and camping cabins, a campground with full-hookup, electric, and non-electric sites, and a renovated lodge and shelters for group gatherings. Winter visitors can snowmobile and cross-country ski.

  • #state park
  • #lake
  • #hiking
  • #fishing
  • #boating

What's around here?

The closest stops to Lake Darling State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Quirky Fun

    American Gothic House

    Under $25

    See the little white house with the Gothic window from Grant Wood's painting and pose in costume in front of it.

    25 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Lacey-Keosauqua State Park

    Check prices

    A 1,662-acre Iowa state park on the Des Moines River with bluff trails, a small lake, historic structures, and camping.

    34 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Lake Keomah State Park

    Check prices

    A southern Iowa state park with woodlands, a lake, a walking trail, fishing, boating, camping, and picnic shelters.

    34 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Rainy-Day Pick

    University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art

    No admission fee

    See Jackson Pollock's Mural and a large African art collection for free in the University of Iowa's art museum, rebuilt in 2022.

    37 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Amana Colonies

    No admission fee

    Wander seven historic German villages with a working woolen mill, bakeries, craft shops, restaurants and small museums.

    42 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Wildcat Den State Park

    Check prices

    Iowa state park known for sandstone bluffs, rock formations, and a historic 1848 gristmill.

    56 mi awayMore like this