Pikes Point State Park is located southwest of

Spirit Lake, Iowa Spirit Lake is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County. The town is located along the western shore of East Okoboji Lake, in the Iowa Great Lakes reg ...

, United States. It is a small park on a point of land that projects into

West Okoboji Lake West Okoboji Lake (sometimes known as West Lake Okoboji) is a natural body of water, approximately in area, in Dickinson County in northwestern Iowa in the United States. It is part of the chain of lakes known as the Iowa Great Lakes. The are ...

. It provides space for picnicking, including a shelter listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, a playground, a swimming beach, boating and fishing on the lake.

History

Pikes Point was dedicated as a state park in 1931.

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) Company 778 built the shelter, steps, trails, plantings, and the footings for the latrine by March 17, 1934. with The park was put under the jurisdiction of

Gull Point State Park Gull Point State Park is a state park of Iowa, United States, located on West Okoboji Lake in the city of Wahpeton. It is the primary state park unit in the Iowa Great Lakes region. Two areas of the park were listed as nationally recognized his ...

in 1936.

Park Shelter and Steps

The picnic shelter is located at the base of a slope to the lake. The

Rustic Rustic may refer to: *Rural area *Pastoral Architecture * Rustication (architecture), a masonry technique mainly employed in Renaissance architecture * Rustic architecture, an informal architectural style in the United States and Canada with sever ...

style structure features a back wall and stepped end walls composed of random

rubble stone Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

. On the center of the back wall is a fireplace flanked by two stone benches. Four round timber posts with bracing hold up the timber roof supports and shed roof. The roof extends as a overhang in the back. Another fireplace is located there. The patio in back continues to the hillside and ends at a curved stone bench. A set of 29 stone steps ascend the hill south of the shelter. The significance of its architecture is that it was designed to blend into its natural surroundings by means of its material, design, and workmanship.

References

{{authority control Protected areas established in 1931 Civilian Conservation Corps in Iowa Rustic architecture in Iowa Protected areas of Dickinson County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Dickinson County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Dickinson County, Iowa State parks of Iowa Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic districts in Dickinson County, Iowa 1931 establishments in Iowa