Swan Lake State Park — Attraction in Swanville

1st time visitor - My wife and I found this great little state park while out for a drive. They charge admission but when we arrived the tollbooth was unmanned and the fee was on the honor system. What a nice park! Tons of parking (like over 100 spots) and an easy walk to the beach area. Multiple picnic tables with grills, including tables designed for handicapped patrons. Playgrounds for the kids, within sight of the beach. Lots of restrooms available. The beach area itself was very large, probably over a football field in length. The beach wasn't sandy but it was a fine gravel which was fine on bare feet. The water was clear and lots of families were taking advantage of the sunny, pleasant day. There is a lifeguard tower but no one was in it. There are signs posted that say dogs are not allowed on the beach, but if you walk down a wooded path to the right of the beach area there is a designated dog beach. Well maintained, clean, and inviting park. Great for anyone wanting a quiet getaway...

Upon entrance, the woman was so incredibly and unnecessarily rude. So, bad start. But we went in and parking was easy (we went around 10 maybe but it did fill up a lot in the afternoon) The trail to the actual beach is very short from the parking. The swim area is okay-but there was poop everywhere. I mean everywhere. It looked like dog poop, but maybe goose? I don’t know. It was gross. Also trash in the water. They seemed to come by later and pick most of the poop up, but then we noticed a lot of beetles in the water, and my son was pretty much done swimming. We had some fun anyway, though. The trails were cute and there are spots off the trails that look like camp sites, in front of the water. Overall, just not great vibes, not fun crowd and not impressed with lack of...

Stopped here for Labor Day. It was a perfect day to go swimming since it was so hot, and the lake was great to be in. The only problem we had was that we wanted to rent a boat and couldn’t find the park attendant. After waiting several minutes, we took one of the paddle boats and a few life jackets and promised that we would pay when we got back (price listed is $4 per hour). We couldn’t find the attendant after we got back either, and since we had other places to go, we were unable to pay. So, I guess that worked out for us, but we felt a bit...