Badger Creek State Recreation Area — Attraction in Waukee

We visited in early March of 2022. To be fair, it was so early in the Spring that there hadn't been any time for clean up after the winter. So let's overlook some of the mess around the park. What really disappointed me was to read the history of the lake and find out it was added to the list of impaired waterways in Iowa in 1998. There was no indication that it has ever been removed from that list. I checked the most recent list and it is still on the list. The lake appears to be clean but it was just so disappointing to find out that it isn't that clean. I plan to return in the summer to see the Sunflower field as the reviews of that...

Park is nice, though not well maintained now.. no Sunflowers, just corn and prairie 2023. I went in 2022.. thousands of sunflowers, absolutely stunning and super busy. Parking lots were somewhat maintained. This year, 2023.. nope. The same field that was flowers is now corn. The parking lots are getting weed filled and shabby with pot holes. It's still a pretty park in Iowa.. just not being monitored at the same level it was and no sunnies anymore. Maybe they're just cycling the field and flowers will be back in the future.. idk. Go for the prairie and water beauty, don't go this year in search...

Your best chances at catching fish are on a boat. If you are shore fishing, you'll have to try to avoid all the thick algae. There is a lot of shore to fish from, but most of the shore requires a decent hike through tall grass. There are a number of jetties all the way around the lake, which is nice if you want to move around a lot. Unfortunately, by mid summer, the entire lake is green with algae. All that said, if you are attempting to catch record sized Bullhead, then this is the lake for you. Bullhead have been the bulk of what I have...