Mini-Wakan State Park, State park on Big Spirit Lake in Iowa, United States
Mini-Wakan State Park is a 20-acre (8.1 ha) park on the north shore of Big Spirit Lake, north of Spirit Lake, Iowa. It has a picnic and parking area, stone gate pillars, a shelter house completed in 1934, and riprap along the lakeshore. The park connects to trail systems in Dickinson County, Iowa, and Jackson County, Minnesota.
The park was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps Company 778, which added stone gates and shoreline protection structures. This construction project was part of the major job-creation programs during the Great Depression.
The park's name is not explained in the sources, which give no Dakota etymology or meaning. What the sources do record is that local residents raised the money to buy the first 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) of land for the park before the Civilian Conservation Corps began work in 1933.
The park is open year-round with seasonal activities including fishing and boating in summer and cross-country skiing in winter. Visitors should note that weather conditions at the lake can change quickly.
Mini-Wakan was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, a recognition covering the CCC-era stone gate pillars, picnic and parking area, and shoreline riprap. The park was placed under the jurisdiction of Gull Point State Park in 1936.
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