mcdowell dam nature park

Its nice that theres a beach area and good for family outings but the water quality is poor and there are better places near Bismarck for a lake outing.

Luckily we went in the spring and rented a canoe. The water was relatively hight and only minimal algae blooms. Several people were fishing and picnicking. My family enjoyed it immensly!

nice hiking and biking trails, clean camping area, boat ramp access, small beach, nice play areas for the kids, fishing, good location to canoe and kayak. be aware of rattlesnakes on the trails especially during the hot summer days.

May be good for locals but is a bust if you thought you were going to see a Dam and lake. Promotions grossly misrepresent what the attraction actually is...

Just a few miles east of town on old 10. Very peaceful and pretty. Nice place for a family, fishing too. Pretty views and a great place to take your dog out for a walk and swim.

If there's a dam there it's well hidden. It appears to be a nice sized lake offering small boat rentals. We walked the 2.9 mile hiking path that loops the lake. It is a wide mowed grass pathway, that is easily walked by most folks.

Talk about a nice place to visit! My 80 year old dad wanted to kayak so when my sister and I went to visit, I found this place. $5/hour to rent their kayaks or canoes and other things. It was a great day and a lovely place to just hang out for the day.

We have been here a few times with our four children ages 1-6. It's a great spot for families! Lots of sand to play in, it wasn't very crowded when we went and the water is shallow. Our kids had a blast playing all day. There is also a nice playground. They offer paddleboats, canoes, kayaks and shelters also. It is a little bit of a walk from the parking lot to the beach so plan ahead when packing to carry it all down!

This is by FAR, head and shoulders above any other park in the state. It is clean, receives the constant attention and improvement of the park manager and staff, and beautiful! The grounds are seriously immaculate, I don't know how they do it all because when I am there I only see a couple of people working there.

Quite, lovely, no charge, picnic shelters, restrooms, swimming area and paddleboats for small fee to rent. No camping, just a nice place to spend a day with children, family or friends!

Very much off the beaten path, this park is well kept and has very good facilities. Only complaint is a loooong walk to some of the picnic facilities from the parking areas.

We loved this scenic, well-groomed park for everything it has to offer. Super nice young man renting the paddleboats (great low priced rentals!) made our day with cousins so fun! We had a picnic, played on the playground, paddleboated, splashed in the swim area. Grandma read a book and stayed out of the sun in the picnic area. No fee to get in. Restrooms clean!

McDowell Dam has many picnic areas to plan a family get together while enjoying the beautiful country scenery. You can go swimming to cool off or relax on the beautiful beach area. There's a great swing and play area for the kids to have fun while you're setting up the meal. Then you can rent a canoe or pedal boat to see the rest of the beautiful lake area. Great fun day for all!

Dette var en veldig stor dam, artigt at vi kan kjøre over den.Ser på opplysningen som er ved dammen at dette var et stort byggverk. Fin rasteplass ved ene enden av dammen og da ser du hvor mye dette vannet er demt opp.