On the water: fishing, paddling and swimming

Beaver Lake is a working recreational lake, with a public boat ramp, a kayak launch and a fishing dock on the shore. Anglers come for bullhead, northern pike and perch, with a fish-cleaning table nearby, and the lake draws visitors for boating, canoeing and water-skiing through the warm months. When the water freezes, the focus shifts to ice fishing—a year-round draw in its own right.↗↗↗↗

For a simpler afternoon, the park's swim beach is the natural gathering spot, and its tranquil water suits paddlers who want a relaxing loop around the lake rather than open-water adventure.↗↗

Trails, birds and prairie wildflowers

A non-motorized trail system of about 5.4 miles threads through the park in loops and connecting segments, open to hiking and mountain biking with manageable grades and a few steeper pitches. The short Beaver Lake Nature Trail is a self-guided interpretive path that leaves from the swimming area, winding through woodlands, along the lake edge and out onto the prairie.↗↗

The longer Moraine Loop climbs over a rocky ridge left behind by a glacier, opening good views of the lake and chances to spot birds and butterflies, while the Rolling Prairie Loop explores the park's most secluded corner, carpeted with prairie wildflowers and native grasses. Birders have plenty to watch: Beaver Lake provides habitat and nesting for more than 25 species of shorebirds, wading birds and waterfowl, with kingbirds, meadowlarks, woodpeckers and warblers common in summer.↗↗

Staying the night

Beaver Lake State Park offers primitive and modern camping—electric and water hookups on the main loop, plus group and tent sites—and three seasonal lakeside camping cabins (the Hoberg, Homestead and Pioneer) that sleep five with heat and air conditioning. The campground's oval loop was once a half-mile horse-racing track, and it is easy to picture the horses that used to run here.↗↗

If you would rather visit without staying, the park also has picnic shelters and an amphitheater, with a playground and modern comfort stations with showers rounding out the day-use facilities.↗↗

A little history by the water

The park carries the memory of the early settlers of the surrounding Logan, McIntosh and Emmons counties. A stone cairn dedicated on July 24, 1932 names the people who helped establish the park, and a glimpse of the old stone cabin once used by the park caretaker can be seen from the shoreline Old Settlers Trail.↗

Planning your visit

Beaver Lake and its state park are open year-round, so the experience changes completely with the season—swimming and paddling in summer, ice fishing in winter. For cabins and the modern campsites it is worth reserving ahead; campsites can be booked from the park and the area is reached from the Wishek and Napoleon side of south-central North Dakota.↗↗↗