A project 30 years in the making has finally been realized with the opening of the resort lodge at Honey Creek State Park.

The new Honey Creek Resort at Rathbun Lake was opened Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the resort complex. Pictured are Rep. Dave Loebsack, Iowa Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald, Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge and Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Rich Leopold.

The new Honey Creek Resort at Rathbun Lake was opened Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the resort complex. Pictured are Rep. Dave Loebsack, Iowa Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald, Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge and Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Rich Leopold.

The state park resort complex, located on the north shore of Rathbun Lake in southern Iowa, is being called the new “centerpiece for Iowa tourism and a destination for many audiences to experience the outdoors.” A formal grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday.

Residents of the Rathbun Lake area have been working since the early 1970s to fulfill the original vision of a resort lodge at the lake. The $62 million project is the culmination of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and dozens of local public and private organizations and citizens. Approximately $4 million of the total cost was raised by donations from local private citizens, businesses and public utilities.

One of our goals at the DNR is to connect people to the natural world around us,” said Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Rich Leopold. “We hope Honey Creek Resort will entice new people of Iowa’s state parks, expanding their appreciation and therefore their stewardship of our natural resources.”

The resort complex features the main lodge with its 105 guest rooms, convention center, restaurant and aquatic center, as well as an 18-hole golf course and RV park. The park will give visitors a new way to enjoy the 11,000 acres of Rathbun Lake overlooks the 11,000-acre Rathbun Lake, along with thousands of acres of public  wooded areas and natural prairies.