Green Castle
The rolling landscape of this area is painted with native prairie, evergreen trees, and hardwood trees. Green Castle has many day use facilities to offer including: three shelter houses, hiking trails, astronomy observatory, and a small wildlife exhibit.
The lake was renovated in 2014, accumulated silt was removed, the shoreline armored with rip rap and numerous additional fish habitat structure created. The lake was restocked with bluegill, large-mouth bass, channel catfish and black crappie. This fishery will improve over the next few years. Several new fishing jetties were also constructed in 2014 as well as a boat ramp installed near the south end of the lake for easy access for canoes and kayaks.
When you visit, make sure that you also stop by the wildlife exhibit to see the bison and check out the Amateur Astronomers of Central Iowa to see when their next astronomy event will be held at Green Castle Recreation Area.
A 16 site campground was added to the park in 2025. Campground provides electric hook-up sites with access to water, as well as ADA-accessible sites. Campsite operate on a first-come, first-served basis and feature self-registration. All campgrounds include playgrounds, picnic tables, and fire rings.
Resources
Amenities
Park Hours
5:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.Location
2891 Green Castle Rd.Gilman, IA 50106