Guide to Lewis Park

From a potato patch scandal to pool parties by way of picnics and Greek week, Lewis Park is one of Sioux City's most historic parks, and the fun at Lewis Park shows no signs of stopping. The park is conveniently located just off the campus of Morningside University and is often used by Morningside student groups for picnics and events. And while it's beloved and frequented by Morningside students, it's actually a city park, open to the public all year round, and you should feel welcome to visit it anytime. Here's what you should know about Lewis Park:  

Where is Lewis Park? 

Lewis Park is located at 1621 Sioux Trail in Sioux City, Iowa. It is immediately adjacent to the Morningside University campus. There is usually ample free parking in the park's lot, but parking can occasionally be difficult during the school year especially during special events like the Sioux City Relays. 

History of Lewis Park

Lewis Park is one of Sioux City's oldest parks, and according to Sioux City Journal archives, was purchased by the city in 1921. The park opened to great fanfare with a barbecue and ceremony on Saturday, June 4th, 1921, and one of the activities at that event was a vote for what the park should be named. "Lewis Park" won and remains the park's name to this day. 

It looks like the park was a hit immediately because in those same archives I found mentions of picnics, parades, and even a presentation of "moving pictures" all being held there in 1921 when the park was brand new. Lewis Park has also been a campus favorite since then, with campus records indicating students were holding events like egg tosses and Greek week at the park since at least the 1920s.

An early scandal occurred in the early 1920s when the park caretaker was accused of using part of the park as his personal potato patch and cornfield. Several meetings of the Morningside Planning Commission addressed the matter and took it up with the city council!

The park no longer has an ice-skating rink but used to in the 1920s according to a Sioux City Journal article from December 1922. At one point in the 20s there was much discussion of building Lewis Park into a modern campground much like Stone Park, to the point that a local book on Sioux City, Three Quarters of A Century of Progress, in 1923 proclaimed that Lewis Park was then "being equipped as a camp ground closer in than Stone Park. It has: tennis courts, baseball diamond, skating in winter, playground the year around, and will soon be equipped with comfort station and bath house, swimming pool and adequate camping facilities." But at least some members of the Morningside Planning Commission were firmly against the campground idea, and it appears they won, as we now know that the campground did not happen, although the pool did.  Another big change to the park over the years is that some land was sold to the college, including "cheapskate hill" (right across from Elwood Olsen stadium, with a great view) which was sold to the college in the early 2000s.

Lewis Park Amenities Today

Lewis Park in 2025 includes 12 acres of fun, including a playground area with wood chips underneath. The park has a large play structure with three slides (one smaller slide that younger kids may prefer, plus a large twisty slide and a large tunnel slide), floating island obstacles, and plenty of things to climb. 

There are also 4 swings (one "baby swing" and three standard swings,) some cute animal climbing features that look like a hippo and a caterpillar, a nice bench parents can sit on right by the play structure, and a picnic shelter area. 

Tennis Courts

Lewis Park has six nice tennis courts that serve as Morningside University's tennis facilities during the collegiate training and competition seasons, but which are also open to the public. While the current set of courts are modern and more recently installed, the first courts at Lewis Park were a pair of tennis courts installed in 1922 and opened in early July of that year.

Lewis Pool

The pool area at Lewis Park includes a large pool and water slide, plus a large wading pool area that toddlers will love. Lewis Pool is run by Sioux City Parks & Recreation and is part of the rotation for Friday Night Free Swims, so watch for info from the city on which Fridays those are each summer if you want to check it out for free (I'll be sure to include them in my monthly event list posts too!) 

According to the Sioux City Journal, Lewis Pool was built in 1979. It continues to delight local swimmers into the 2020s!

More about Lewis Park

To learn more about Lewis Park or to reserve the shelter, please check with Sioux City Parks & Recreation.

Or, check out my full post about all of the city parks in Sioux City!