The tropical-themed entrance to Lost Island Themepark in Iowa prepares guests for the experience inside the park. All photos courtesy of Lost Island, unless otherwise noted
Placing Lost Island
Midwestern team helps design and build a new theme park in the USA by Martin Palicki
I
22
owa: Land of corn, the Iowa caucuses, Field of Dreams, and now home to a volcano rising out of a soybean field. Since 2001, Waterloo, Iowa, (population: 67,671) has been home to Lost Island Waterpark, a Polynesian-themed waterpark owned and operated by the Bertch family. The Bertches ran a successful cabinetmaking business for decades before launching into the waterpark business, and though they may not have known it at the time, they were following a time-tested formula for successful attraction development: start small and grow.
a soybean field into a highly themed and detailed park – full of rides, and with an multi-layered, interactive backstory.
Waterparks are often a smarter investment for smaller markets. With lower start-up costs, revenue can quickly recoup expenditures and allow for additional growth. In the case of Lost Island, it led to opening a second gate, also a proven method for extending guest length-of-stay and increasing per-cap spending. Lost Island Themepark opened on June 18, 2022, transforming
The entire Lost Island project actually got started thanks to another venerable Midwestern institution: the self-proclaimed Waterpark Capital of the World, the Wisconsin Dells.
A team of well-established Midwestern professionals helped turn the Bertch family’s park vision into reality. BDR Design Group, Weber Group and Bleck & Bleck Architects managed design, engineering, construction and theming for the new park, while dealing with some impressive challenges that cropped up along the way.
“After a family trip to the Dells in 1994, my father and grandfather decided they wanted to bring a similar type of
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