Storm Lake District Court serves Buena Vista as its district court in the Third judicial district of Iowa. You can get almost anywhere in Buena Vista county on US 71, US 71Bus, SR 3, SR 7, SR 10 and SR 110.

Storm Lake lies along a lake a lake of the same name which covers close to 3,200 acres. The Living Heritage Tree museum, in Sunset park, is an unusual museum consisting of a collection of different trees from the history of the United States and the world. There is plaque on each tree with a history of the tree and its lineage. Speaking of trees; there is a local chainsaw artist who goes around town turning the trunks of dead trees into unusual sculptures which can be in the parks, along trails and at local businesses and homes. The city has an outdoor waterpark at the Kings Pointe resort with daring slides, diving boards, lap lanes and other pieces of pool equipment. Storm Lake Little Lake Discovery Center boardwalk is a trail and boardwalk system into little Storm Lake, a hemi marsh located on the west side of Storm Lake. Along the boardwalk you can see different wildlife, plants and fish. Where the trail meets the boardwalk there is a two story observation tower.