Emmetsburg District Court is the district court of Palo Alto county and is located in the Third judicial district of Iowa. US 18 and SR 4 run through Palo Alto county and meet in Emmetsburg while SR 15 runs along the lower Eastern part of the border of the county.

Five Island lake is a key part of Emmetsburg with its lower end nestled in the Northeast part of the city. Visitors would do well to head to it for its fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, and wildlife in the Summer and the winter possibilities for ice fishing, snowshoeing, skating and snowmobiling. There's also a casino in the Eastern part of town, at the Wild Rose resort. The Historical museum is housed in the former Free Methodist church and an annex. It is the repository of memorabilia representative of the history of the county and its residents. More insight into the past life in this city can be found at the restored Victorian House along Highway 18, circa 1883, which is furnished as it might have been at the time it was built.