Beed’s Lake State Park is located in north central Iowa, just outside of Hampton.
The park is a short little hike that I checked out during the fall of 2016 with my hiking buddy Jessie. It was a three part tour that included Pilot Knob and McIntosh Woods State Park. I’m just now getting to the trail report do to an editing issue. Jessie had just purchased a camera and was taking it on his first hike. Well, he wanted to make sure it had a full battery and ended up leaving it on the charger. I just happen to have the same camera, but only one battery (which I’ve since purchased a second one…). Since I had my camcorder, I decided to let him use my battery so he could use his new camera, and I would just stick to the video.
So after we got home, he gave me the photos to use. Long story short, I had to upgrade my software to help edit the photos before I was able to post them. Don’t forget to pop on over to YouTube and watch the video, and now on with the trail report.
Beed’s Lake is a small little lake in north central Iowa that has a simple 2 mile loop circling it.
Now one issue I have with trying to explore as many state park trails as I can get to, are the parks that only have 1-2 miles of trails. For instance, this one only has about 2 miles of trails, but it is a 2 hour drive. So it’s 4 hours of driving for an hour (or less) of hiking. So to help accomplish this, I’ve come up with what I call hiking tours. I sector off the state and find ways to have a goal hike of a moderate length, then find the short ones near by that I can combine into a “tour” that can be achieved in a single day. This one started with an early drive to the target of Pilot Knob, then had stops at McIntosh Woods and Beed’s Lake on the drive home. It works quite well for justifying the drive to the shorties.
We opted to park on the north side of the lake where there is a small little picnic and parking area. This is another one of those state parks where you have to walk in people’s back yards as part of the trail. The houses on this lake are a bit closer than other I’ve experienced though. I could easily look inside their homes from the trail. It always makes me feel a little weird, but I’m getting more used to it.
For the most part the north and east shores were pretty generic if I’m honest. Nothing really stood out as a must see. As we rounded the the southeast corner we came across the dam (red star). We played with our lenses to see if we could capture something, but the overcast day provided some lackluster lighting.
We continued on after crossing the stream and found ourselves in the main area of the park. There are a good number of camping locations and a lodge (blue star) that is available for rent. As we wandered past the lodge we came across a National Guard function. I’m going to guess that it was a pre-enlistment activity for some area high school students that are waiting to graduate before leaving for basic training.
The lodge was pretty nice looking from the outside. We tried to sneak a peek inside, but didn’t get much of a view. From here the trail leads you across a narrow path through the lake (purple star). It was quite neat to walk along the trail here. I feel the best image of the day was captured here by my friend Jessie.
A short report, for a short hike.
As for difficulty and challenge; this is a park that is as easy as they come. There is only a minimal amount of elevation change in the 20 feet you have to descend and climb at the dam. Outside of that it is completely flat. With a 2 mile distance, this should be achievable by almost anyone able to walk.
Even though I am a stickler about making sure you bring your trail maps, this is one that I’m pretty sure you can forgo that particular safety feature.
The trails were very well maintained, and the fishing activity seemed to be high. So if you fancy a short a hike or a new place to try your luck at fishing, Beed’s Lake is a pretty nice place to visit.
Now get out there and enjoy your walk!
The Iowa Hiker 