Wapsipinicon State Park is located in eastern Iowa, just outside of Anamosa.
I spent a great morning with my wife and daughter on super nice day in June of 2017. The park actually sits on the border of Anamosa, separated by the Wapsipinicon River. On the northwest border of the park is the local golf course. So there is almost always someone nearby enjoying the trails with you.
There are a ton places to park throughout the park. So if you just want to check out a specific feature, chances are high you’ll be able to park next to it.
Now we parked at the playground (orange star) where there would be restrooms accessible. As my standard, we hiked the park in a clockwise direction, heading to Hale Bridge (green star) which was relocated to park by the National Guard in 2006. It is a short paved walk from the road to the bridge that has been converted into a pedestrian bridge.
From there we began our actual dirt walking on the Prairie Trails (yellow), sticking close to the river.
For the most part the prairie trails are mowed grass. They are well maintained and easy to follow. My only criticism would be the junction where you need to turn westward back into the park (blue star). There could be a sign so you don’t accidentally continue down the river path like I did the first time I hiked the park.
As far as challenging, this is probably the closest this park comes with a decent climb up to the southern-most point. From there it descends to a 4-way intersection (pink star) where you could choose to take the other climb up to the overlook (purple star), or the better choice of heading west into the piney wood! (gray star)
Now this is the real highlight of this park. The best kind of woods walks are those that take you down a pine flanked trail. The colors, the sounds, the smells. All mind soothers. All of ours in Iowa are too short, and this follows suit. However, just slow your pace and it’ll feel longer. 🙂
Once we got to the end of the trail, we hooked west/southwest and followed the creek back toward Horse Thief Trail and the cave (black star). It is a shallow cave, but would have been more than sufficient to provide shelter to any horse thieves back in the day. Heh.
We quickly walked the road back to the car we drove up to the lodge by the overlook (purple star), and walked the short distance to check out the view. Mostly it is just a big hill that lets you see the park from edge to edge. Baby girl had a blast running around in the grass, picking the clover blossoms, so still a win.
Finally, we can’t leave off without discussing the playground. Super good playground. I know a certain 18 month old that thought it was the best place ever! If you want to enjoy those giggles, head on over to the Youtube video and see for yourself!
I hope you enjoy Wapsipinicon State Park as much as we did, and make sure to bring the little ones.
McIntosh Woods is a state park on the northwest shores of Clear Lake outside of… Clear Lake, Iowa. There is another state park on the southeast shore of Clear Lake, you guessed it, Clear Lake State Park. Enough Clear Lakes yet?
After we’d had our fill of the sand, we turned around and headed northwest. The trails were well defined and easy to follow. The first surprise we came across was an observation blind built by a local Eagle Scout. Scouting is one thing I wish I never quit back in the day, so I appreciate the work done by those that achieve their Eagle.
The last thing to touch on is the eastern border. On the eastern edge of the park is the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp. Now I have to admit, it looks like they have some pretty cool stuff over there. We peeked across the no trespassing signs trying to figure out what they were, then headed back to the car.
If the goats are still there and out munching on the invasive grass, all the better!
Knowing we had three parks to hike, we got there early and parked on the western edge (orange star). Here it appears is a popular place for ice skating as they had a good number of benches around the pond and a warming house where the trail started.
On this particular hike we took a counter-clockwise route that sent off on Fork Trail. All of the trails we walked were well-worn and pretty easy to follow. We wandered through the mist as Jessie practiced with his new gear.
After the push through the rougher trail, we took a break at the campground. The campground was pretty nice, and bathrooms were pretty good for a state park. Everything is next to the small lake inside the park and offers some nice recreation space. There is also a pretty good little playground for the younger kids as well.
The main focal point of the park is just a short walk to the south of the campground. You’ll sneak along Plum Alley Trail for a tiny bit before jumping on Tower Trail which ends at a small parking lot. From the parking you’ll head up to the high point of the park where you’ll find the Pilot Knob Tower (blue star). The park website references that this was a landmark to assist travelers heading west.
One thing is for certain, I wish we had clear skies for the view! It was quite nice as it was, but some bright blue skies would have helped the fall colors really pop. We took some time getting pictures and enjoying the view before we got moving along on our way back to the car.
The annual glamping trip with the wife’s family has come and gone for 2017. This year I found us a cabin up in the northeast corner of Iowa. As they are officially known, 
Lets go over 
One of the best features of the first floor (to me anyway) was that there was a patio door that stepped out onto a porch that wraps around the east and south sides of the cabin. I love sitting out on porches, and I spent a good amount of time with my camera farting around with long exposure shots throughout the day and evening.
Outside of the cabin, the views of the rollings hills of northeast Iowa are great. The first morning offered a great view where fog had rolled into the valley below us, with the sun rising behind it. Surrounding the grounds is a field of prairie grasses full of birds and bugs. You’re not allowed to venture out into the fields, so be aware of that, but I spent a little while walking around the perimeter with my camera. On the last night we stoked up the fire pit for s’mores and one last night of reflection, well those of us that didn’t wander off to bed early.
If there is a negative (because you have to find one when you’re writing a review right?), it’s that the cabins are more of a staging point to access things to do in the area. If you want to hang out with the family in a more secluded spot then this will work great (there is also a small playground for the kiddos). Otherwise, the property doesn’t have much to offer in terms of adventure. Fortunately, it is in prime canoeing territory as the 
Decorah High Point – Pine Creek Cabins is nice place to take a weekend to get away and hang out, or to plant yourself to explore the hills of northeast Iowa.
Here we go on another water adventure! This time we traveled to northeast Iowa and paddled through the bluffs along the Upper Iowa River.
This area is very popular with river goers and there are a good number of canoe services to choose from. Full disclosure; our trip did not start smoothly as they had a couple of their shuttle workers not show up for work and one of the shuttle vans broke down. We didn’t get our launch until almost two hours after our scheduled time. They did refund us a portion of the fees, where genuinely apologetic, and busted their tails trying to keep up with the demand on them. I will return to this river, and will more than likely use their service again. Now, on to the water.
The swiftness was one of the first things I noticed as we were holding the canoes steady for people to climb in and launch. By the time we got everyone in the water, there was a good spread within the group. We closed the gaps and our armada was under way. It didn’t take long for the bluffs to enter our view and the frustrations of the rough start to melted away.
Once we gathered up the party, we shoved off on what turned out to be the best section of the river. The towering bluffs were beautiful and there wasn’t an unhappy face to be seen.
After passing Bluffton, the swiftness spread us out a bit and we all started arriving at the landing one by one, which turned out to be a good thing. That particular landing definitely needs to be improved. It was a very skinny 3-4 foot wedge on a super steep river bank that didn’t have a place to run aground. You had to attempt to broadside the shore, and grab onto anything you could in order to stop your momentum, so you could get out and crawl your way up the super slippery bank, pulling your canoe. It wasn’t very fun and would be very challenging to try and get multiple canoes out at once. Luckily, people from another party were landing there as well and helped as the rest of our group started to arrive. We worked together and got everyone out safely.
We didn’t have to wait long before the shuttle van arrived. We helped the over-worked guys get the canoes and kayaks loaded, piled into the van, and headed back to the campground.
Thanks for reading and enjoy you float!
Pikes Peak State Park
The story is that in 1805 Lieutenant Zebulon Pike was sent to the region to survey for a military fort to be built on the northern Mississippi River. He chose the location where our Pikes Peak is now, but the government later decided to build on the Wisconsin side by Prairie du Chien. Then in 1806, newly promoted Captain Pike took another expedition through Colorado and attempted (but failed) to summit what was then known as El Capitan. It was long after Pike’s death that the mountain was refered to as Pike’s High Peak, then later shortened and officially renamed to Pikes Peak. So you see, first come first serve. After all, we have trees to go with our snow. I mean, what do you do with all of that gorgeous view anyway? /wink
So Pikes Peak State Park is one of the most visited and photographed parks in Iowa. It consists of two units, linked by a connecting trail. The northern portion which is the lesser traveled, consists of most of the more rugged hiking trails; whereas the southern portion is the most visited with the overlook and the small waterfall whose trails are short and highly maintained.
One of the biggest attractions of Pikes Peak State Park are the fall colors that cover the area in late September. The entire northeast of Iowa has a lot visitors around that time of year, with some making it a long weekend to drive through all of the parks in the surrounding area, such as 
The trails are thickly wooded with very well maintained crushed rock trails that weave through the ravines. The scenery is great and I’ve never had a bad hike there, even when a light rain kicked off a bit after we had just started down the trail. This is in the drift-less zone of Iowa (where the glaciers didn’t smooth it out during the ice age), so expect some good climbs and descents in this area.
Point Ann is the northernmost point and offers a nice view of the Mississippi River. The only other place in the north unit you get river views will be along the eastern ridge-lines of the Chinquapin Ridge Trail.
You can also put together a loop by leaving the parking lot and heading west along the Weeping Rock Trail (purple), choosing to break off of on either the West Hickory Ridge (light blue), or the East Hickory Ridge Trails (green), and then taking the Bridal Veil Trail back to the parking lot for a roughly 1.5-2 mile loop. While there isn’t as much climbing and descent in the southern unit, there is still a decent little ravine running down the center to get the legs burning a little bit.
Then I take the Point Ann (blue), to Horn Hollow (maroon), to Chinquapin route for the north; and then the West Hickory (light blue) to Bridal Veil (yellow) route for the south. Altogether it is a good amount of hills that will often leave you ready for the adventure beverage waiting for you at home.
When it comes to recommending gear for your hike at Pikes Peak State Park, it all depends on what you want to do. If you only want to do the overlook and falls, then you don’t need to worry about taking anything, except maybe some bug spray. Just stay on the constructed paths and enjoy the views. Similarly, if you just want to check out the southern loop, I would advise making sure you use a 
Now while Iowa’s Pikes Peak State Park may be the lesser known little sister to Colorado’s name stealing mountain, she is still one of my favorite parks to visit. My wife and I try to make it an annual visit to check out the leaves. During summer visits we like to sneak into McGregor afterward and have lunch at the marina bar and grill; just your standard short order food, but it is nice to eat out on the deck on the edge of the river.
Thanks for reading!
The park is a mix of prairie and wooded trails over a mildly hilly terrain. The route I took was roughly a 4.5 mile loop with a short section of road walking. You enter the park from the north at the dam, and follow the road skirting the river on its north, and the golf course to the south. It’s a nice little entrance drive with some parking areas along the river before you pull into the trailhead for the prairie (orange star).
The first thing I checked out was a short path to an old bridge called 
The Prairie Trail is primarily a mowed grass path. I elected to hike it clockwise and traveled along the river first. It was pretty sparse, as prairies are, with a few patches of trees. It was late February, but the grasses were still long in some sections and I imagine in the height of the summer when everything has bloomed it is likely a pretty sight. Once I got to the southern portion of the trail there was a small hill to climb that reminded me I hadn’t been doing anything all winter. It continued arching around until I was headed north toward the overlook (red star).
As I said goodbye to the prairie, I entered the wooded section and what I feel is the most attractive part of the park. There is a small little pond (green star) at the beginning of this trail that may have photo potential in better weather when wildlife would likely venture to it. On my trip it was still frozen over. After a couple dozen yards the trail developed into a nice path that cut through the pines. Eventually the trail had to end, and when it did I found myself at a three-way intersection of park roads along a creek (blue star). I hopped on Dutch Creek Trail (purple) and headed south. The trail was short but had the nice little creek on the west side with some moss-covered outcroppings on the east.
It terminated at a clearing that led to an attractive stone bridge to get to the remaining trail I hiked; Horse Thief Trail (blue). This trail is a short one that leads to a cave (yellow star) that has been developed into an obvious point of interest with man-made stairs. I tried to get some good shots of the cave as it is a neat little spot, but I didn’t have as many lenses then, and couldn’t capture it all. Another time it looks like. 
Once I had explored this area to my fill I decided it was time to head out. I followed the trails back to where I had left the Pine Trail (blue star), and started the road walk back to the vehicle (red).
Along the way I found that the roads where actually blocked off at the playground area (purple star). So the only accesses to the park during that time of year were the bridge parking areas (a small lot on each side) and the playground. Something to be aware of if you planned on driving deeper into the park.
There are two main ways most people hike Palisades; they park at the orange star and either do a short 1-1.5 mile down and back along the river (blue trail), or they do a 3 mile loop incorporating the down and back with a pass through the center (blue, gray, green, yellow). If doing the loop an alternate place to park is at the lodge (red star) or at the shelter where green and yellow trails meet. Most often I prefer to hike the park in a loop for the greater distance and exercise since the terrain you have to go over is a bit more hilly on that route. Also, I normally park at the orange star and hike counter-clockwise in order to knock out the road sections first so I can end on the more enjoyable wooded section.
If you elect to do the loop in the manner that I do; depending on the river’s water level, you will begin your hike at one of the beaches / grassy shoreline where geese often like to hang out. If you look across the river you can see built on the edge of the cliff the old vacation home of the 
The shoreline will eventually turn into a patch of trees where Overlook Trail (yellow) starts which offers a couple of views of the river and the dam (yellow star). As you can see on the map, at about the dam you have to the option to continue along the trail until it ends at the other beach, or take some stairs up to the shelter. regardless of which route you decide to take, you’ll have to walk along the road a short bit to get to the green trail.
Now, no offense Palisades, but this is your most boring trail to walk (it’s ok in the fall I’ll admit). It simply follows the road on a steady uphill grade that isn’t steep, but you feel it if you haven’t acquired you trail legs yet. This trail leads past the lodge to its west and continues along until it ends near one of the picnic areas. You won’t actually take this trail until it terminates, but rather cross the road to begin Cool Hollow Trail (gray). Cool Hollow is marked with large logs painted brown, with Cool Hollow Trail in yellow. You’ll have to keep your eye out for these logs so you can find the entrances when you cross the two roads on this trail.
You immediately begin to climb the next hill. The eastern trail will take you to the road, where the western trail will dump you at yet another picnic area (there are quite a few in the park). Whichever you decide to take, you have to cross the road and find the marker to continue along the trail, which is another good descent that heads down to the river and Cedar Cliff Trail (blue).
The point where the two trails connect you are met with a stone bridge and your first look at the craftsmanship of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that built this park, and the majority of the Iowa state parks and beyond during the 1930’s. I like to cross the bridge and head north up the rock stairs that are kind of carved into the steep incline to get to the trail riding the cliff edge.
Once you figure out the end, you turn around and head back to the stone bridge. From here we follow the river south and are treated with many nice views of the rocky cliffs and thick woods. Eventually we come to the more prominent item built by the CCC, the round tower overlook (blue star). This is always a neat little spot to stop for photos.
Immediately after you leave the tower you have to choose whether to continue along the upper route, or if you want to dip down toward the river. The two trails run parallel to each other and are only separated by a couple dozen feet or so. When the river is running high the lower trail is almost always wet so the majority of the time I just always take the upper route anyway. Now along the upper route is access to the cabins and campsites which could have been your entrance to these trails as well. It doesn’t take much longer and you exit the Cedar Cliff Trail at your vehicle.
Palisades-Kepler State Park is not overly long, nor is it too difficult. There are a couple of steep climbs and descents to be aware of, as well as the rocky and uneven stairs. If you have balance issues this is one park I would recommend taking trekking pole(s) to help you out. Now I always recommend the important 3: Water, food, and a 
I hope you’ll visit Palisades-Kepler State Park if you’re in the area and enjoy it as much as my family does. It is a nice walk in the woods with rocky cliffs that offer pleasant views of the flowing river.
Thanks for reading!
This is one of the more busy parks that I’ve been to, with parking that felt limited. You park just off the main entrance road in the middle of the park by the nature center where you’ll get your brief. From there you cross the road and head down some stair into a ravine where all of the caves are located. The main cave is located at the bottom of these initial stair and is pretty big. It is more of a natural tunnel honestly, and they have poured a sidewalk down the middle of it, (probably to get you above the constantly flowing water in it) with some overhead lighting. This is the only cave in the park treated that way. 
About halfway through there is one small little cave that breaks off along the path and is a tight squeeze. We found that quite a few people were crawling through this one which end in an opening about 7-8 feet above the ground near the exit of the large “tunnel.” We opted not to drop from the hole like some younger kids did, so back-tracking was interesting in the tight space with other park goers also curiously trying to find where it leads.
At first the kids were disinterested with the idea of being pulled away from their electronics, but they really started to open up once we got out into the more open areas and they were allowed to crawl around in various caves. It got to the point where they were the explores and we weren’t even around anymore.
Once again, a very fun little park that in the course of typing this up has reminded me how much I enjoyed it. I need to get it on the list for a return visit. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
The Iowa Hiker 