Red Haw State Park is located in south central Iowa, down by Chariton.
I visited the park with my wife and daughter in early October of 2017. We had originally planned for a multi-park tour, but weather started to move in by the time we got to our second park, and we didn’t want to risk CJ out in it.
Since it was going to be a longer day, we left the house when it was still dark. This allowed CJ a little more time in her PJ’s as she continued sleeping during the drive out. This also ended up allowing her a little more bink time than we normally let her have. Typically it’s only allowed for naps and bedtime, but since she had little choice but to tag along we caved to her smiles.
Now as for the park itself, the day started out a bit chilly, but beautiful. Nice bright sky, and I was out with the wife and baby. It was gonna be a good hike.
We parked at one of the shelters on the northern portion of the park (Red Star). There was a small beach with a lily pad filled inlet next to it. We had to walk around the inlet toward the north before we found the official trailhead.
For the most part the trail was a mowed grassy path, not my favorite as I prefer dirt, but it appeared well maintained. There were a good number of paint markings at the beginning and at the end of the trail, suggesting there was a 5k, as well as a middle school and high school cross country race held there. So Red Haw must be a pretty busy place for the locals.
The trail is a 4 mile loop around the lake. We stuck to the trails running along the shoreline for the duration of the hike. The east shore is where most of the interesting things we found were. First off, I got to introduce my wife to a locust tree. Now I will admit, that while I was familiar with the tree, I had only recently learned what kind of tree it was. Locust trees are hard to miss, they are covered in long, sharp thorns that will rip you up if you aren’t paying attention.
The other thing I got to show her is what we always called spider balls. Not actually sure how much truth there is to it, but I was always told that they have magical powers to scare away spiders. lol. Basically a moth ball for spiders.
We eventually made it to the center of the park where we took a quick bio break at the handy bathrooms (Blue Star). This is the best view of the lake being that it is the most elevated point overlooking the lake. From there it was a quick walk to the westernmost point in the park where the campgrounds are (Green Star). This was also the busiest part of the park with a good number of trailers and boat launches.
There was a quick road walk across a bridge before the brief return back to the car. Overall we really enjoyed our hike at Red Haw State Park. It wasn’t very challenging, which was fine by me with baby girl on my back.
At 4 miles of flat trail, this hike should be accessible to almost anyone. Even though there are very few offshoot trails, I would recommend carrying a map with you to at least track your progress. It is always a good idea to consider water and snacks as well. I can’t determine your level of fitness, only you will know what you need in that department.
If you’re looking for a short hike in south central Iowa, Red Haw State Park might just be up your alley. It isn’t overly challenging, and should be accessible to almost anyone.
As always, don’t forget to pop over to YouTube and check out the video! You won’t be sad, there’s a lot of baby girl cuteness, I promise.
So I hope you get out there, and enjoy your walk.
The Colorado Adventure: Day 4, part 1
I must give credit where it is due. While the majority of the trip were places we knew about, the specific itinerary ideas were thanks to a YouTube channel called 
Our third stop on our adventure was to the tiny town of Ouray in the southwestern corner of the state. I had heard of the town before, but vaguely knew anything about it. When the Less Junk, More Journey channel featured a hike there, I knew it had to go on the list. The town is nestled in the mountains at around 8,000 feet of elevation, which allows you to look in any direction and be rewarded with an amazing view. The above shot was from the front door of our hotel room, the shots below were from the back balcony (the bridge is part of the trail).
For its size, the town was intensely busy. The main street was packed with people checking out the shops, mostly tourist trap souvenir stores and a couple candy shops. There were a few places to eat, although I’ll add that they know what they are, where they are, and charge accordingly… There was one grocery store in town that was more of your traditional country store with a limited inventory. It was quite warm the day we got there and I went to get some water for us only to find that they were sold out of pretty much everything liquid and they had no ice. So we rationed what water we had in our Camelbaks as we were intending on refilling in town and the hotel water… didn’t feel right. However, the humming birds thought the water was pretty sweet…
One thing I like about the trail is that you can start it at pretty much any point you want. There are access points all around the circumference of the town. We decided to start our hike from the visitor center at the northern edge of town. We parked the Jeep in the parking lot for the hot spring fed pool, strapped on our packs and headed across the street to the trailhead where we were greeted with an immediate steep switchback climb to the trail overlooking the town.
The northeast portion of the trail is the most attractive and pleasing in my opinion. On one side you have the view overlooking the town, with a gray rock of the mountain climbing above you on the other. All smiles the whole way. Then at the northeastern “corner” you come across a waterfall (green star) that we noticed from town. This was a bit sketchy as finding the route to base in order to pick up the next section of trail took a few minutes. We eventually got to the bottom and found the older kids who had disappeared down the trail on their own.
The next section from the falls to the southeast “corner” was a nice wooded section through pines. This is one of the sections that has a road walk. It once again starts out with a switchback climb to get back up to the trail level. After a little bit it comes to a road and the sign is kind of confusing. It appears to point northeast, so we started to walk the road uphill, but it didn’t feel right. So I broke out the pamphlet and compass and turned us around. We should have been heading the other way downhill. Luckily I didn’t let us get too far and we got back on track.
The temps started to feel a bit chilly and CJ was getting a little crabby. So Momma came up with the idea to put her jacket on and then take my rain jacket to wrap her legs up with it. It was just enough to get the wind off of her and let her body heat increase enough to bring out the gabby baby-girl I know and love. It was some good Momma goat-thinkin’. Once again the older kids pushed on ahead further, at least this time we got to catch glances of them now and then.
After we recovered from the climb and snacked on Clif Bars, we continued on our way. The next portion brought back those views we were first presented with. It was pretty open, rocky, and full of scrub brush. Here is where the trail gives you an option to take the shortcut straight toward the bridge from earlier, or you can wind a little further south. We chose to take the shortcut route, which was a rugged, rocky decent that taxed the knees a bit. It eventually terminated at a road (blue star) that headed back up towards the trail to the bridge and tunnel.
There was a short road walk that crossed a bridge and gave us a view of another waterfall that fed into a small river. Unfortunately the pictures of the actual river didn’t turn out. It had some pretty violent rapids in it though. It wasn’t long before we reached the bridge crossing the gap over that fast flowing river.
The neat part about the bridge (purple star) is that you cross over into a tunnel through the mountain. The ceiling is pretty low, so we put the sunshade up that comes with the Osprey Poco Plus child carrier to help inform me when the ceiling was getting too low and could bonk CJ in the melon. Definitely, wanted to protect her from that.
In the end the hike came out to 6 miles after taking the shortcut. We all super enjoyed the experience, and after looking through the brochure we discovered there is a pretty good sized network of trails surrounding the town. So we may have to return for an extended period of time to do some more exploring!
From there we drove straight to Mesa Verde National Park. So until next time, get out there and go for a walk!
In 2015 we were traveling back to Iowa from my wife’s family reunion in Idaho, on a route through Colorado, because I made the route and wanted to see Colorado. Along the way she saw the road sign for Hanging Lake, looked it up on her phone, and said she wanted to come back and check it out. Then a little over a year later we start watching a YouTube channel that visited the park, and she excitedly remembered it and said that it had to go on the list. Even though that is the true beginning to this hike, let’s start at the beginning as we will continue to do for the 2017 Family Vacation.
Our second stop on our journey was at Hanging Lake Park, just off the interstate in northwesterly Colorado. Hanging Lake is this not-so hidden little gem that is challenging and in-demand. The parking lot is small, only holding roughly a couple dozen vehicles. I read up and learned that it fills up quick and doesn’t take long to form a line all the way out to the off-ramp. If you get there at a bad time the rangers will actually turn you away. As we were leaving there was a ranger at the entrance holding everyone up, and as he saw us exiting he pointed to the next car to let them in. The line went on for quite a while, but there was room for a good number more that day. Shortly after our visit I read somewhere that the park service is considering requiring permits to limit the number of visitors per day and help the parking situation starting as early as next year (2018).
The hike itself is pretty short overall, only about 1.2 miles from the parking lot to the lake. That’s the length… the vertical gain is a around 2,000 feet in that 1.2 miles! It’s a butt-kicker for sure. The state of Iowa only has roughly 1,200 of gain from the lowest point in Keokuk to the highest point at Hawkeye Point. In fact I just did a 20 mile hike up at 
The trail starts off as this nicely paved path that traces along the river. The kids were in a brighter mood and started farting around with the trekking poles. Like the great parents that we are… we decided it was a good idea to take pictures instead of the, ya know, safer alternative of telling them to stop.
Cheryl being your standard waterfall enthusiast, had to stop and get pictures every time we came across any white water. While it slowed her and me down a bit, I didn’t mind since I was carrying some extra weight and appreciated the breather (Titan and Odessa just kept charging forward). I got several “good job dad,” and once I crossed paths with another toddler carrying dad, we gave each other a knowing smile and nod. lol.
After we figured we spent enough time at the lake we went back to the entrance of the platform where another steep trail heads up and behind the lake so you can check out the source of the water; Spouting Rock.
Spouting Rock is a large waterfall that is spewing tons of water with some powerful force. It doesn’t just trickle over the edge, but projects the water like someone turned on a hose at full force. CJ didn’t quite know what to think of this loud shower.
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!
That’s right, Vermont! Work sent me and a partner to New Hampshire for a couple weeks back in 2014. We had the weekend off so we did a whirlwind tour of all the northeastern state, and the Quechee Gorge was our stop in Vermont.
The gorge is centrally located on the eastern border of Vermont. Now Quechee Gorge is not a backwoods hike, but rather a pretty popular tourist and kayak destination just outside Quechee, VT and Quechee State Park. The location is built up with touristy “corner stores” selling plenty of snacks and souveniors, antique shops and hotels all along the main road that bisecs the gorge.
In total we hiked about 3 miles in down and back fashion starting from the visitor area. There is one trail that travels along the flowing Ottauquechee River. We first hiked north from the road (red trail) on a nicely groomed path toward Dewey’s Pond. 
North of an interesting dam (#1), the trail seperated the river and the pond, appearing to terminate at a parking area. This strip of land had a good variety of flowers helping to increase the pleasure of the stroll. The river was interesting in that at this point it was glass smooth, but it didn’t remain that way.
As we returned south the river takes on a drastic change as it crosses the dam (#1) and enters the gorge. I wonder if the kayakers start their run around here? The waters here were rough with what looked to be a good amount of white water.
There is a nice bridge (#2) that offers a great view that really lets you see just how deep the gorge is. Pretty impressive I will admit. From there we continued along the very well groomed trail to where the river empties out of the gorge, and the presumed finish to the kayak run (#3). Here the waters were super clear and calm before turning back into turbulent waters. There were quite a few people hanging out in the shallow rapids to include a handfull of kayaykers that may have been hanging out in the slow moving water after a run. 
From there we returned back to the visitor area for a couple snacks and to browse the souveniers.
St Louis Canyon is always the first stop for icefall hunting since there is a parking area just off the main road from Utica. The road actually leads all the way down to the trailhead, but it is steep and they close it off in winter. So you have to park at the top of the hill and walk down to the trailhead. Once you are on the trail it follows a creek through the canyon that leads to the fall. It is a tall waterfall that can create an impressive block of ice, as the lovely Cheryl demonstrates. The hike through the canyon is one of the better hikes in the park.
Leg gaiters are leggings normally made of nylon that cover the top of your boot and lower leg to help keep the environment out.
The Iowa Hiker 