Big Creek Lake's clear water provides great family swimming fun. Refreshments are available at the beach during the swimming season. A large wooden...
Read More
Strasser Woods State Preserve contains a 40-acre tract of forest within the city limits of Des Moines. Joseph and Elizabeth Strasser, who had owned...
Read More
Walnut Woods encompasses 260 acres of wooded bottomland along the Raccoon River. Within the park lies a large surviving natural stand of black waln...
Read More
History
The wildlife and plant communities are interwoven with the human history of Ledges. Humans have appreciated this unique area for thousands...
Read More
Doolittle Prairie State Preserve is located in the Des Moines Lobe region and contains a native tallgrass prairie remnant dotted with seasonal mars...
Read More
Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park, Iowa’s newest state park, is nestled in the rolling landscape between Des Moines and Indianola on Highw...
Read More
Lake ActivitiesThe lake at Badger Creek is by far the most popular natural resource, and thus fishing is the most popular form of recreation. The l...
Read More
Woodland Mounds State Preserve is a 185-acre area featuring a group of five conical burial mounds dating from the years a.d. 400 to 1100. It is loc...
Read More
Pilot Mound State Forest contains a mound that was used by the city of Pilot Mound as a natural water tower. The top of this mound is the county's ...
Read More
A 115-acre man-made lake has a large sandy beach and offers unsupervised swimming. Boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddleboats are available for rent th...
Read More
Rolling Thunder Prairie State Preserve is located in the Southern Iowa Drift Plain landform region and contains an undulating prairie landscape bro...
Read More
Marietta Sand Prairie is a 17-acre preserve featuring aeolian (windblown) sand deposits and a sand prairie. It is located seven miles northwest of ...
Read More
Kish-Ke-Kosh Prairie State Preserve consists mainly of upland prairie, which is recovering from being grazed in the past. It's main upland prairie ...
Read More
At over 6,000 acres, Brushy Creek is one of Iowa's largest tracts of public outdoor recreation land. Visitors can get a real sense of being "away f...
Read More
Brushy Creek State Preserve is located in Brushy Creek Recreation Area, a 6,500-acre public area in Webster County located twenty miles southeast o...
Read More
Recreational opportunities abound. Individual park development varies from full utility camping and shelter facilities to undeveloped natural areas...
Read More
Elk Rock State Park is located on Lake Red Rock, one of Iowa's large impoundments. The area had been inhabited by Native Americans dating back more...
Read More
