By MICHAEL MORAIN
mmorain@dmreg.com
May 30, 2010
Remember when you were a kid and all you had to do was go outside and play? Well, we can't kick you out of the house - we'll leave that to Mom and Dad - but we can give you a few ideas to explore. Here are four ways to see the state parks and three ways to poke around Polk County.
Iowa State Parks -
1. Bike the parks. If the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa sounds too daunting, take a day or two (or a leisurely three) and pedal any of four routes mapped out by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
• The 91-mile Central Iowa Route connects three state parks: Big Creek (near Polk City), the Ledges (Boone) and Springbrook (west of Lake Panorama). It's mostly flat with just a few hills through the valleys of the Des Moines and
Raccoon rivers.
• The 130-mile Northeast Iowa Route also connects three state parks: Wapsipinicon (Anamosa), Backbone (Dundee) and Pikes Peak (McGregor). The route winds through Iowa's "Little Switzerland," so expect a few hills.
• The 46-mile Southeast Iowa Route connects Lacey-Keosauqua State Park (Keosauqua) and Geode State Park (Burlington), with lots of hills and interrupted with stretches that are surprisingly flat.
• The 50-mile Lake to Lake route connects Pine Lake State Park (Eldora) and George Wyth Memorial State Park (Waterloo) along the Iowa River valley.
Most of the routes run primarily along county highways, so expect to contend with vehicle traffic. Bikers can find lodging in towns along the way - some motels and B&Bs offer shuttle service for gear and luggage - or pitch a tent at park campsites.
2. Go geocaching. As navigational gadgets catch on with more people, so does the
sport/hobby/obsession known as geocaching. Enthusiasts hide trinkets from public view in the hopes that others, equipped with GPS (global positioning system) devices, will find them and perhaps replace them with something new. The state issues permits to place geocaches in state parks, and the permits expire each year on March 31. Visit geocaching.com and www.earthcache.org.
3. Look for the history. The trails at Wildcat Den State Park (near Muscatine) lead to some of the best-kept secrets in the state parks system, bureau chief Kevin Szcodronski said. In addition to colorfully named geologic features, including "Devil's Punch Bowl" and "Fat Man's Squeeze," the trails lead to an old one-room school house and the historic Pine Creek Grist Mill, which was built by one of Muscatine County's first white settlers in 1848. Visit www.pinecreekgristmill.com to see photos and a video.
For another history lesson, check out Lewis and Clark State Park's "Best Friend," the full-size reproduction of the 55-foot keelboat "Discovery" that took the explorers up the Missouri River in 1804. The park near Onawa hosts its annual Lewis and Clark Festival from June 11 through 13.
4. Explore on foot. Northeast Iowa's Yellow River State Forest (Harpers Ferry) offers some of the state's most remote hiking trails.
"The camping is rustic, the trails are rugged. It's our closest thing to a wilderness experience in Iowa - if you're into that and don't want to be pampered," Szcodronski said. Like other recreational land along the Mississippi River - including Pikes Peak (McGregor), Mines of Spain (Dubuque) and Bellevue (Bellevue) - Yellow River is situated among eastern Iowa's hill country, offering scenic views of the area's rocky outcroppings.
Szcodronski recommended a similar trip through the less frequently visited parks in the southern part of the state, including Lake of Three Fires (Bedford), Nine Eagles (Davis City), Red Haw (Chariton) and Waubonsie (Sidney).
May 30, 2010
Remember when you were a kid and all you had to do was go outside and play? Well, we can't kick you out of the house - we'll leave that to Mom and Dad - but we can give you a few ideas to explore. Here are four ways to see the state parks and three ways to poke around Polk County.
Iowa State Parks -
1. Bike the parks. If the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa sounds too daunting, take a day or two (or a leisurely three) and pedal any of four routes mapped out by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
• The 91-mile Central Iowa Route connects three state parks: Big Creek (near Polk City), the Ledges (Boone) and Springbrook (west of Lake Panorama). It's mostly flat with just a few hills through the valleys of the Des Moines and
Raccoon rivers.• The 130-mile Northeast Iowa Route also connects three state parks: Wapsipinicon (Anamosa), Backbone (Dundee) and Pikes Peak (McGregor). The route winds through Iowa's "Little Switzerland," so expect a few hills.
• The 46-mile Southeast Iowa Route connects Lacey-Keosauqua State Park (Keosauqua) and Geode State Park (Burlington), with lots of hills and interrupted with stretches that are surprisingly flat.
• The 50-mile Lake to Lake route connects Pine Lake State Park (Eldora) and George Wyth Memorial State Park (Waterloo) along the Iowa River valley.
Most of the routes run primarily along county highways, so expect to contend with vehicle traffic. Bikers can find lodging in towns along the way - some motels and B&Bs offer shuttle service for gear and luggage - or pitch a tent at park campsites.
2. Go geocaching. As navigational gadgets catch on with more people, so does the
sport/hobby/obsession known as geocaching. Enthusiasts hide trinkets from public view in the hopes that others, equipped with GPS (global positioning system) devices, will find them and perhaps replace them with something new. The state issues permits to place geocaches in state parks, and the permits expire each year on March 31. Visit geocaching.com and www.earthcache.org.
3. Look for the history. The trails at Wildcat Den State Park (near Muscatine) lead to some of the best-kept secrets in the state parks system, bureau chief Kevin Szcodronski said. In addition to colorfully named geologic features, including "Devil's Punch Bowl" and "Fat Man's Squeeze," the trails lead to an old one-room school house and the historic Pine Creek Grist Mill, which was built by one of Muscatine County's first white settlers in 1848. Visit www.pinecreekgristmill.com to see photos and a video.
For another history lesson, check out Lewis and Clark State Park's "Best Friend," the full-size reproduction of the 55-foot keelboat "Discovery" that took the explorers up the Missouri River in 1804. The park near Onawa hosts its annual Lewis and Clark Festival from June 11 through 13.
4. Explore on foot. Northeast Iowa's Yellow River State Forest (Harpers Ferry) offers some of the state's most remote hiking trails.
"The camping is rustic, the trails are rugged. It's our closest thing to a wilderness experience in Iowa - if you're into that and don't want to be pampered," Szcodronski said. Like other recreational land along the Mississippi River - including Pikes Peak (McGregor), Mines of Spain (Dubuque) and Bellevue (Bellevue) - Yellow River is situated among eastern Iowa's hill country, offering scenic views of the area's rocky outcroppings.
Szcodronski recommended a similar trip through the less frequently visited parks in the southern part of the state, including Lake of Three Fires (Bedford), Nine Eagles (Davis City), Red Haw (Chariton) and Waubonsie (Sidney).
Another cluster of possibilities beckons visitors to northwest Iowa's "Great Lakes" region, which includes Elinor Bedell (Spirit Lake), Emerson Bay and Gull Point (both near Milford), Fort Defiance (Estherville), Okamanpedan (Dolliver) and Pikes Point, Templar and Trapper's Bay (all three near Spirit Lake).
Polk County Conservation -
1. Hit the playground. The Jester Park Natural Playscape, which opened last summer near
Shelter No. 6, is a playground made from boulders, streams and other natural elements. A path winds through the area like in the Candy Land board game, but instead of Gumdrop Mountains or the Molasses Swamp, the real-life playground features the Tall Grass Tangle and the Archaelogical Dig, where visitors can paw around for fake fossils. For kids ages 5 and up. the park stretches from the Hwy. 17 bridge north of Granger to the Mile-Long Bridge over Saylorville Lake.
2. Go paddling. Canoes are available for rent, for $7 per hour, at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt, where visitors can paddle the old oxbow channels of the Skunk River
along with otters, beavers, ducks, painted turtles and, of course, the river's namesake. The 6,500-acre wildlife area is about 20 minutes northeast of Des Moines. Call to reserve a canoe.
3. Tour on horseback. Polk County Conservation offers more than 100 programs, but the
guided horseback tours in Jester Park are among the most popular. Riders at least 8 years old can sign up for a 1-hour ride ($25) and hit the trails every Wednesday through Sunday through mid-October, weather permitting. Call for reservations.
Polk County Conservation -
1. Hit the playground. The Jester Park Natural Playscape, which opened last summer near
Shelter No. 6, is a playground made from boulders, streams and other natural elements. A path winds through the area like in the Candy Land board game, but instead of Gumdrop Mountains or the Molasses Swamp, the real-life playground features the Tall Grass Tangle and the Archaelogical Dig, where visitors can paw around for fake fossils. For kids ages 5 and up. the park stretches from the Hwy. 17 bridge north of Granger to the Mile-Long Bridge over Saylorville Lake.2. Go paddling. Canoes are available for rent, for $7 per hour, at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt, where visitors can paddle the old oxbow channels of the Skunk River
along with otters, beavers, ducks, painted turtles and, of course, the river's namesake. The 6,500-acre wildlife area is about 20 minutes northeast of Des Moines. Call to reserve a canoe.3. Tour on horseback. Polk County Conservation offers more than 100 programs, but the
guided horseback tours in Jester Park are among the most popular. Riders at least 8 years old can sign up for a 1-hour ride ($25) and hit the trails every Wednesday through Sunday through mid-October, weather permitting. Call for reservations. 
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