"A Salute to Songbirds" in Sioux City, Iowa

The primary attraction at Stone State Park in Sioux City, Iowa is the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center. Surrounded by over 1,000 acres of woodlands and loess hills prairies, the nature center is a great setting for outdoor learning. There are a variety of interpretive displays, including a "walk-under" prairie, a 400-gallon aquarium of native fish, and several miles of trails are available for hiking.

On May 1 – July 16 the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center will host a special traveling exhibit called "A Salute to Songbirds". There will be interactive exhibits explaining songbird migration patterns, why birds sing and how they learn, dangers that they face in the wild, and much more.

For more information, see Woodbury County Conservation Welcome, and here's the flyer in Adobe Reader format A Salute to Songbirds.

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Stone State Park

The Keelboat at Lewis and Clark State Park in Iowa

A keelboat and two pirogues were used for the voyage down the Ohio River, down the Mississippi River to the confluence with the Missouri River, and then up the Missouri to the Mandan Villages in present-day North Dakota. The pirogues were flat-bottom paddle boats, while the much larger keelboat could be could be propelled by four methods: rowing, sailing, pushing and pulling. Such vessels were used in the early 1800s to transport cargo over inland waterways.

A full-sized replica of the keelboat used by the Corps of Discovery is featured at Lewis and Clark State Park, located near near Onawa, Iowa, and you are allowed to baord it and climb around.

A prime attraction at Lewis and Clark State Park is the 250 acres of Blue Lake, an "oxbow lake" formed from waters cut off from the main current of the Missouri River. There's a fine beach for sunbathing and swimming, and two boat ramps are available for access to the lake, with no restrictions placed on motor size. There are 112 campsites along the lakeshore, 100 with standard electrical hookups and 12 with full hook-up.

Home Page
21914 Park Loop
Onawa, IA 51040
712-423-2829

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Lewis and Clark State Park

Find more things to do and places to stay in Iowa and Nebraska
The Lewis and Clark Trail Today: Reaching the Historical Platte River

Lake Manawa State Park in Iowa

Lake Manawa State Park is a popular water sport facility on the Missouri River shoreline, right outside of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The park's 1,529 acres encompass the beautiful 772-acre Lake Manawa. The lake was formed during a flood in 1881 when a portion of the Missouri River was cut off from the rest of the stream. The resulting "oxbow lake" is now called Lake Manawa, and it has become a major outdoor recreation center for thousands of visitors.

Boat motors of any size may be operated, and boat ramps are located on three sides of the lake. Good catches of bluegills, crappies and catfish may be expected throughout the year, as are good sized bass and walleye.

Home Page
1100 South Shore Drive
Council Bluffs, IA 51501
712/366-0220

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Lake Manawa State Park

Waubonsie State Park in Iowa

Waubonsie State Park is located in the Loess Hills, a landform found in only two places in the world: Along the Missouri River in Iowa and Missouri, and in Shaanxi, China. The Loess Hills are the product of sand, silt and clay sediments which were carried by winds and deposited when these winds encountered steep hill slopes. This type of soil is known colloquially as "sugar clay" because it can be extremely hard when dry, but loses all cohesion when wet. The depth of this drift layer is often greater than ninety feet.

Waubonsie State Park contains seven miles of foot trails and eight miles of equestrian trails winding along windswept ridges down into gorges and valleys. The Sunset Ridge Interpretive Trail provides the visitor with a chance to learn about the park's plants and trees, as well as enjoy some spectacular views. The park holds 40 campsites, 24 of which have electrical hookups. The equestrian campground contains 32 campsites.

IA DNR: State Parks,Waubonsie State Park
2585 Waubonsie Park Road
Hamburg, IA 51640
712-382-2786

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Waubonsie State Park

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge serves as a stopover for ducks and geese during their migrations between Arctic nesting grounds and Gulf Coast wintering areas. The territory of the refuge was originally west of the Missouri River, which bulged around it eastward, but channelization cut a straight line (north-south) through the middle of the refuge, leaving half of it on the Iowa side.

Bald eagles are often seen when waterfowl are present, and good viewing opportunities are available from the visitor center. An assortment of warblers, shorebirds, gulls, and other species also can be observed on the refuge during fall and spring migrations. In the summer, white-tailed deer are often seen in the morning and evening hours. Wild turkeys often gather in large groups along the roads and in the fields.

The Steamboat Bertrand, a sternwheeler that sunk in 1865 while bound for Montana Territory, was discovered on the refuge in 1968 and unearthed the following year. Visitors may view the site of this discovery, and the DeSoto Visitor Center exhibits 200,000 artifacts recovered from the hull. Steamboats were used in that era to carry supplies to fur trading posts, frontier settlements, and mining towns. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 400 steamboats sank or were stranded between St. Louis, Missouri and Ft. Benton, Montana, victims of the turbulent, snag-strewn "Big Muddy".

Home Page
1434 316th Lane
Missouri Valley, IA 51555
712-642-4121

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DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge

Lewis & Clark Festival in Onawa, Iowa

On June 12, 13 and 14 the city of Onawa, Iowa will hold its annual Lewis & Clark Festival at the Lewis and Clark State Park, located a couple of miles west of that city.

Features include a keelboat made to the specifications of the one used by the Corps of Discovery, a muzzleloader shoot, musical performances and historical reenactments.

Original announcement
Lewis & Clark Festival

Wildlife refuges get nearly $2M for improvements

Two federal wildlife refuges on the Missouri River north of Omaha will receive almost $2 million in funding to help pay for upgrades and improvements.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the money will be used to improve the energy efficiency of the visitor's center at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on the Iowa side, and the Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge on the Nebraska side of the river.