Preparation Canyon State Park — Attraction in Onawa

I have given this a 5-star rating out of personal bias. I LOVE the Loess Hills region of Iowa and this is one of only three state parks located within the landform (the other two are Stone in the far north and Waubonsie in the far south). The conditions here are VERY primitive so don't expect much in terms of amenities, but this is a hiker's and nature lover's paradise.

The park is heavily wooded and all sorts of vegetation thrives here, so wear long pants (poison ivy) and bring plenty of bug spray. Watch for ticks. Actually, you may want to avoid the park altogether in the hot summer months and come in the spring or fall instead. The hiking trails can be rather difficult so if you're not up to the challenge or not physically fit then forget it. For those who are fit enough and interested enough to tackle them the views are rewarding. The park has several hike-in campsites that are perfect for those who still prefer a tent and a campfire to an RV.

Information about the park in particular and the Loess Hills in general can be gotten from the visitor center in the nearby town of Moorhead. The ladies there are very friendly and love to chat, and are just delighted when someone new walks in to learn about their overlooked and underappreciated corner...

We live in Sioux Falls and normally go to Stone State Park in Sioux City for some Loess Hills elevation and nature, but for Mother’s Day we thought we’d drive the extra hour to check this place out. It was not worth the drive. Almost every single trail seems to be unmaintained. We were constantly walking around, climbing over, and limboing under downed trees and branches. The trails themselves were uneven and sometimes washed through, which I’m normally fine with as it builds ankle strength but here it was just annoying. Probably because the plant life in many places was weedy invasive stuff as if there has been a lot of soil disturbance. There was a cool beaver damn but also the water was nasty and had a lot of oil sitting on top.

We also did some of the state forest trails to the west of here and many of them were in vast clear cut areas and that was extremely depressing and unnecessarily exposed.

Iowa really needs to get their s* together on their natural areas. Charge a state park fee. Hire employees. Take care of your nature. There’s more to the outdoors than...

Did the first come first serve hike-in camping. At the parking, there’s a self-registration station where you fill in info and pay by cash (bring the amount of cash you need) There’s a map(see pics) of the trail and campsites there as well. I arrived 3/30 Saturday about 5:30 pm. Several cars were in the parking lot but campsite 1-4 were available a that time. ( there are many more sites besides these four but I didn’t have time to hike to those) I camped at #3. I liked #3 because it’s slightly up on the hill and has a overlook toward canyon. Very neat. Plenty of firewoods if you hike a bit upward from the campsite; Only thing is there’s limited space to choose where to pitch your tent. The ground wasn’t exactly flat or leveled, I ended up slipping down toward my feet whole night; 1 and #2 are at bottom of the canyon and were by the creek, and close to parking, if that’s what you are looking for; #4 seemed very spacious and neat too. I heard coyotes towards sunset time. I wasn’t exactly impressed with the open view from the...