 If you are looking for a local craft brew to try as you explore one of western Iowa's scenic byways, you're in luck as there are several located on or near the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, Western Skies Scenic Byway, and Glacial Trail Scenic Byway. Take a look at our list below, check out each brewery's website for their menu and tap room hours, and then make plans for a weekend trip. And, of course, drink responsibly!
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 Astragalus crassicarpus
Ground plum is found on dry to gravelly prairies and Loess Hills prairies. The fruit dries out by midsummer, so find it before to eat raw, cooked, or pickled; ground plum begins fruiting in late May. The raw fruit might not be appetizing to most, but if cooked it tastes like green beans. Make sure you identify the plant correctly, as there are species that look similar but are completely toxic. The pinkish purple flowers begin showing from early to late May.
 
Buena Vista County Conservation Park
This park is just off the Glacial Trails Scenic Byway on 400th Street, 2 miles east of M-27 in the beautiful Little Sioux River Valley of northwest Buena Vista County. Buena Vista Park offers multiple camping areas, cabin and lodge overnight rental facilities, day-use shelter, arboretum, prairie grass plantings, and miles of trails through woodland areas for visitors to explore.
The former 120 acre gravel pit area has been developed and contains picnic shelters, pit toilet, and playground equipment. Several plots of prairie grass have been established. The lake provides excellent deep pond fishing. No firearms or bows and arrows are allowed but deer and pheasants can be driven. There is a trail for hiking available around the pit
Located within more then 3,000 contiguous acres of prairie in the Little Sioux Valley region, the property provides habitat for wildflowers, butterflies and grassland nesting birds. This particular tract of land was historically pastured, but much of the native grass has survived. A special feature of the tract is a small, crystal-clear, spring-fed steam that meanders through it. Browns' Prairie is level to steeply rolling. Care should be exercised by the elderly and children. This area is extremely hot in the summer and cold in the winter without trees to break the wind or sun. Cattle grazing is used to manage native grasses so please exercise caution when visiting the area. WHAT TO SEE: PLANTS Grasses on this prairie include: little bluestem grass, porcupine grass and side-oats gramma. Flowers include: pale purple coneflower, prairie violets, pasque flower and grey headed coneflower. WHAT TO SEE: ANIMALS Birds on the Browns' Prairie include: bobolinks, grasshopper sparrows, meadowlarks, and kingfishers often fishing in the prairie streams during the summer.  Photo by The Nature Conservancy Buena Vista Conservation allows off-trail hiking at all of their properties, including wildlife areas. Below is a list with addresses. Brooke Wildlife Area Buena Vista 440th Street, Linn Grove IA 51033 Elk Wildlife Area 60th Avenue, Alta IA 51002 Gabrielson Park 1322 440th Street, Sioux Rapids IA 50585 Gaherty Wildlife Area 580th Street, Storm Lake IA 50588 Gary Christiansen Wildlife Area 30th Avenue, Linn Grove IA 51003 Hankens Wildlife Area 10th Avenue, Alta IA 51002 Pheasant Ridge Wildlife Area 660th Street, Newell IA 50568 Starr-Robbins Wildlife Refuge Evans Street, Linn Grove IA 51033 Three Waters Wildlife Area 600th Street, Newell IA 50568 Hiking the Byways is a regular series by Golden Hills RC&D that features publicly accessible lands open to hiking on the three scenic byways in western Iowa that Golden Hills RC&D coordinates: Glacial Trail Scenic Byway, Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, and Western Skies Scenic Byway. Each blog post covers hiking areas in one county on one of the aforementioned byways. For questions about hiking on the byways, contact Seth Brooks (seth.brooks@goldenhillsrcd.org). Following gravel roads southeast of Clarinda, nearing the Iowa-Missouri border, I arrived at Garden of Paradise. Stepping out of my car, I understood why Shad Swanson chose Garden of Paradise as his business name. On this beautiful blue-sky afternoon our surroundings were quiet except for the occasional bird song and the croaking of frogs nearby. An old rundown one room schoolhouse sits within eye shot, a relic reminder of Iowa’s thriving rural past. What Shad does on his acreage is reminiscent of Iowa’s rural past, too and my idea of an Iowa paradise. Not all that long ago many Iowans, tasked with feeding themselves, grew large gardens outside their back doors. They may have gifted, bartered, or sold some of their bounty with their friends and neighbors. Shad is a market farmer, selling his produce at several small-town farmers markets in southwest Iowa. 
The warm season crops are not planted out yet. They are still warm in their winter growing space. Shad starts his yearly garden routine long before the ground outside warms enough to plant. Many of the crops begin as seeds in his basement, which he refers to as his “greenhouse”. His basement is full of various peppers, Shad’s favorite garden plant, and tomatoes, and herbs. Everything is getting big and eager to go outside for the season. The basement does feel like a greenhouse.  Shad grew up on a farm, just outside of Essex. His family grew a vegetable garden, and he participated in 4-H. His love of growing produce matured when he lived in Des Moines, growing produce to give to friends and selling some to restaurants. I asked Shad what made him return to rural Iowa and choose produce farming for his profession. He did not hesitate with his reply, “Iowa needs to diversify”. We agreed that diversity in both plant species and economic opportunities would be beneficial for rural Iowa. Shad remarked about the solitude and peace in his big back yard. You can’t get that in an urban setting.  One day, Shad hopes to expand his growing operation, but for right now it is the perfect size for one man to maintain by hand. He is gaining invaluable knowledge, trialing varieties to determine what will work best for his expansion. His excitement about what he does shows. Besides the already mentioned produce, Shad grows various culinary and tea herbs, like lemon balm, sage, parsley, basil, and oregano. He sells jars of freshly dried and powdered herbs and peppers. Houseplants and cactus are also staples at his market table.  Garden of Paradise can be found, among other area vendors, this Saturday, May 6th at 9am in Priest Park in Shenandoah for the Plant Sale and Market hosted by Sycamore Ridge Small Farm. Garden of Paradise can also be found at the Clarinda, Red Oak and Shenandoah Farmers Markets beginning in mid-May. Shad also plans to attend the new monthly Essex Market beginning Saturday June 10th, and other various markets that occur throughout southwest Iowa. Follow Garden of Paradise on Facebook for farm and market updates.
Three "wild" roses native to Iowa can be considered the state flower: Rosa arkansana, Rosa blanda, and Rosa carolina. The individual species are difficult to tell apart because they are very similar in appearance and they hybridize easily and naturally. Rosa arkansana is a small shrub that is common on upland prairies, sandy prairies, roadsides, and in other open places. It grows up to 3 feet tall and blooms in June with masses of pink to dark pink, fragrant blossoms. The small, red, apple-shaped hips appear in late summer. It is said that three rose hips from wild rose contain as much vitamin C as one orange. Meskwaki and Menomini Indians boiled the hips to make a syrup for various food uses. Indians and pioneers ate the hips, flowers, and leaves when other food was scarce. The hips of wild roses are considered an important food source for wildlife. Rosa blanda is similar to Rosa arkansana but the dark red stems are mostly smooth with few prickles. The leaves usually have fewer leaflets (5-7) and have few hairs on the leaflets.
Barred owl at Riverton WMA (photo by Carter Oliver)
May is a big birding month in Iowa. It kicks off with National Bird Day on May 4th, then is followed by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union 100th Anniversary celebration from May 5th to 7th. World Migratory Bird Day on May 13th coincides with the predicted peak migration, which has been forecasted to occur between May 9th and 14th.
We have compiled a list of birding resources to help you explore the wonderful birding opportunities in western Iowa. Read about them below. Birding Organizations
The Iowa Ornithologists' Union spring meeting will kick off their celebration of 100 years of birding as an organization. The venue for the weekend is the beautiful Stine Barn and grounds in West Des Moines. Join them for exceptional programs, great birding, and fellowship with like-minded individuals. The keynote speaker is Ted Floyd, of the American Birding Association, who will examine how much birding has changed over the course of one hundred years. Activities are planned for newer birders, families, photographers, and seasoned veterans alike!
If you cannot make the celebration, check out the IOU website. They have a wealth of information to learn about birds and find birds in Iowa, including an Iowa bird list with 433 species, an Iowa breeding bird atlas, birding by county, Iowa hot spots, and more! The Ann Barker Library includes issues of Iowa Bird Life dating back to 1931.
American goldfinch at Loess Hills State Forest Little Sioux Unit (photo by Carter Oliver)
Iowa Audubon is an organization of people, corporations and other organizations, including National Audubon Society chapters, all interested in improving bird habitat in Iowa. They are a grass-roots organization that maximizes the use of our collective resources to have the largest impact on habitat issues. Iowa Audubon is a non-profit member organization, with a mission to protect, restore and enjoy Iowa’s natural ecosystems with a focus on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. Our focus on bird conservation fills a unique niche in Iowa. There is a great opportunity to conserve and improve the habitats most essential to birds across the state.
Iowa Audubon offers small grants for bird conservation research and projects. They also partner with other organizations to manager and monitor Important Bird Areas. If you would like to support Iowa Audubon, consider becoming a member; they have several membership options.
Loess Hills Audubon Society has a dedicated group of members that offer programming and bird outings in the greater Siouxland area. They are currently seeking Bird Friendly designation for Sioux City. Golden Hills RC&D is partnering with LHAS to revise their Siouxland Bird Guide that was originally published in 2003.
Check their Conservation Notes blog for bird-related news. Also, take a look at their calendar for a birding event in the Siouxland area. LHAS organizes annual Christmas Bird Counts, among other birding excursions. 
Bald eagle at Deer Island WMA (photo by Carter Oliver)
Join IAYB at Springbrook State Park on May 20th at 9 AM as they search for the last migrants of spring and pause to appreciate the local breeding birds as they sing and establish territories. May 20th often marks the peak of warbler diversity in Iowa as amazing species such as Connecticut Warbler, Mourning Warbler, and Canada Warbler fill the woods with their beautiful songs. IAYB will search for these fleeting species and learn about the breeding strategies of different birds. This event is free but advanced registration is required. This outing is open to young birders and their parents/guardians/caretakers. No previous knowledge or experience is necessary.
Red-bellied woodpecker at Schaben Park (photo by Carter Oliver)
Birding the Byways
From the Missouri River to the Raccoon River, Western Skies Scenic Byway traverses four of Iowa's landforms and many unique habitat types. If you're looking for waterfowl, upland birds, woodland birds, Western Skies Birding Trail has you covered.
Check out the Western Skies Birding Trail website to learn where you can go birding in the Western Skies corridor (Audubon, Guthrie, Harrison & Shelby counties) and what species you might find.
Bird diversity here is exceptional, with 249 species identified, including 80 Iowa Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Currently, 111 species are known to nest in this BCA’s prairies, savannas, woodlands, and wetlands. This same crucial habitat supplies important bird wintering grounds and migratory stopover sites. Special birds of this area include wood thrush, Bell’s vireo, whip-poor-will, redheaded woodpecker, grasshopper and field sparrows, Blue-winged warbler, and both meadowlark species. The BCA’s western Iowa location makes it a good place to see western bird species that are less often seen elsewhere, like western kingbird, Townsend’s solitaire, and perhaps Lazuli bunting.
Snowy owl near Harlan (photo by Carter Oliver)
There are numerous parks and nature centers in western Iowa that are excellent birding sites. State parks managed by the Iowa DNR, parks managed by county conservation boards, and other publicly accessible lands in western Iowa all offer birding opportunities. Check the park's respective website for organized birding events and tips.
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge offers great birding year round. The visitor center viewing windows provide great birding of waterfowl and bald eagles during the spring, fall and winter season. Bird feeders are stocked daily at the visitor center and provide good “backyard” birding opportunities. Hitchcock Nature Center is home to HawkWatch, a citizen science driven research project that monitors raptor migration from September 1st to December 13th, counting an average of 13,000 migrating raptors annually. Anyone can join the Hitchcock HawkWatch volunteer team. All you need is a love of birds and a willingness to learn. On-the-job training is provided by the experienced team of HawkWatch volunteers and park staff. To become a Hitchcock HawkWatch volunteer, please complete and submit a volunteer application on the HawkWatch website. The Chris L. Lloyd Swan Restoration Refuge in Buena Vista County is a 10-acre area to promote the restoration of trumpeter swans. A kiosk with information and an observation deck help inform the public about the swans. A five acre lake is surrounded by prairie grasses. The swan refuge is located 10 miles south of Sioux Rapids on Highway 71. Other notable birding sites include, but are not limited to, Sawmill Hollow Wildlife Area in Harrison County, Riverton Wildlife Management Area in Fremont County,and Prairie Heritage Center in O'Brien County. Birding Resources
Besides the aforementioned organizations, the following resources are helpful to both novice and experienced birders.
Yellow-headed blackbird at Missouri Bottoms Wetland Area (photo by Carter Oliver)
April 24-28 was the 8th annual Loess Hills Cooperative Burn Week, hosted by Loess Hills Fire Partners. This event is "an opportunity to join with partners to achieve fire management in an area where additional skills and resources were needed to accomplish the work at a landscape scale. It was also an opportunity to build relationships with partners, share knowledge and skills, and work within a more complex organizational structure utilizing an expanded Incident Command System." More than 100 people from dozens of organizations, numerous states, and even Canada, joined this year's event. The group was based out of Loess Hills State Forest headquarters in Pisgah, and burned primarily in Harrison, Monona, and southern Woodbury counties. Fire is an important part of stewardship for western Iowa's land. Historically, fires were set by indigenous peoples and occasional lightning strikes on an interval of every few years. Without these regular fires, fuels build up that pose a serious threat for more dangerous wildfires. Just two weeks before Co-op Burn Week, more than 3,700 acres were burned in the Preparation Canyon Unit of Loess Hills State Forest and adjacent private lands. Other large wildfires have burned several thousand acres in western Iowa in the past year. While Co-Op Burn Week typically involves burning large areas to meet ecological objectives, being able to put out a fire is even more important. Monday's activities focused on fire suppression. Trainers started a small fire and participants had to work together to mobilize resources to extinguish the fire. Drought conditions have made grass and woodland fires more frequent, and high winds can spread them incredibly quickly. The fire suppression activities highlighted the need for excellent communication in a high-stress, time-limited situation with people who have never worked together. Monday evening was a special event in Woodbine, featuring Brad Elder from Nebraska. Brad was badly injured in a burnover while fighting a wildfire in eastern Nebraska in October 2023. He told his story and talked about his recovery, and advised firefighters on how best to avoid a situation like the one he experienced.  Brad Elder of Nebraska discussing his burnover experience on a wildfire last fall. photo by Kerry Hecker Also at the Monday evening program, a video about Loess Hills Cooperative Burn Week premiered. The video was created by Amanda Trudell and Shelly Eisenhauer at the 2022 Burn Week. Most of the rest of the week included boots-on-the-ground, live action training with prescribed fire. Participants were divided into several units to conduct multiple burns at the same time. State and county private lands and some private lands were included, both in the Loess Hills landform and on the Missouri River floodplain.   Before  During  After               One of the burn unit crews.  Group photo of LHCBW 2023 participants More information, including reports on previous Loess Hills Cooperative Burn Weeks, is available at http://www.loesshillsalliance.com/fire.html
Next year's Burn Week will be held in the northern Loess Hills.  West Oak Forest (photo by Lance Brisbois)
Folsom Point Preserve protects one of the largest remaining contiguous prairie remnants in the southern Loess Hills. Purchased in 1999, the prairie provides a valuable habitat for grassland animals, particularly in an area where the prairie community has largely disappeared. The terrain is quite rugged with steep slopes. The preserve is used for research by local students; visitors should avoid flags and other markers. There are no official trails at the preserve but there are several well-traveled footpaths that lead up to and along the ridges, allowing sweeping views of the Missouri River floodplain and the Loess Hills. The nearby factories, however, degrade the view from the ridges. A hike at Folsom Point is still enjoyable, as it is much less frequented than Hitchcock Nature Center yet about the same driving distance from the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro.  Folsom Point Preserve (photo by Seth Brooks)
 Photo by Lance Brisbois
This is the second largest park within the Mills County Conservation Board’s park system. It consists of forest, numerous hilltop prairie remnants, 7-acres of restored prairie, and well over 3 miles of hiking trails. Being nestled in the west side of Iowa’s beautiful Loess Hills, the park provides a spectacular view overlooking the Missouri River floodplain. West Oak Forest is inhabited by many threatened and endangered species of the Loess Hills, including the Yucca Moth, Western Spadefoot Toad, Ottoe Skipper, Northern Grasshopper Mouse, and various others.. The topography of the property is very steep with corrugated hills and the highest point being 1,100 feet above sea level. Heavily forested with upland hardwoods including bur oak, red oak, ironwood, basswood, scattered black walnut and shagbark hickory.  Photo by Lance Brisbois
Pony Creek is located along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway. Pony Creek Park is a National Historic Landmark. The Davis Oriole earth lodge site is located here. To protect the archaeological integrity of the site, it is not specifically marked.  Pony Creek Nature Center
Mile Hill Lake consists of a hardwood forest, which is open to public hunting, and a 10-acre fishing lake with boat dock and ramp. When driving into the park you will find an interpretive panel discussing the prehistoric culture that lived in this region, and the handicap accessible Scenic Overlook, which offers an interpretive panel discussing the Loess Hills Scenic Byway. You will also see a2 acre restored prairie, and several flowerbeds which are maintained by the Mills County Co-Horts. There are various hiking trails within the park, including the most recent addition that leads through a marsh area, with a newly installed footbridge.  Showy orchis at Mile Hill Lake
The preserve is a low impact recreation area, meaning that no public activity can impair the integrity of the site. The site hosts multi-use trails ready for running, hiking, biking and wildlife observation. Aside from the archaeological sites within the property, one can also find forest, oak savanna, native prairie, restored prairie and agricultural grounds on the site. There are 107 recorded archaeological sites in the Glenwood Archaeological State Preserve, ranging from about 10,000 years in age to the early Euro-American settlement era, 150 years ago. Most significant are 27 earth lodge sites in the preserve that are related to the Glenwood Culture, also known as the Nebraska phase of the Central Plains tradition. Only a small fraction of the preserve has been archaeologically surveyed, so many more sites probably exist in the preserve.  Photo by Lance Brisbois Hiking the Byways is a regular series by Golden Hills RC&D that features publicly accessible lands open to hiking on the three scenic byways in western Iowa that Golden Hills RC&D coordinates: Glacial Trail Scenic Byway, Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, and Western Skies Scenic Byway. Each blog post covers hiking areas in one county on one of the aforementioned byways. For questions about hiking on the byways, contact Seth Brooks (seth.brooks@goldenhillsrcd.org).
The breeches are white and sometimes tinged with pink, and are attached to the flower stalk at the crotch by a delicate flower stem. The leaves are frilly or fern-like and grow underneath the arching flower stalk. The leaves appear first; then fragrant flowers bloom in clusters, resembling pants hanging on a clothesline. Early bumblebees come for the nectar of the flowers and pollinate them. Dutchman's breeches have a mutualistic relationship with ants called myrmecochory. Ants distribute the seeds by taking them to their nests. The ants feed on a fleshy part of the seeds and the seeds germinate and sprout from the nests. Dutchman's breeches can be found in woodlands in western Iowa and throughout much of the Loess Hills. They are easily found in Waubonsie State Park and Hitchcock Nature Center, just to name two of the many places you can find this early blooming woodland wildflower.  |
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