Top 10 Hiking Trails In Northeast Iowa

Looking to go hiking? Enjoy some of Northeast Iowa's hidden treasures.

Four Mounds Inn & Conference Center

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

The Four Mounds Estate, a National Register Historic District and a City of Dubuque Landmark Site, is a remarkably intact 1908 gentleman’s farm along the Mississippi River bluffline. The site features the farm and grounds, riverview hiking trails, three options for bed and breakfast, a small conference center, challenge ropes course and more. Includes whole house rentals and is the perfect site for an intimate wedding.

Located in Dubuque, IA

Gilbertson Conservation Education Area

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

The Gilbertson Conservation Education Area has so much to do on the 565 acre Recreation & Education area including the Gilbertson Nature Center, a petting zoo, a maize maze, fishing and canoe access to the Turkey River, a paved 1/4 mile trail that is wheelchair accessible, campgrounds and over five miles of trails that are open for walking, hiking, horse back riding, non-motorize bike, and in the wintertime cross-country ski or snowshoe.

Located in Elgin, IA.

Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

The headquarters of Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm is an 890-acre living museum of our garden heritage. Display gardens surrounding the Visitors Center grow hundreds of heirloom fruits and vegetables, while eight miles of hiking trails connect sparking trout streams, wooded bluffs, pastures of heritage cattle, and historic apple orchards.

Located in Decorah, IA.

Wickiup Gill Learning Center & Area

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

Wickiup Gill Learning Center & Area is a 683-acre complex including the interpretive center and surrounding wetlands, reconstructed prairie, savanna, timber and five miles of trails. Numerous outdoor recreation opportunities such as hiking, snowshoeing, X-country skiing, bird watching and wildlife observation are available. Educational displays in the center highlight Wickiup Hill’s natural resources and its archaeological past. Center includes Native American exhibits that depict the beginning of gardening and farming in Iowa.

Located in Toddville, IA.

Mines of Spain

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

The Mines of Spain consists of 1,439 acres of forest and prairie along the Mississippi River. The park is a National Historic Landmark and a state preserve. The E.B. Lyons Interpretive Center, a Scenic Byway Center, has displays on the park’s historical sites of farming, prairies, lead mining, Native Americans and wildlife. Trails connect visitors to a farmsite, forests, prairies, archaeological sites and wetlands.

Located in Dubuque, IA.

Indian Creek Nature Center

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

Indian Creek Nature Center is a renovated 1932 dairy barn house, where maple syruping, beekeeping, prairie restoration, and other programs are used to interpret the natural environment and our cultural and agricultural heritage. The Nature Center has several miles of trails that wind through prairies, oak/hickory savannas and a wetland.

Located in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Hartman Reserve Nature Center

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

The Hartman Reserve Nature Center has over 300-acre wooded isle boasts, the Hartman Interpretive Center and has six miles of trails leading to lakes, prairies, forest, the Cedar River and the American Discovery Trail.

Located in Cedar Falls, IA.

F.W. Kent Park

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

F.W. Kent Park is a 1,052-acre park featuring a Conservation Education Center with hands-on exhibits that connect visitors with nature. Panels in the open-air Knight Prairie Pavilion interpret the connection of prairies to agriculture. An 86-site campground, shower house, playgrounds, picnic shelters, trails, eight historic bridges, fishing pier, native and re-created prairies, forests, wetlands, 27-acre lake, beach and fishing ponds, make this an outstanding park.

Located in Oxford, IA.

Prairie Bridges Park

With 101 acres of wildlife, woodlands and prairie, Prairie Bridges Park offers opportunities for visitors to enjoy nature at its best. Camping with electrical hookups, fishing in six ponds, three miles of trails for walking, biking or driving, disc golf course, restrooms, showers and shelter house provide a fun family experience. The park offers 24-hour services within city limits, just 1/4 mile from downtown.

Located in Ackley, IA.

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area / Via silosandsmokestacks.org

The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a tallgrass prairie/oak savanna reconstruction project in the heart of Iowa, with several nature trails and an auto tour route through the bison and elk enclosure. The Visitor Center offers interactive exhibits, a bookstore and the award winning movie “Return to Wildness.”

Located in Prairie City, IA.