Stone State Park Is A Stunning Loess Hills Iowa Destination

So many people think of Iowa as a flat state, or perhaps a place where you’ll see gentle rolling hills and farmland for as far as the eye can see. While a good portion of the Hawkeye State is flat, our beautiful Iowa has impressive cliffs, bluffs, and hills on both our eastern and western borders. Take a peek at one underrated destination on the Iowa-South Dakota border and you’ll discover Stone State Park feels like it’s part of Middle Earth.

Iowa’s Loess Hills are a remarkable natural wonder near western border of Iowa, in the Missouri River Valley.

Google Local / Joe Nicholson

After acres and acres of mostly flat farmland, suddenly in the western part of Iowa, huge hills rise up from the landscape!

Google Local / Kradious Vids

One way to experience these stunning natural wonders up close is to hike through Stone State Park.

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You’ll find miles of trails that take you up into the Loess Hills and show off stunning views of the Missouri River valley.

Google Local / Marianne Meliora

Stone State Park is a particularly interesting place for nature lovers because it’s at the northernmost part of the hills, where you’ll find clay bluffs blending into prairie, jagged sedimentary rock hills topped with bur oak forest, and the ecosystem that surrounds the Big Sioux River,

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Stone State Park is stunning in any season, but autumn may be the most beautiful time of year to visit. The leaves put on quite a color show!

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In the spring and summer, wildflowers light up your path as you climb high above the Hawkeye State.

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Make time to get out and see Stone State Park this year and you’ll feel as if you discovered a slice of Middle Earth right here in Iowa.

Google Local / Xuan M.

You can learn more about Stone State Park on the Iowa DNR website, here.