Posted: November 24, 2025
Written by: Eily Hegdahl, Winneshiek County Conservation 2025 summer intern
Northeast Iowa is home to many fantastic landscapes and opportunities for adventure. In the Iowa Driftless Region, Winneshiek County Conservation manages over twenty natural areas that provide recreational benefits while also protecting unique landscapes and species. This list compiles just a few of the lesser known gems accessible to the public in Winneshiek County—take a trip to get outdoors and experience these valuable areas.
From the 1960s to the early 2000s, this park used to be a part of a ski run called Nor-Ski Runs. The hill above the park still features an algific talus slope, a fragile and rare ecosystem, that is best not disturbed to protect its unique plant and animal species. Winneshiek County Conservation manages a picnic table and canoe access area in the park with great views of the Upper Iowa River and Luther College’s prairie plantings.
At Chimney Rock Park, you can find a historic bridge, vault toilets, and river access for paddling or fishing on the Upper Iowa River. For the bridge history buffs out there, the old Chimney Rock bridge is unique and historically significant, as it is an intact version of a rare bridge made by a company that has few remaining examples. The more adventurous may try hiking off-trail up the hills around the parking area for a scenic view of the Upper Iowa River from above. From the river or valley, look for the 150-foot tall chimney rocks that give the park its name. These spires are the result of weathering and erosion when softer limestone is carved away from the bluffs.
Step back in time to when most of Iowa was tallgrass prairie. Southwest of Fort Atkinson is a 90-acre park that features both restored and remnant prairie, as well as established trails that are excellent for birdwatching. Bobolinks, warblers, sparrows, phoebes, eagles, hawks, and flycatchers are just some of the birds you might see.
If you are planning a canoeing or kayaking route on the Upper Iowa River, the Bluffton Bluffs are a must-see. These 300-foot tall bluffs are some of the best the Driftless Area has to offer. The park itself does not have trails, making this natural area best to view from the river below.
This small—3.5 acre—park is home to a remnant upland prairie with limestone outcroppings. Off trail hiking is allowed, but please be careful to leave as little trace as possible. Ludwig Preserve is a great place to visit more than once a summer: each visit you will see a different explosion of colors thanks to the unique prairie wildflowers such as wild bergamot, rough blazing stars, leadplant, gray-headed coneflowers, and flowering spurge. Prairies are colorful places, and there’s no better place to see that than Ludwig Preserve.
Sindelar Wildlife Access contains one of the only healthy and naturally reproducing populations of native brook trout in northeast Iowa, a rarity that was once commonplace before European settlement. This 18-acre park has several trails along Casey Springs Creek that are great for birdwatching or angling.
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