Ida County: Nature, Forests, and Trails

Ida County offers a variety of outdoor and recreational highlights: forest and hiking trails at Moorehead Park, Crawford Creek Lake for recreation and fishing, and the paved Pleasant Valley Trail around Ida Grove. When planning your trip, you can decide whether you prefer hiking trails, recreation by the water, or a paved route with multiple access points.

Forest and Trails

Moorehead Park is the largest contiguous forested area in Ida County and has eight miles of hiking trails. The park combines a woodland setting with a clearly defined hiking offering, making it a good starting point when planning time outdoors. A pedestrian bridge gives hikers, cyclists, and skaters access to Moorehead Park in Ida County from the Ida Grove area.

The Pleasant Valley Trail is a paved recreational trail that loops around Ida Grove and has numerous access points. Compared with Moorehead Park, the main differences are the surface and route: here, a paved trail loops around Ida Grove, while the focus there is on forest and eight miles of hiking trails. The many access points also give you several possible starting places to consider when planning your route.

Lake, Park, and Landscape

Crawford Creek Lake is a 62-acre lake for recreation and fishing. Crawford Creek Recreation Area is a modern 252-acre park and has camper cabins. The acreage figures show a clear difference in size: the park area is more than four times the size of the lake. The described activities also differ: recreation and fishing are the focus at the lake, while the recreation area features park grounds and camper cabins.

Fairview Pioneer Cemetery is located on one acre of native tallgrass prairie. By contrast, the Rich Smith Wildlife Habitat Area focuses on long-term preservation as wildlife habitat. To protect its integrity, only nature-friendly recreation is allowed; public-use facilities are not permitted there. These two places therefore differ from forest and lake destinations: at Fairview, the prairie is the cemetery’s setting, while the central purpose of the Rich Smith Wildlife Habitat Area is long-term habitat protection.

History and Regional Products in Ida Grove

In Ida Grove, the historic Stagecoach Inn served as the city’s first hospital. This historical connection adds a specific former role in the city’s history to the trails and natural attractions.

The 2nd & Main Farmers Market in Ida Grove offers another local connection through food and production. Only products made in Iowa are sold there, particularly those from Ida County or the neighboring counties of Cherokee, Crawford, Buena Vista, Woodbury, Monona, and Carroll. This means the products’ regional origins extend beyond Ida County into the neighboring counties. The mix of vendors may change.

Discover more destinations: Ida Grove, Holstein, Audubon, Winnebago County, Lucas County, Guthrie, Cedar, Hancock County

For the broader travel overview: Iowa.