March 10, 2026.
6.5 mi. | 690′ ele. gain | 3:15 hr.
We made a last minute detour to Ledges State Park in Iowa, where we camped for a night. Before settling in to our site, we wandered around and discovered a Lichen Trail! I’d never seen an interpretive trail dedicated solely to lichen, so we followed it and I took pictures of all the signs. I made a goal to find as many different lichens as I could during the next day’s hike.
My second goal with my hike at this tiny park was to make the biggest possible loop using their 4-mile trail system. That effort got me 6.5 miles, which around here is kind of a big deal. From the day use area near the main entrance, I hiked the Oak Woods Trail to the Hog’s Back and down to the river. The, I walked the road to the Lost Lake Interpretive Trail. After circling the lake, I returned the way I came to finish the main park trails, Crow’s Nest and Old Indian. This route let me sample a variety of habitats, see different rock formations, spend time on the water and ramble up and down steep staircases. All in all, a lovely way to spend a few hours.
I anticipated, based on my last hike, that I’d have to deal with muddy trails and some water crossings. So, despite the cold March temperatures, I decided to wear my Bedrock sandals for this adventures. I figured enough layers on top would keep me plenty warm. Besides, the sun was out.
As expected, the prairie was soaking wet. Though the water was frigid, the sun felt warm and the birdsong made my heart happy. I walked through tall grasses into the forest, where I started my lichen search. At its simplest, a lichen is an organism usually made of two parts: a fungus and an alga. Together, they exist in a colony that takes on a particular form, color and texture. Some form branching patters, others grow like a crust and some appear leafy. And there are zillions of different kinds. The lichen trail in this small park described nearly 25 species and that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg! I was happy to log just a few of these on my hike.
The birds also caught my attention. I got to watch a few charismatic red-headed woodpeckers on the ground and hear the exuberant call of a pileated woodpecker flying through the forest. No matter the place or season, there’s a bird or two to be observed.
For Iowa, this park offered quite a bit of topography. Far from being flat, the trails went up and down regularly, following stone and wooden stairways built by the CCC in the 1930’s. In March, with the leaves off the trees, I got a nice view through the bare trunks. Finally, near the end of my hike, I reached the marquis “ledges” that the park is named for. Here, sandstone bluffs stand above the sinuous creek that cuts through the park. I noticed some interesting shapes within the sandstone that reminded me of concretions I’d seen in Utah, but I couldn’t find more information about them online.
The water here was overflowing into the road/walking path, but I was able to maneuver around it on some nicely placed flat stones that I assumed were set there for this purpose. At this point I saw a few families enjoying a picnic in the grassy area below the ledges. It’s quite a nice little park, and I imagine it gets lots of use in the hot, Iowa summer. But on this March day, it was the perfect little outing for me, filled with nature’s curiosities and a diversity of landscapes.