The Top 20 Natural Monuments in Iowa
Iowa’s landscape is a beautiful place to explore — something that you can best experience by visiting one of our 20
beautiful natural monuments in Iowa. To help you find the one for, you can see all the details you need to explore the best natural monuments, and better plan your next outdoor adventure!
beautiful natural monuments in Iowa. To help you find the one for, you can see all the details you need to explore the best natural monuments, and better plan your next outdoor adventure!
Last updated: October 7, 2025
Park in the gravel area just south of the entrance to Dunning’s Spring Park. Walk to the waterfall and be sure to take time to walk across the stone bridge …
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About 465 to 470 million years ago, a meteorite struck near present-day Decorah, Iowa, creating a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) wide impact crater buried beneath the city's surface.
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Park anywhere along Twin Springs Road and follow the stream “up river” until the stream disappears into the ground—you have found the source of Twin Springs! Twin Springs park used …
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The visitor center is a great place to begin your exploration of Effigy Mounds National Park. There is an exhibit that describes the natural and human history of the area. …
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Mount Hosmer is a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River near Lansing, Iowa. It offers views of the town of Lansing, the Blackhawk Bridge, and the vast expanse of the Mississippi …
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The hike to Nazekaw Point from the Effigy Mounds National Monument visitor center is 2 miles roundtrip, 350 feet elevation gain, 1 hour. This hike features a view of the …
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This is an easily accessible viewpoint of the Mississippi River Valley in Pikes Peak State Park near McGregor, Iowa.
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Cold Water Creek is a spring creek in Winneshiek County that flows into a limestone formation, continues through an underground labyrinth of limestone passages, and then reemerges from a limestone …
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The Yellow River Boardwalk Trail leads down the hill from the Effigy Mounds National Monument visitor center, through a tunnel under State Highway 76, through a riparian wetland, and onto …
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Here is a great view of the Mississippi River Vally from a blufftop in the Effigy Mounds National Monument. You can see Pikes Peak State Park far to the south and Prairie du Chien across the river in Wisconsin.
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Extend your search for the best caves by checking out these guides of the top ones in Iowa:
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