Pikes Peak State Park

Pikes Peak State Park
Observation platform overlooking the Mississippi River
Location of Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa
Location	Clayton, Iowa, United States
Coordinates	42°59′49″N 91°9′49″W / 42.99694°N 91.16361°W / 42.99694; -91.16361Coordinates: 42°59′49″N 91°9′49″W / 42.99694°N 91.16361°W / 42.99694; -91.16361
Area	960 acres (390 ha)[1]
Elevation	994 ft (303 m)[2]
Established	1935
Named for	Zebulon Pike
Governing body	Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Pikes Peak State Park is a state park of Iowa, US, featuring a 500-foot (150 m) bluff overlooking the Upper Mississippi River opposite the confluence of the Wisconsin River. The park is operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. It is nearly a thousand acres (4 km²) in extent. The nearest city is McGregor, Iowa. Iowa Highway 76 approximately defines its northern boundary.

It gets its name from the Iowa incarnation of Pikes Peak, a particularly high point overlooking the gorge of the Upper Mississippi, and like Pikes Peak in Colorado, is named for Zebulon Pike.

There are hiking trails, campgrounds, and RV facilities. Mountain bikes are permitted in certain portions of the park. Aside from recreational development, the land in the park was never cleared and to a large extent remains as it was before the settlers.

It is part of a larger complex of parks, reserves, and refuges which include Effigy Mounds National Monument, the various components of the Yellow River State Forest, the enormous Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and much smaller, much less well known Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge. The Northeast Iowa Legacy Trail System is undergoing development and will connect elements of these sites.

It is nearby State Line Slough (Iowa).

See also[]

• Pikes Peak

Sources[]

• Geology of Pikes Peak State Park

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pikes Peak State Park.

• Pikes Peak State Park