Top Backpacking Trails in Iowa

Iowa has little backpacking, and this site covers only four trips. Two are in Yellow River State Forest in the northeast, where trails climb steep, wooded bluffs above trout streams near the Mississippi River. The DNR says the Yellow River State Forest Backpack Trail has five backpack areas, and Backpacker described a 14.3-mile loop in 2012, and the short walk to Camp Hennessy in the Paint Rock Unit is about 3 miles round trip. In southern Iowa, the Stephens State Forest Woodburn Backpack Trail has about 6 miles of rolling trail with five pack-in sites. In the west, Preparation Canyon State Park has ten hike-in sites on steep loess ridges, which the DNR calls some of the only hike-in sites in the state park system.

These are mostly short overnights at designated sites, not long wilderness routes. The DNR describes the backpack sites as first come, first served, with sign-in at Yellow River headquarters and self-registration at Preparation Canyon. Sites have fire rings but no restrooms, and drinking water is mostly at or near trailheads, so plan to carry it.

The DNR suggests late spring and early fall for Stephens, and warns of quick heat in spring and summer at Preparation Canyon. Hunting is allowed in the state forests, with deer and fall turkey seasons running from October into January, so wear blaze orange then. Trails can be muddy and creeks hard to cross after heavy rain. Check the DNR’s park alerts page before you go.