Seth Brooks grew up in Nebraska, not too far from the Loess Hills, and he was aware of the bluffs along the road driving on Interstate 29. But it wasn't until he moved back from overseas to the Midwest during the pandemic that he started experiencing them himself, going on hikes to get exercise instead of going to the gym.
"I started going hiking a lot," Brooks said. "And then I found myself spending a lot of time trying to find out where to go."
He submitted a proposal to produce a hiking guide for the region, but his publisher said it was too small of an area to focus on, so Brooks instead wrote hiking guides on Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. Then in 2022, he joined the Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development staff as the outdoor recreation and tourism program coordinator.
"It's always been a dream of Lance Brisbois, who's our executive director, to produce the Loess Hills Hiking Guide. So it was kind of a perfect kind of match. After a few years we finally got some funding, and we're here with the Loess Hills Hiking Guide."
Brooks hiked well over 200 miles to make this guide, all while carrying a selfie stick with a 360-degree camera on it. The result is a 50-page, 5 by 7-inch paper guide detailing 20 locations to hike and explore, plus an interactive online map.
What makes the Loess Hills so special
The hills were formed at the end of the last Ice Age as glaciers ground the soil and rock underneath them. The glaciers retreated and the soil became very light.
"Almost akin to what you would consider flour," said Tyler Ruge, a park ranger and event coordinator with Monona County Conservation. "And the wind blew it up, deposited it and we only see this land formation to this depth here in Iowa. It does extend into South Dakota and down into Missouri, but the majority of it's here in Iowa, so we got the vast majority of the unique landscape."
Ruge said the hills are 200 to 300 feet taller than the surrounding flood plains.
Much of the land remained preserved because it wasn't great for farming. Ruge said the steep terrain would be difficult to run plows or tractors over.
"The hills kind of protect themselves a little bit," he said.
The Loess Hills Prairie Seminar comes to the area each year for sessions on conservation and environmental challenges and solutions. Participants also explore the local landscape and interact with the native wildlife. But Brooks and Ruge said they want a broader group of people to appreciate this ecosystem and traverse it themselves.
"Being from the area, I never had that unique appreciation for how interesting this place is, ecologically speaking," said Ruge. "Trying to get that word out, let people know 'Hey, this area is pretty neat.' You don't always have to travel hundreds of miles away to find something new and exciting in nature, you might have it in your backyard."
Ruge added that as more people hike the area and start to care about it personally, the more investment there will be in preserving it.
Where to start
The hiking guide organizes the different locations by region, and Brooks shared one of his favorite spots from each region on Talk of Iowa.
Northern Loess Hills: Southwood Conservation Area
Visitors can camp, fish and ride horses in this area near Sioux City.
"When I went there to do the trail mapping last October, it was just spectacular (the fall colors)," Brooks said. "There's actually quite good diversity of tree species there, so you can see a different color palette than you might see in other parts of the Loess Hills. And the trails there are very well maintained by Woodbury County Conservation."
Central Loess Hills: Sylvan Runkel State
The Sylvan Runkel State Preserve is where many of the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar events happen, and there is a special feature at this sight.
"There you can see the iconic cat steps that you find in the Loess Hills, which are just a natural formation," Brooks said. "You might think they're made by cows, but it's just kind of the Loess soil sloughing down the hill."
Southern Loess Hills: Folsom Point
About 15 minutes from the Council Bluffs metro, this preserve doesn't have any maintained trails, but there are well-worn foot trails that lead to amazing sights.
"This is one of the largest remnant prairies in the Southern Loess Hills," Brooks said. "It's a little steep to get up to the ridge, but once you get up along the footpath, the views are just are spectacular."
To hear this conversation, listen to Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe. Dani Gehr produced this episode.
