Loess Hills Scenic Byway
Places to Visit

  • Broken Kettle Grasslands (IA)

    The preserve is half prairie and constitutes the largest remnant of the prairie that once covered most of Iowa.

  • California National Historic Trail (IA)

    See where the California National Historic Trail begins from the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.

  • Council Bluffs (IA)

    Amid the Loess Hills and next to the Missouri River, this city has a rich past.

  • DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (IA)

    Each spring and fall, 500,000-plus snow geese and other waterfowl pause here for a few weeks while migrating.

    Directions: Take Exit 75 (Highway 30 West) to the refuge. (It is on the south side of the highway.)

  • Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center (IA)

    The center has live animal displays, hands-on exhibits, a butterfly garden, and a walk-through exhibit showing life under the prairie.

  • Five Ridge Prairie (IA)

    This is one of the best sites of unbroken prairie remnants in the State of Iowa.

    Directions: Leave Highway 12 at K 18 (north). The entrance to the Five Ridge Prairie Preserve is about a mile north of K 18 via 260th Street, a dirt road.

  • General Dodge House (IA)

    This is an 1869 brick Victorian home of Civil War General and railroad builder, Grenville Dodge, who directed construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

  • Glenwood Lake Park (IA)

    East of downtown, this city park features a pond with waterfowl, playground equipment, the 750-seat, open air Davies Amphitheater, and the Mills County Historical Museum.

  • Harrison County Historical Village and Iowa Welcome Center (IA)

    The village has agricultural displays, Indian artifacts, and 9 historical buildings.

  • Hitchcock Nature Center (IA)

    This nature preserve, located north of Crescent, features woodlands and restored and native prairies.

    Directions: Take the Crescent exit, a few miles east of Omaha, Nebraska, a few miles north of Council Bluffs off of Interstate 680. Take Hwy 988 east into Crescent. From Crescent, take the Old Lincoln Hwy. north and watch for the Hitchcock Nature Area sign on the left.