White-tail Trail

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · Swimming · Views · Wildlife

More information at:
iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/St…

Muddy spots during wet weather, mostly grass covered. Beware of ticks.

The following description assumes clockwise direction, but the trail may be taken either direction.

There is a place to park near the campground entrance just to the left of the start/finish markers. The trail mostly follows the lakeshore but veers away wherever side streams enter and go over dams meant to stop silt from entering the lake. It occasionally follows roads for short distances.

Through the day use area, hug the shoreline. Here's where you'll usually see the swans. Keep the restaurant and beach between you and the lake. At the marina, cross the parking lot and find the trail again behind a pit toilet at the far end of lot.

At the boat ramp by the dam, follow the driveway to the top of the hill near some cottages, then make a hard right. When I went, someone had parked a vehicle across this trail, which also serves as a driveway to two of the cottages.

Beyond here the trail splits, with the route I marked hugging the park boundary back to the campground. A longer alternative follows a portion of the lakeshore and rejoins the main trail near two small ponds enclosed within a fence. Finish by running across the campground back to your vehicle. Alternative parking is available at the top of the hill near the restaurant and marina and at the boat ramp near the dam.

You may see trumpeter swans that have been released in this area and also the trail's namesake deer.