Waubonsie State Park

Waubonsie State Park Was Opened In 1926, Making It Among The First Of The Iowa State Parks

Opened in 1926 Waubonsie is located in the very south west corner of Iowa and covers around 2,000 acres of land close to the famous rodeo town of Sidney.

The park is situated on an unusual geographic landform which is found only along the Missouri River in Iowa, the state of Missouri and in the country of China.

The Valley Of The Missouri River

This landform is called Loess Hills and is formed of silt, clay and fine sand which was deposited as the glaciers melted thousands of years ago.

Strong winds then blew these fine particles and dropped them on the steep slopes of the eastern valley. Later erosion of these deposits has produced a "badlands" effect.

Loess Hills In Iowa

A recent addition to the Waubonsie State Park is the WaShawtee unit which contains the seven acre Lake Virginia which has been well stocked with largemouth bass, catfish and blugill. There is a boat ramp on the lake and canoeists and kayakers find it exciting to explore.

The park has an extensive network of trails for both hikers and riders and during the winter months they are often used by snowmobilers. In all, there are seven miles of trails for hikers and another eight miles dedicated to horse back riders.

The Sunset Ridge Nature Trail takes visitors through a hardwood forest before emerging onto a prairie ridge that has superb views over the Missouri River valley.

There are interpretive signs along the trail pointing out important trees and plants as well as describing the history of the area. Waubonsie is on part of the historic Lewis and Clark Trail.

With the addition of the WaShawtee unit, eight rental cabins of various sizes have been added to the choice of accommodation at the park. Contact the park for details and availability. (See the contact details below.)

Camping at Waubonsie State Park is very popular and there are forty sites, twenty four of them have electric hookups. There are also modern restrooms with showers.

The Rodeo Town Of Sidney, Only Six Miles From Waubonsie S.P.

A seperate equestrian campground has 32 sites with horse stalls but no electric hookups and the restroom facilities are described as "non-modern."

However, despite its basic facilities equestrian camping is extremely popular at Waubonsie because of the wonderful trails. It is even busier than usual during the month of July when the nearby town of Sidney, Iowa which is only six miles to the north, holds the largest continuous outdoor rodeo in the country.

This is the position of Waubonsie S.P. indicated with a star on a county map of Iowa.