Rail Explorers Boone
$50+Pedal-powered railbike rides through the Des Moines River valley beside the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad.

Photo: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Iowa state park known for sandstone cliffs above Peas Creek, hiking trails, and 1930s CCC stonework.
1515 P Ave. Madrid, IA 50156 · Madrid, IA
Ledges State Park sits in Boone County and centers on a sandstone gorge cut by Peas Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River. A network of about four miles of trails crosses steep slopes and overlooks, and the cliffs rise roughly 100 feet above the river. Visitors can see numerous structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, including a stone bridge over the creek. The park also offers an accessible interpretive trail to Lost Lake, a campground with renovated sites and modern facilities, and picnic shelters that can be reserved.
The closest stops to Ledges State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Pedal-powered railbike rides through the Des Moines River valley beside the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad.
5.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours
A university-owned public garden on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, with year-round events and a tropical butterfly house.
12 mi awayMore like this
Ride a tractor cart between working farms of 1700, 1850 and 1900 and walk the shops of an 1876 prairie town.
26 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
A northwest Iowa state park known for bluffs, ravines, and trails above the Des Moines River.
29 mi awayMore like this
Open-air outlet shopping center in Altoona, Iowa, with discounted brand-name stores and dining.
30 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
Step inside an 80-foot geodesic dome conservatory, then stroll 12 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens on the Des Moines River next to downtown.
30 mi awayMore like this