Overview
Plymouth County is the northernmost county on the Loess Hills Byway. In addition to traveling the Byway Spine, you can explore the Ridge Road Excursion Loop and the Butcher Road Connection. Click on the list to jump to each section.
Directions
When you arrive in Akron, look for information about the Loess Hills and the Byway on the information kiosk in the city park along Iowa Highway 12 on the city's north side. Although Akron is the northern anchor of Iowa's Loess Hills, you're no doubt looking around and wondering "What hills?"
If you watch as you drive south out of Akron on Iowa Highway 12, you will see them rise gently out of the relatively flat fields like gentle swells on the ocean on the east side of the highway within a couple miles of town. To the west you'll see the Big Sioux River, Iowa's boundary with South Dakota.
When you arrive in Westfield, the westernmost city in Iowa, be sure to follow the signs to the Loess Hills Interpretive Center which has new exhibits in a former one-room schoolhouse at Union and Linden Streets.
As you continue south on Highway 12, you will notice the Hills rise in height and become more sharply etched. Similarly, you will also that, at times, the highway lies on a narrow ledge of land between the base of the Hills and the Big Sioux River.
Attractions
Visit our page on Travel Iowa's website to learn more about attractions and amenities in Plymouth County.
Communities along the byway in Plymouth County include:
Hiking
Hillview Recreation Area
Located one mile west of Hinton on county road C60
Hillview is the hub of outdoor recreation opportunities in Plymouth County. The 275-acre Hillview Recreation Area contains a mixture of open grasslands, reconstructed prairie, woodlands, and wildlife habitat. Year around outdoor activities that are available include camping, both primitive and modern; camping cabins, picnicking, including shelters, fishing, swimming, hiking, horseback riding and cross country skiing over a network of trails that traverse the entire park; snow tubing; and hunting (October 15 through December 31) in a portion of the park set aside for this activity. Hillview is also the site of the county’s resident elk herd. Visit the herd during the fall or winter to see the majestic bull’s antlers.
Five Ridge Prairie Preserve
Located 7 miles south of Westfield on HWY 12(west entrance)
15561 260th St(east entrance)
The 964 acre Five Ridge Prairie, a dedicated state preserve in western Plymouth County, exemplifies the northern loess bluffs of western Iowa with a mixture of oak timbered valleys, native prairie ridge tops and west facing slopes. This unique loess landform site is home to several state threatened and endangered plant and animal species. It was also the site of the original wild turkey restoration stocking for Plymouth County. The public is invited to hike and enjoy Five Ridge year round.
Five Ridge Prairie offers new experiences during every season of the year. Pasque flowers are the first prairie wildflowers to bloom each spring, followed by the blues, yellows and oranges of all the other wildflowers that bloom throughout the remainder of the season. Each fall, the Ash and Cottonwood trees become ablaze in color, and the prairie turns a light golden color. After the leaves fall, you may be able catch a glimpse of the brilliantly colored bittersweet vine found sporadically in the trees. When
Five Ridge Prairie was dedicated into the State Preserve system in 1986, it was the largest state preserve in Iowa. As you walk along the ridge tops at Five Ridge, your keen eye may notice faint remnants of army foxholes. Five Ridge was once a training area for the Iowa Army National Guard until about 1984. You will also notice areas of Five Ridge that look different due the effects of our prescribed fire program. Fire is used as a management tool to deter woody plants such as sumac and dogwood from overcoming the prairie. Fire is used spring, summer and fall to produce different effects on the prairie and woodlands.
Biking
Several on-road routes are available through the Loess Hills in Plymouth County. Le Mars also has a trail. The planned PlyWood trail will connect Sioux City and Le Mars.
Plymouth County is the northernmost county on the Loess Hills Byway. In addition to traveling the Byway Spine, you can explore the Ridge Road Excursion Loop and the Butcher Road Connection. Click on the list to jump to each section.
Directions
When you arrive in Akron, look for information about the Loess Hills and the Byway on the information kiosk in the city park along Iowa Highway 12 on the city's north side. Although Akron is the northern anchor of Iowa's Loess Hills, you're no doubt looking around and wondering "What hills?"
If you watch as you drive south out of Akron on Iowa Highway 12, you will see them rise gently out of the relatively flat fields like gentle swells on the ocean on the east side of the highway within a couple miles of town. To the west you'll see the Big Sioux River, Iowa's boundary with South Dakota.
When you arrive in Westfield, the westernmost city in Iowa, be sure to follow the signs to the Loess Hills Interpretive Center which has new exhibits in a former one-room schoolhouse at Union and Linden Streets.
As you continue south on Highway 12, you will notice the Hills rise in height and become more sharply etched. Similarly, you will also that, at times, the highway lies on a narrow ledge of land between the base of the Hills and the Big Sioux River.
Attractions
Visit our page on Travel Iowa's website to learn more about attractions and amenities in Plymouth County.
Communities along the byway in Plymouth County include:
Hiking
Hillview Recreation Area
Located one mile west of Hinton on county road C60
Hillview is the hub of outdoor recreation opportunities in Plymouth County. The 275-acre Hillview Recreation Area contains a mixture of open grasslands, reconstructed prairie, woodlands, and wildlife habitat. Year around outdoor activities that are available include camping, both primitive and modern; camping cabins, picnicking, including shelters, fishing, swimming, hiking, horseback riding and cross country skiing over a network of trails that traverse the entire park; snow tubing; and hunting (October 15 through December 31) in a portion of the park set aside for this activity. Hillview is also the site of the county’s resident elk herd. Visit the herd during the fall or winter to see the majestic bull’s antlers.
Five Ridge Prairie Preserve
Located 7 miles south of Westfield on HWY 12(west entrance)
15561 260th St(east entrance)
The 964 acre Five Ridge Prairie, a dedicated state preserve in western Plymouth County, exemplifies the northern loess bluffs of western Iowa with a mixture of oak timbered valleys, native prairie ridge tops and west facing slopes. This unique loess landform site is home to several state threatened and endangered plant and animal species. It was also the site of the original wild turkey restoration stocking for Plymouth County. The public is invited to hike and enjoy Five Ridge year round.
Five Ridge Prairie offers new experiences during every season of the year. Pasque flowers are the first prairie wildflowers to bloom each spring, followed by the blues, yellows and oranges of all the other wildflowers that bloom throughout the remainder of the season. Each fall, the Ash and Cottonwood trees become ablaze in color, and the prairie turns a light golden color. After the leaves fall, you may be able catch a glimpse of the brilliantly colored bittersweet vine found sporadically in the trees. When
Five Ridge Prairie was dedicated into the State Preserve system in 1986, it was the largest state preserve in Iowa. As you walk along the ridge tops at Five Ridge, your keen eye may notice faint remnants of army foxholes. Five Ridge was once a training area for the Iowa Army National Guard until about 1984. You will also notice areas of Five Ridge that look different due the effects of our prescribed fire program. Fire is used as a management tool to deter woody plants such as sumac and dogwood from overcoming the prairie. Fire is used spring, summer and fall to produce different effects on the prairie and woodlands.
Biking
Several on-road routes are available through the Loess Hills in Plymouth County. Le Mars also has a trail. The planned PlyWood trail will connect Sioux City and Le Mars.
mAP
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