pilot knob state park

Lots of land to hike through. The tower is fun to climb for a lookout. There is a bog that is a unique habitat in Iowa where a special flowering plant grows-forgot the name, but its rare. There is tent and rv camping and rustic bathrooms. Lots of picnic spots and a few shelters sprinkled around the park. The Local DNR specialist gave our girl scout troop a special hike and one of the highlight was examining some owl pellets together. Nice and quiet.

Took a day trip there to look at the changing leaves. Have been there several times but not recently until this time. They cut a lot of trees away around the tower which is good for the viewing but looks like nothing but thistles has grown back around the tower. Great view of the surrounding area, could see the cement plant in Mason City which is almost 30 miles away.Word of warning, the restroom is rustic, i.e a hole that goes into a pit. Smelled pretty bad on the somewhat cool day we were there, hate to guess what it would smell like on a 90 deg. day.

They have bike trails and horse trails. Plus you can drive through the park as well. The observation tower is nice and the view is awesome. A local stargazing group has meeting there as well. It is a good walk up to the tower so you must be able to walk to it. And if traveling in the warm months please use mosquito repellant before getting out of your car....this area has lots of the critters.

Beautiful Park to drive through. Nice camping sites. Horseback trails, and the tower to climb to see the surrounding area.

We spent the afternoon at Pilot Knob State Park. It was a perfect fall afternoon; and the bugs weren't bad at all (didn't even notice any).Park entrance is FREE! We started out with a hike around Dead Man's Lake. It's really more like a small marsh, but it's a nice hike. The trail skirts the lake/marsh, and goes through the woods. About half way around the trail there's another trail that branches off to a bigger pond/lake. Look for the bench, and take the trail up the hill if you want to go to the bigger lake. There were many geese on the bigger lake.After the lake hike, we drove to the tower. It's just a short (but uphill) walk from the parking area to the tower. Unfortunately, the steps going up the tower were closed (boarded over) due to reconstruction work on the tower. The view from the bottom of the tower was worth it anyway.Next we drove through the campground (rustic but nice) and then stopped at an area near the campground. This area had a few ponds and hiking trails. I hiked a around a pond and then into the woods. Very nice and peaceful. We saw many turtles in the ponds.There are a few vault toilets and picnic tables in the park. There's also a shelter house.

The area is nestled among trees and shade important for a summer visit. There are walking trails and the tower built in the 1930s is a pleasant walk to beautiful scenic views.

I love the 360 views from the top. It is also fun to take the paths that are available. It is goregous in the fall with the variety of color available. Definitey a beautiful photo op!

Good hiking trails and decent biking. The Knob offers a great view of surrounding Terrain.

Looking for a fun "day trip" Check out Pilot Knob State Park near Forest City, Iowa. Nice hiking and quite a nice view.

The hiking trails with gentle slopes are available all winter for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. I love beauty of the three bridges trail to the amphitheater. The sight from the tower (second highest point in Iowa) is spectacular on a clear day; however be careful coming down the trail on skis. If you are lucky, you'll see white-tailed deer and wild turkeys.

Clean and beautiful camp ground... the showers on the other hand were ice cold. They got the job done however and we enjoyed our stay! Far enough from town to enjoy the outdoors and great trails, but close enough to grab anything you might need for a meal or daily activities.