Eldridge

Mississippi Palisades State Park

Johnson-Sauk Trail State Recreation Area

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Ice Age National Scenic Trail

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Draco Hill Nature Farm

A convenient 7 miles north of Interstate 80 but feels like an oasis away from it all. Summer has begun! The prairie is starting to flower, the mulberries are just finishing up and black raspberries are coming on in the woods for you to forage. Please take a taste and leave the rest for others to enjoy. There have also been black bear sightings in Cedar County! If one decides to visit, please steer clear of it. They are NOT as cute as they look, especially if you get between them and their food or cubs!

This year, Draco Hill Nature Farm is hosting free events you can join in on when you camp. Coming up is a night time bug show and talk July 12 and prairie walks in August and September. See Dracohill.org/events for details. Make it part of your camping experience or sign up for your own private sustainable agriculture tour under "Extras."

Enjoy nature in a private, wooded river valley setting. Go to sleep under the stars to the sound of frogs, cicadas, coyotes, deer and the rustling wind through the tallgrass prairie. Wake to an amazing sunrise over the river. Enjoy a hike through our 4 miles of trails on 75 acres of rolling woodlands and prairie, picking berries, finding mushrooms, scaring up a turkey or pheasant in the brush or listening to the birds. (Pull out your Merlin app to see who's singing!) Play in the river or upland pond, cut cattails and prairie grasses for souvenirs and enjoy being unplugged for a while. Your hosts are here if you need us, but we leave you to enjoy this beautiful place at your own pace.

NOTE: It's raining more this summer than it has in 4 year so bring insect repellant. Poison ivy is also very prevalent. We spray chemicals as little as possible for your safety and the benefit of the environment so wear long pants in the woods and be vigilant around your campsite. We use TecNu - a product we scrub on and wash off if we get into poison ivy by mistake and it has kept us from any major outbreaks.

The prairie is full of flowers once summer is in full swing! A wildlife photographer's paradise. 

Take a hike in the woods and enjoy the cool green smells of summer. 

The timber shows off its own flowers at certain times of year. 

Use your Merlin app to identify birds in the prairie. Here's a sample from one evening in May.

Some of our Big Blue Stem grows to 9 feet by August. See what it felt like to walk through native grasses and not see someone just a few feet away!

Deer, turkeys, pheasants, owls, hawks, bald eagles are all regulars!

Visit the upland pond for a cool dunk on a hot day. Treat yourself to cattails if you know what to do with them!

Potable water

Showers

Trash

Avalon Unity Garden

This garden is intended to help people connect to Mother Earth. There is room for yoga or meditation with the plants. You can sleep in a tent, or your vehicle. 

It has a walkable spiral, an 18’ Mother Earth sculpture, an earth lodge for ceremonies and a hexagon swing area. It’s located in a very small farm community. We are about a mile from the Hennepin canal where you can walk, fish or canoe.

Lots of space to pitch a tent, do yoga, meditate, or dance in the moonlight.

The vines are growing up this structure for shade while sitting at table

This area is loaded with lots of flowers and medical plants.

The table is open for communal use. The RV can also be rented.

Froggy Bottom Hideaway

Learn more about this land:

This property sits next to the 2200 acre Princeton Refuge and Wildlife Management System. It's approximately 1/2 mile away from the back-waters of the Mississippi River and just down river from the Wapsipinicon River and the Eco Center at Rock River Campground near Camanche, IA.  

Bring your water toys, there is plenty of on-site parking for trailers.  You'll have easy access to Steamboat Island, and the shores of Princeton Beach.  Six miles of walking trails next to the Mississippi backwaters is relaxing and full of wildlife and fauna in the warm months, and serene and peaceful in the cooler months. Beauty abounds!

Things to do:

Hiking - Mostly flat, lightly manicured trails.

Biking - There are gravel roads and lightly manicured trails.

Fishing - Full access to the nearby Mississippi River

Boating- Public boat ramp is 1/2 mile away and has nearby parking

Hunting - Public hunting areas are nearby. Guns are not allowed inside the cabin.

Shooting - Public shooting range is nearby. Guns are not allowed inside the cabin.

Eco Center at Rock River Campground - https://www.mycountyparks.com/county/clinton/content/Mississippi-River-Eco-Tourism-Center.aspx

Kayak Rentals - Eco Center at Rock Creek Campground, and Princeton Outdoor Adventures

Princeton Wildlife Management Area is considered an Iowa State Park and features year round activities.

Miss Effie's Country Flowers



Ms. Effie’s Flower Farm is a gated you pick flower farm located in beautiful rural countryside. Peace and tranquillity is what you will find when you are surrounded by amazing flowers and rolling farm fields. The cornzebo is a unique gathering spot with romantic lighting and comfortable seating. It’s a great place to watch the sun come up! The fire pit is also available for use.

Site from a distance. Enjoying cat company. 

1860's Botanical Paradise


Happy to announce we’ve won 2nd best property to visit in Iowa! We hope to keep striving and adding more amenities as we go! Thank you to our wonderful guests and hello to future guests! 👋🏽 

Built in 1860 by its first caretaker botanist, this homestead was propagated over its many years of life and is busting at the seams with medicinal and edible herbs. We now run a flower farm and vegetable gardens on our homestead.  If you’d like to learn about herbs or gardening/ homesteading, we love sharing our knowledge. 

  If you’d just like some farm fresh eggs for breakfast and enjoy your time alone amongst the songbirds, that's just fine too :)

The property is built into the stone hillside allowing for breathtaking views but also stairs to get to the campsites. Please wear comfortable shoes (not flip flops 😉). If you have mobility issues property access will be difficult. Please no children under 5. 

                                                !CLASSES!

We run our small school/business: HOMESTEAD and HAMMER from the property and are bringing classes to YOU!  Look in the "EXTRAS" for classes you can partake in on your visit OR for more information on what's included on class weekends check out our website below! Classes include, forAging wild edibles, mushroom identification, homesteading skills, soap making, forging metals and many more! 

Website: www.homesteadandhammer.com

*For guest and host safety property managed 24-7 by video and security services*

Arial shot from my husbands helicopter of bellevue area 

Main campground. The “rainforest” we call it. Lots of low ivy and birds galore. 

Maquoketa caves state park. Local: 20mi away 

Drying flowers from the homestead for our homemade bath products. 

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