Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt

Modern and primitive camping, enclosed rental shelter, canoe rental, hunting, fishing, trap range, dog training, picnic areas, hiking, wildlife. Ten square miles of beautiful prairie, woodlands and wetlands along the Skunk River. Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt stretches for almost ten miles along the Skunk River in northeast Polk County. Chichaqua's recreational facilities include electric and non-electric campsites, bird blind, canoe rental, picnic areas, rental lodge, hiking trails, trap shooting range, wildlife viewing platform, dog training area, and waterfowl hunting blinds. Reservations for the Longhouse and some campsites can be made on-line at www.mycountyparks.com. The on-line reservation rate for electric is $25, non-electric is $20, and youth group sites are $25. Online reservations are available for camping between April 15 and October 15. When the Conservation Board first acquired property for the area in 1960, its intention was to preserve and restore the old oxbows of the original Skunk River channel. The area's natural features include old oxbow river channels and backwaters, marshes, and wetlands. Chichaqua also includes sandy upland hills with reconstructed prairies and native prairie remnants. In 1910, a 100-foot long Warren pony truss was constructed to span the Skunk River about a mile south of its current site. The bridge was used until 1992 when it was moved to its present location at Chichaqua. It is one of the only 17 remaining bridges in Iowa of this design. The bridge is now restricted to foot traffic and crosses the old Skunk River.