The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is working to designate nearly 200 miles of the Little Sioux River as the Inkpaduta Canoe Trail, to improve access, recreation opportunities and safety along the river.
The IDNR release says the Water Trails Program would fit well on the river, which enters Iowa at the north in Dickinson County and flows south down to Woodbury County.
The state agency is working with seven county conservation boards to finalize plans, according to the Inkpaduta Canoe Trail Facebook page. Additionally, Iowans can weigh in through an online public survey that opened in August.
County conservation boards first dedicated the Inkpaduta Canoe Trail route in the 1980s. At the time, that initiative was the earliest organized water trail effort and predated Iowa’s official Water TrailsProgram.
Passing through Little Sioux River valley towns such as Correctionville and Peterson, the river is home to rare prairie birds, remnant oak savannas and archaeological sites tied to the Mill Creek culture and other indigenous people.
If the project gets traction, some changes along the river could include more access points, plus primitive so-called “paddle in” campsites, which can only be reached by water, for people who want to pursue multi‑day trips along the Inpaduta Canoe Trail.
The seven counties involved with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are Dickinson, Clay, O’Brien, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Ida and Woodbury counties
