Pikes Peak State Park near McGregor, Iowa, is centered on a 500-foot bluff overlooking the Upper Mississippi River at the meeting of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers. Covering nearly 1,000 acres, it takes its name from Iowa’s own Pikes Peak, named for Zebulon Pike. During his first expedition in 1805, Pike camped nearby, climbed the bluff while seeking a fort site, and praised its level summit, spring, and commanding view. Because much of the land was never cleared for settlement, the park still preserves a landscape close to its pre-settlement condition within a larger protected corridor of natural areas.