Wapsipinicon State Park

Wapsipinicon State Park, a 394-acre park south of Anamosa, Iowa, occupies a wooded corridor along the sandstone and limestone bluffs of the Wapsipinicon River and is also recognized as a historic district. Citizens bought the first 180 acres in 1921 to prevent logging, and the park was dedicated in 1923, making it one of Iowa’s oldest state parks. Pre-Columbian archaeological sites give the land a deeper human history. In the 1920s and 1930s, prisoners from the nearby Anamosa State Penitentiary built much of its Rustic-style stonework, roads, and bridges. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, it preserves natural scenery, archaeology, and distinctive park design together.

Iowa · United States