Amie Takes A Hike: Pine Lake In Eldora Has A Ton Of Wildlife

I’m hiking every state park or other cool hiking place I can think of around my home state, to showcase the natural beauty Iowa has to offer. Follow along here, or on social media using #AmieTakesAHike, to pass along your suggestions and see where I’m headed next.

What’s better than a hike around a lake? A hike around TWO lakes, obviously.

Amie and Phoenix watch the water at Pine Lake State Park.

And while you can really only hike fully around one of them, Pine Lake State Park in Eldora still provides plenty of sunny and shady trails along the water. Pine Lake was formally dedicated in 1929 and is one of Iowa’s oldest state parks.

Also, the wildlife can’t be beat: White-tailed deer on one side and turtles sunning themselves on logs on the other, while chipmunks skitter across the trail and a cacophony of birds fills the air above? Yes, please!

This bright-green inchworm was awesome too.

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The hike

There are six official hiking trails at the 654-acre Pine Lake State Park, including one paved bicycle trail. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rates four of them, ranging between 0.3 to the 2.6-mile paved trail, as “easy,” and the remaining two as “moderate” difficulty (though one of those, the Beach Trail, is only one-tenth of a mile).

A partial map of Pine Lake State Park in Eldora.

The trails can take you down and around most of the park, including where it intersects with the Iowa River to the west.

We parked at Upper Pine Lake and followed the paved bike trail until it met up with the dirt South Trail, followed that around the south side of Lower Pine Lake to where it hooked back up with the paved trail and followed that back up. (Love a lake loop when I can get it!)

The South Trail is well maintained, though elevation changes mean you’ll be doing a fair amount of stairs up and down.

The smartwatch told me that was around 4 miles. And the South Trail’s elevation changes amounted to 17 flights of stairs climbed, too. It wasn’t too tough, but it was definitely plenty for a warm May morning.

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The sights and sounds

Maybe it’s because we went hiking on a not-busy Tuesday morning, but man, there was a TON of wildlife out and about—even with two of us stomping around behind an excitable dog.

Chipmunk, unbothered.

It was basically like winning the lottery. And most even stuck around for videos!

Turtle hanging out under the spillway.

Two white-tailed deer stopped to get a glimpse of us, three chipmunks passed us on the paved trail, vultures and big eagles flapped their wings on high tree branches, two red-eared slider turtles sunned themselves on a lake log, and another larger turtle waded underneath one of the spillways. Can’t forget to mention the Canada geese and other birds flying or walking about.

This one was curious!

What we saw blooming in late May: Light-purple Virginia waterleaf, deep-pink wild geranium, and red-orange western columbine in deep shade, according to the Seek app.

Wild geraniums pop in the otherwise green undergrowth.

Pine Lake used to boast a stand of “ancient” white pine that give it its namesake, the southernmost point white pine has been found—though apparently most were wiped out in an August 2009 hailstorm. The DNR is attempting to replant them.

Nevertheless, if you weren’t specifically looking for the white pine trees, you wouldn’t miss them. The park is otherwise covered in healthy deciduous trees (that are presumably better able to withstand Iowa’s tumultuous weather) providing plenty of shade for your lakeside hikes.

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The verdict

I like water, a woodsy hike, a loop, and plenty of flora and fauna, and Pine Lake hits all of those while being within an hour’s drive of Waterloo. Plus, I could (theoretically) go back and hit even more trails without retracing too many of my steps—we didn’t even see the Iowa River, for example!

The wide, well-maintained paved trail provides an easy walk or roll past both lakes, and even connects to the nearby town of Steamboat Rock for a 10-mile loop by bicycle. And the somewhat steep terrain on the dirt trails rewards hikers wanting more challenging terrain with gorgeous lake views.

Some stairs to climb on the South Trail.

Maybe the pines are gone (for now), but what a gem Hardin County still has in Pine Lake State Park.

By Amie Rivers
5/31/22

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