Walking and Hiking Trails

If you plan to set out walking in Lansing Iowa one of the best spots is right along The River. Great views and level walking make this a favorite and feel free to sit and relax anyplace that you see a bench as that is generally City property.

Another easy walk that innkeeper Frank Ebersold suggests to his guests at Thornton House B&B in Lansing is to walk down Diagonal St. from the B&B toward The River. At the end of Diagonal St. you can enjoy the view then look straight down the hill and you will see a ‘green space’ , about 40′ wide, maintained by the city and accessible by all. Continue down this green space and about halfway down you will see the stairs to ease your descent down to Highway #26. Cross Highway #26 and continue down to The River and then right (walking south) and you will see Main St. Continue up Main St and note many of the historical buildings that line Main St.

Less than 5 minutes from The Thornton House B&B, you will find Mt. Hosmer (Main and 6th St) which has 3 walking trails that offer excellent vistas over Lansing and The River. These trails are generally shorter trails and most can be walked in less than 15 minutes to an hour depending on the trail you choose. Recently, the Mt. Hosmer trails have been mapped and you can now click here to see amazing virtual tour detail of the Mt. Hosmer trails. A screen shot of some of what you will find on the website link is below:

 

If you want something more, Effigy mounds State Park (about 30 minutes south of Lansing is a State Park with ranger guided tours and well worth investigating.It is named after the mounds the Indians constructed in the shapes of animal effigies.

Yellow River State Forest is also an exceptional park with a beautiful lake/lagoon that also offers hiking trails and caters to guests that may also bring horses for riding the trails. This link also has details on area creeks and ponds at the bottom of the page.