Anyone been to Neil Smith Nat'l Wildlife Refugee? (Pella, Prairie City: theater, gardens)

[metro223]

Apparently this is supposed to be a huge preserve of the native tallgrass prairie of Iowa... they have bison and elk. It's just east of Polk Co. by Prairie City.

I've been wanting to go check it out, but I figured I might as well see if anyone on here has been there and if they thought it was a neat place, or have any recommendations on what areas to go. Yes - this may seem 'boring' to some but I like this type of stuff.

Thanks!

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by metro223

Apparently this is supposed to be a huge preserve of the native tallgrass prairie of Iowa... they have bison and elk. It's just east of Polk Co. by Prairie City.

I've been wanting to go check it out, but I figured I might as well see if anyone on here has been there and if they thought it was a neat place, or have any recommendations on what areas to go. Yes - this may seem 'boring' to some but I like this type of stuff.

Thanks!

A friend of mine has taken his son out there a few times and they like it. I've been kind of curious about the place myself.

[metro223]

I checked it out a little bit online ... looks like they have a modern 'learning center' which is very nice. I'm sure it's geared more towards kids but I still think it would be ineteresting. I'll probably wait until things get more green to check it out.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by metro223

I checked it out a little bit online ... looks like they have a modern 'learning center' which is very nice. I'm sure it's geared more towards kids but I still think it would be ineteresting. I'll probably wait until things get more green to check it out.

Do they have any extensive trails there? If it's a place you could reasonable spend a couple hours wondering around, that could be cool. If it's just a couple acres, some critters and a "learning center", I don't know about that.

[metro223]

Here's a pic of the 'learning center' i found online.. looks like it has cool architecture if you look at it close.


"8000 acres of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna, the native plant and animal communities existing in central Iowa prior to Euro-American settlement in the 1840's."

"he Prairie Learning Center facilities include a visitor center with book store, theater, classrooms and exhibit area. Miles of trails radiate from the Center. In addition, an 800 acre drive-through bison enclosure is also open"

(quotes from this article)
Midest Region Refuge System

Sounds like I'm going to have to check it out.

[LPerkins33]

it is one of my favorite places in Iowa. The other being Lacey Keosauqua State Park. Check yourself for ticks afterward though.

[El Rhino]

After reading up a bit on it, it does look pretty cool. If you're out that way, Yellow Banks in the SE corner of Polk County has a nice Oak Savannah trail.

I recently purchased a decent camera, maybe one of these days soon I'll make a day of Neal Smith, Red Rock and maybe Pella trying it out.

[jmmather]

We have taken our grand kids there and we all enjoyed it. They have great exhibits and the grasslands are beautiful. Parts of the prairie and all of the exhibit area are handicap accessible and well worth the drive.

[Luke9686]

I've been out there a few times but never saw any bison or elk. I saw a lot of pheasant.