INHF 25th Anniversary Event #15
Adult Nature Weekend

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Spend a fun and fascinating weekend at Iowa's prettiest campus: Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on the shore of West Lake Okoboji. Explore Iowa's natural history with some of the state's leading naturalists and geologists. Enjoy field trips to local wetlands, fens and prairies during the day and casual seminars during the evenings.

Event details
Weekend participants will arrive at Lakeside Laboratory Friday night, check-in at the Lakeside Laboratory Office and attend a lecture on the Geological Views of Iowa's Great Lakes Region with retired state geologist, Jean Prior. After breakfast Saturday morning, participants will take a field trip (in car convoy) to see and learn about various natural features of the region and gain a basic understanding of the topics that will be covered in the sessions that follow. The rest of Saturday and Sunday will be devoted to special-interest sessions that participants choose. Topics in previous years have included birds, insects, prairie interpretation, wetlands, archaeology, forests and fungi. Most of these sessions are field trips, so people attending should be able to do light walking. Click here for the complete schedule, including choice of break-out sessions.

Presenters and field trip leaders include noted experts from Iowa universities and agencies, as well as local experts. But don't let that intimidate you--beginners are welcome! The format is casual--you'll be able to ask questions, view things firsthand and enjoy meals and leisure time with the experts, too. You might consider it a "nature retreat."

Participants can drive to the sessions daily, stay in local motels, or stay on the beautiful Lakeside Lab campus--with a variety of rooms available (from motel-like to more primitive) and a dining room where the food is as good as the view over lovely West Lake Okoboji.

The standard registration fee for the weekend includes meals and lodging. The cost is $184.25 for a cabin-style room with bathroom nearby, $210 for motel-style room with double occupancy and $244.25 for a motel-style room with single occupancy. If you only want to participate in the program, the cost is $97.50 plus $9.20 for each meal. If you make other local lodging arrangements, you can register for the seminar for $97.50 plus $9.20 for each meal. Note: Pre-registration is required. To register for the Adult Nature Weekend, complete the linked form here. Return with payment to the address on the form no later than July 23. Space is limited so applications will be on a first come basis. A waiting list will be kept in case there are cancellations.

Lakeside Laboratory is located on Highway 86, which runs on the west side of West Okoboji Lake. The silver water tower on the other (west) side of the road from the Laboratory is the easiest way to tell that you have reached the campus. There are three entrances, but the northern entrance will lead you directly to the Laboratory Office where you will check in.

The story behind this place
The Iowa Lakeside Laboratory property is a complex of prairie, wetland and forest along the west shore of West Lake Okoboji--the largest of Iowa's "Great Lakes." The Iowa Great Lakes have been a popular playground for generations. People are drawn to the water, but few know what natural wonders lie within a few miles of the shores. Some of these sites are featured at the Adult Nature Weekend.

The INHF has protected 24 sites in Dickinson County, virtually all within the watershed of the Iowa Great Lakes. Many of the sites are restored wetlands that play a dual role: they help filter sediment and nutrients from water that crosses the landscape (before these pollutants can enter the Lakes), and they attract wildlife that makes this region more popular for birdwatchers and hunters.

The Iowa Great Lakes watershed is one of the most ecologically diverse areas in Iowa. It is also an area in which many wetlands and prairies have been protected and are being restored. Although INHF has played no direct role in creating Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, the Foundation has protected many of the weekend's fieldtrip destinations, like those described below:

Cayler Prairie State Preserve: In 1996 INHF purchased a 474-acre addition to Cayler Prairie so that now the original prairie and the restoration cover nearly a square mile. This was the first time INHF had the opportunity to add so significantly to an existing state preserve.

Spring Run Wetlands Complex: In 2002 INHF purchased 670 acres, now part of the Spring Run Wetland Complex, to restore the wetlands and the eroded stream corridor within this acreage. Now owned by the Iowa DNR, this project helps improve the water quality coming from 4,000 acres as it filters water coming into East Lake Okaboji.

Iowa Great Lakes Trail: In 1989 INHF assisted the Dickinson County Conservation Board in acquiring an abandoned railroad corridor that formed the "spine" for this 60-mile system. INHF also helped the Conservation Board apply for grants needed to fund the projects.

Gull Point State Park addition: 29 adjacent acres were added in 2002 when INHF purchased the land to be restored for wildlife habitat.

Water Quality: More than a decade ago, INHF helped form the Clean Water Alliance for the Iowa Great Lakes. Many people care deeply about the quality of these lakes, but their configuration causes division: each of the lakes has its own fans and residents, and 1/3 of the watershed lies in Minnesota. This alliance brings people together to work on common water quality goals. Multiple agencies from two counties, two states, several cities, and the federal level all work with local citizens' groups, organizations, and individuals. This watershed coalition has been a model for water quality efforts elsewhere in Iowa.

Partner Information
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, founded in 1909, was one of the first university field stations in the United States. Today Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Iowa, and Drake University run Lakeside cooperatively. Lakeside's primary missions are to provide students an opportunity to get hands-on experience working with Iowa's natural ecosystems through its field-oriented summer courses and to provide research facilities and support for graduate students and faculty at Iowa universities working on research projects in northwestern Iowa.
lakeside@iastate.edu

Site Map
Map of site (downloadable PDF)

Driving Directions
Lakeside Laboratory is located on Highway 86, which runs on the west side of West Okoboji Lake. The silver water tower on the other (west) side of the road from the Laboratory is the easiest way to tell that you have reached the campus. There are three entrances, but the northern entrance will lead you directly to the Laboratory Office where you will check in.

From the south: Take Hwy 71 north, exit onto Hwy 86 and continue north. Lakeside Laboratory will be on the right.

From east or west: Take Hwy 9 (west if coming from the east, east if coming from the west). Exit onto Hwy 86 and go south. Lakeside Laboratory will be on the left.

Visitor Info
Okoboji Tourism
(800) 270-2574
info@vacationokoboji.com


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