Stone State Park is expanding, thanks to a private-public partnership that has helped this popular Sioux City recreation area grow nearly 40 percent during the last five years.

Located at the northern edge of Sioux City, the park is known for its rugged landscape, interactive nature center and breathtaking views of the Loess Hills. The new 70-acre property, on the park’s southeast edge, expands this haven for nature — and nature lovers.

The addition was protected for public use after the former owners approached the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) with an interest in selling their land for conservation. INHF acquired the land and coordinated fundraising for the project, which was recently transferred to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to own and manage.

Scenic habitat benefits diverse species

The parcel provides more space to explore Stone State Park’s existing facilities, which include campgrounds, and miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and snowmobiling.

The addition is more than a place to play, however. It is located within the Plymouth South Special Landscape Area (SLA) of the Loess Hills, a nationally significant scenic area identified by the National Park Service. The property's critical grassland habitat will be restored to prairie, benefiting diverse wildlife species. 

“This addition and its ecological restoration will provide essential habitat for common and not-so-common wildlife species, including those that need larger, unbroken tracts of grassland to survive,” said Stone State Park Ranger Kevin Pape.

Visitors should watch for increasingly rare grassland birds like the grasshopper sparrow and the dickcissel. Seven bird species considered of Greatest Conservation Need in Iowa are known to use the land. Plans include expansion of a bluebird trail to encourage the widely loved species to nest in the park. 

The site’s hillside native prairie remnants also host a number of notable plant species, including silky aster, groundplum and white prairie clover.

Pape says the new site will assist land management activities by providing important buffer area for managing smoke during prescribed fire activities in the park. INHF land stewardship staff and interns have worked on the property to help improve wildlife habitat by removing invasive woody species from remnant prairie.

INHF's 8th addition to park 

This is INHF’s eighth addition to Stone State Park, which now totals 1,543 acres. INHF’s other recent additions include the Hansen and Acklin Ridge properties.

“We’ve been taking advantage of opportunities when we can in this rapidly-developing area,” said Heather Jobst, INHF Land Projects Director. “We’re building for the future to meet the rapidly increasing demands for recreation.”

Sources of support for the new Stone State Park addition included INHF members, private grants from the Loess Hills Alliance and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and a state Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP) private-public Open Spaces Acquisition grant.