Explore Crescent and the Loess Hills
Minutes northeast of the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area you'll find the small community of Crescent, Iowa. Here you'll find some of the worlds most fertile soil, beautiful scenery, and about 550 friendly people. Take a drive on one of the historic highways that twist through the scenic Loess Hills and you'll pass things like a vineyard, ski hills, and nature centers... And then, you may find yourself double checking the map. Yes, this is Crescent, Iowa, and we are very proud to call it home!
We invite you to check out some of the things to do in Crescent, and plan a weekend trip.
The best part is, we're only 15 minutes from both to Omaha and Council Bluffs, so it's easy to find time for your Crescent adventure.
The best part is, we're only 15 minutes from both to Omaha and Council Bluffs, so it's easy to find time for your Crescent adventure.
Mount Crescent Ski Hills
Mt. Crescent Ski Area is located 15 miles northeast of Omaha, Nebraska in the mountainous terrain of the Iowa Bluffs and has been open every single year since 1961, over 60 years! The famous Olympian gold medalist skier Stein Eriksen helped find the perfect spot for a new ski area in 1961 and thus Mt. Crescent was built. Mt. Crescent provides midwest skiers with a variety of slopes to intrigue new skiers and challenge experienced ones. Ski runs reach up to 2,400 feet in length, that is 7 football fields long! If there is no snow in your backyard, you can always be guaranteed there is always 100% chance of snow at Mt Crescent.
Mountain Cafe & Bar
Swiss style inspired lodge complete with year-round sundeck is home to the Mountain Cafe & Bar. Enjoy hearty, winter fare complemented by your favorite beverage, or relax by the outside firepit and roast marshmallows until your next run! Ask about discounted group pricing and menu packages for corporate, schools, youth groups & retreats and about lodge rentals for special events and holiday parties.
Private and group ski & snowboard lessons.Over 100,000 people have learned how to Ski and Snowboard at Mt Crescent Ski Area.Ski Runs reach up to 2,400 feet in length, which are 7 football fields long! Wow.New snowmaking machines, exact same as those found at Colorado resorts including Vail.Mt Crescent Always has a 100% chance of snow and is open December – MarchSledding Run is 1000 feet in length, which is 3 football fields long! Wow.7000 square foot Swiss style inspired lodge with café.Two person and a Four person chairlifts can transport 3,600 skiers per hour up the ski slopes.Night Skiing available with lighted ski runsRentals of 1500 pairs of skis, snowboards, boots and helmets are available for rentGroups, corporate events, field trips, etc are availableMt Crescent Ski Patrol is the only Midwest Ski Area part of the Rocky Mountain Division
Private and group ski & snowboard lessons.Over 100,000 people have learned how to Ski and Snowboard at Mt Crescent Ski Area.Ski Runs reach up to 2,400 feet in length, which are 7 football fields long! Wow.New snowmaking machines, exact same as those found at Colorado resorts including Vail.Mt Crescent Always has a 100% chance of snow and is open December – MarchSledding Run is 1000 feet in length, which is 3 football fields long! Wow.7000 square foot Swiss style inspired lodge with café.Two person and a Four person chairlifts can transport 3,600 skiers per hour up the ski slopes.Night Skiing available with lighted ski runsRentals of 1500 pairs of skis, snowboards, boots and helmets are available for rentGroups, corporate events, field trips, etc are availableMt Crescent Ski Patrol is the only Midwest Ski Area part of the Rocky Mountain Division
Hitchcock Nature Center
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Nestled in the heart of Iowa's globally significant Loess Hills, Hitchcock Nature Center offers nearly 1,300 acres of publicly available prairie, savanna, and woodlands for low-impact recreation and camping.
Explore the topography of the Loess Hills which harbor some of the largest remaining prairie remnants in Iowa and provide refuge for plants and animals found nowhere else in the state. Hitchcock Nature Center is open every day of the year for hiking, camping, picnicking, bird watching, snowshoeing, star gazing, and simply enjoying the beauty of the natural world.
Consider having your next event with us! Lodge room rentals are available year-round. See below for more details about the Loess Hills Lodge Goldfinch and Bluestem rooms.
Loess Hills Lodge
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The Loess Hills Lodge is seated at the highest point in the park (which means you’ll have to hike uphill to reach it!). It features park restrooms, a gallery and gift shop, an observation deck and tower, a back patio with picnic tables, meeting rooms, and park staff office space.
Restrooms: Available 365 days a year from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Restrooms: Available 365 days a year from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
For more info, visit https://www.pottconservation.com/parks/hitchcock_nature_center/
Staying at the Park
RV Campground
Hitchcock Nature Center now has the perfect overnight facilities for modern-day nature lovers. The modern campground features 18 spacious RV sites with 50 amp electric service. A shower house with flush toilets, satellite restrooms, water hydrants, and a dump station are also located in the campground area. Each RV site is outfitted with a picnic table and fire ring.
Cabins
Camping cabins sleep up to five people and provide heating and air conditioning, electricity, refrigerator, microwave oven, table and chairs. Just outside each cabin, is a water hydrant, picnic table, fire ring and grill.
Backcountry Camping
For those seeking an adventure and a truly unique camping experience, Hitchcock also offers seven primitive backcountry campsites located deep within the park. We ask that backcountry campers camp with integrity & enjoy the outdoors responsibly by employing Leave No Trace ethics and principles.
For a listing of all campsites/cabins, visit
https://www.pottconservation.com/parks/hitchcock_nature_center/
Blackbird Marsh
Blackbird Marsh is a 14.7 acre wetland located in Council Bluffs. The wetland is a remnant of old Missouri River backwaters isolated during the construction of Interstate 29. A multitude of wetland wildlife resides at Blackbird Marsh including ducks, geese, muskrats, frogs and turtles.
Blackbird MarshIntersection of I-29 and 16th StreetCouncil Bluffs, Iowa 51501 (712) 328-5638
For more info, visit
https://www.pottconservation.com/habitat_areas/blackbird_marsh/
Crescent Wildlife Area
Crescent Wildlife Area is a unique property nestled on the Missouri River floodplain just west of Crescent, Iowa and only minutes from Hitchcock Nature Center.
Crescent Wildlife Area was acquired following the catastrophic 2011 flood. The property is made up of a 5-acre pond filled with a wide variety of river fish species, reconstructed native prairie vegetation, and native wetland vegetation. Crescent Wildlife Area is home to many different waterfowl species, shoreland bird species, wetland insects, amphibians, reptiles, and wetland mammal species. Other wildlife that can be seen on the property include small mammals, deer, grassland songbirds, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, and more.
This area is only a short 10-minute drive outside the metro area and is open for public hunting, fishing, and recreation. So, if you are looking to get out of the house and go for a hike, bird watch, fish, or hunt, Crescent Wildlife Area is a great outlet to explore!
This area is only a short 10-minute drive outside the metro area and is open for public hunting, fishing, and recreation. So, if you are looking to get out of the house and go for a hike, bird watch, fish, or hunt, Crescent Wildlife Area is a great outlet to explore!
Crescent Wildlife Area24668 Liberty LaneCrescent, Iowa 51526 (712) 545-3283
Directions:Take Mormon Bridge Rd. west from Crescent (2 miles). Turn onto 152nd St (1.5 miles). Turn south onto Liberty Lane, there is a parking lot at the end of the road.
Directions:Take Mormon Bridge Rd. west from Crescent (2 miles). Turn onto 152nd St (1.5 miles). Turn south onto Liberty Lane, there is a parking lot at the end of the road.
For more info, visit
https://www.pottconservation.com/habitat_areas/crescent_wildlife_area/
Honey Creek Conservation Area
Honey Creek Conservation Area is a 22-acre property nestled close to the Missouri River just west of I-29 at the Honey Creek exit. The property is a former private campground that was acquired following the catastrophic 2011 flood.
Honey Creek Conservation Area is a wildlife habitat area composed of large cottonwood trees, native floodplain vegetation, and mixed tree species. It is home to many different waterfowl species in the drainage ditch, wetland insects, amphibians, reptiles, wetland mammals, and cavity housing critters.
Visitors to the property can expect to see small mammals, deer, numerous bird species, bald eagles, and a wide variety of other species. This area is only a short 20-minute drive outside the metro area and is open for public recreation.
Visitors to the property can expect to see small mammals, deer, numerous bird species, bald eagles, and a wide variety of other species. This area is only a short 20-minute drive outside the metro area and is open for public recreation.
Honey Creek Conservation Area28120 145th St.Honey Creek, Iowa 51526 (712) 545-3283
Directions:Take Honey Creek exit from I-29. Go west a quarter mile to the intersection of Rosewood and 145th St. The parking lot is just north of the intersection.
Directions:Take Honey Creek exit from I-29. Go west a quarter mile to the intersection of Rosewood and 145th St. The parking lot is just north of the intersection.
For more info, visit
https://www.pottconservation.com/habitat_areas/honey_creek_conservation_area/
DeSoto Bend at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge
In neighboring Missouri Valley- DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is located along the Missouri River and borders both Iowa and Nebraska. Within its 8,365 acres lies DeSoto Lake, an oxbow lake that used to be a bend in the Missouri River. The refuge contains bottomland forests, tall grass prairie and wetland habitats that are managed to mimic the natural Missouri River floodplain habitat to benefit a diversity of migratory birds that flock to the refuge each year in the spring and fall.
The refuge also contains a piece of history within its borders, the Bertrand Steamboat. The Bertrand sunk on the bend of river that is now DeSoto Lake leaving behind the cargo and historic time pieces, amounting to almost 250,000 different artifacts housed within the walls of the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is truly a place where wildlife meets history!
Lewis & Clark Park Monument
Lewis and Clark Monument Park (19962 Monument Rd) is approximately 35-acres in size.
The park is home to the Lewis and Clark Monument and offers spectacular views of Big Lake Park, Eppley Airfield, and the Omaha skyline.
Lewis and Clark park amenities include hiking trails, mountain biking trails, picnic areas, restrooms, and a plaza with an overlook.
Trails Have Our Respect (THOR) maintains the mountain bike trails.
The park is home to the Lewis and Clark Monument and offers spectacular views of Big Lake Park, Eppley Airfield, and the Omaha skyline.
Lewis and Clark park amenities include hiking trails, mountain biking trails, picnic areas, restrooms, and a plaza with an overlook.
Trails Have Our Respect (THOR) maintains the mountain bike trails.
For more info, visit: https://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/2327/Lewis-and-Clark-Monument-Park