Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Hitchcock Loop
Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Hitchcock Loop is a National Scenic Byway in Iowa. Within Iowa it covers roughly 35 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Hitchcock Loop with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Hitchcock Loop detours to Hitchcock Nature Center near Honey Creek, Iowa. It's home to one of North America's premier hawk-migration watch sites on the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. A 45-foot observation tower rises from the Loess Hills Lodge atop a 250-foot bluff in Pottawattamie County, giving visitors a sweeping view of the Missouri River valley and, from September through mid-December, a close-up look at one of the continent's busiest raptor flyways. Volunteers staff the tower daily during migration season and count an average of 13,000 hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey each year, making Hitchcock one of the top 25 HawkWatch sites in North America and a top-five location for migrating bald eagles. The loop itself takes about 40 minutes off the byway spine, winding through prairie and woodland that make up one of the larger blocks of protected Loess Hills habitat.
- Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek
- 45-ft tower atop a 250-ft bluff
- ~13,000 raptors counted annually
- top-5 North American bald eagle site
- 40-minute loop, Pottawattamie County
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What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.
Where to Stay along Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Hitchcock Loop
No campgrounds are listed close to Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Hitchcock Loop yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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