Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Pony Creek Loop
Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Pony Creek Loop is a National Scenic Byway in Iowa. Within Iowa it covers roughly 11 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: Pony Creek Loop with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Pony Creek Loop detours to Pony Creek Park in Iowa's Mills County, an 83-acre lake ringed by virgin prairie. It sits on the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway northwest of Glenwood. The park earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 after archaeologists identified at least two prehistoric Plains Indian earthen lodge sites here, among the only such sites in the region preserved on public land. Today the park pairs that history with straightforward recreation: fishing and boating on the lake, hiking trails through the timber, and a nature center focused on Mills County's native plants and animals. A scenic overlook platform gives visitors a look at the surrounding loess topography from above without a long hike. The loop sits in the byway's southern reaches, one of two Mills County detours alongside the nearby Waubonsie Loop.
- Pony Creek Park, 83-acre lake
- Mills County, near Pacific Junction
- NRHP-listed 1971, prehistoric earthen lodges
- virgin prairie & loess overlook
- fishing, boating & nature center
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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: Pony Creek Loop
No campgrounds are listed close to Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Pony Creek Loop yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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