Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Preparation Loop
Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Preparation Loop is a National Scenic Byway in Iowa. Within Iowa it covers roughly 14 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: Preparation Loop with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Preparation Loop detours through Preparation Canyon State Park in Iowa's Monona County. The 344-acre Loess Hills preserve was built on the site of a vanished 1850s religious commune: Charles B. Thompson broke from the main Mormon wagon trains in 1853 and settled roughly 67 households here, naming the community Preparation for its members' belief that earthly life was preparation for the world to come; at its peak the town had a school, newspaper, post office, skating rink, and blacksmith shop. The settlement declined through the early 1900s and was effectively a ghost town by 1946, when descendants of the original families began selling the land to the state in parcels that became today's park. The canyon's steep, timbered ravines are now better known for hiking and solitude than history, but interpretive signage still traces the Mormon offshoot community that gave the loop its name.
- Preparation Canyon State Park, 344 acres
- 1853 Mormon splinter settlement
- ghost town by 1946
- Monona County, near Moorhead
- steep timbered canyon hiking
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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: Preparation Loop
No campgrounds are listed close to Loess Hills National Scenic Byway: Preparation Loop yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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