Loess Hills Scenic Byway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 634

extremely fine texture, the soil erodes and drains quickly, leaving behind knife-edged
ridges that are as sharply crested as meringue. As is evident at many road cuts, however,
loess can also hold a nearly vertical face without giving way (a result of the way its grains
interlock). Another notable feature of the Loess Hills is the so-called cat steps. Visible on
the park's western slopes, these mini-terraces are caused by loess's tendency to slump.
From the park the drive heads north on Rtes. L44 and J18 before joining Rte. 275
at the town of Tabor. Farther along, the highway briefly merges with Rte. 34, heading
west before continuing north at Glenwood to Council Bluffs. Named for an 1804 meeting
between explorers Lewis and Clark and members of the Otoe Indian tribe, Council Bluffs
today is a busy river town and the northernmost point on one of Iowa's best hiking or
biking routes—the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. Following an old railroad right-of-way,this
63-mile pathway wanders through forests, farmlands, and meadows spangled with wild-
flowers, ending just a few miles short of the Missouri border.
Did you know…
There are more than 1,500 archaeological sites recorded in the Loess Hills,
where pottery, tools, and other artifacts have been left behind by the ancient
Mill Creek and Glenwood cultures, who inhabited the area between 1000 and
1300 a.d.
2. I-680 Scenic Overlook
Gliding through some of the most fertile farmland in the state, the drive heads northeast
from Council Bluffs on Rtes. 191 and L34, then veers west on I-680. A few miles ahead a
gravel access ramp (closed in winter) leads to a scenic overlook, with lovely views of bil-
lowing hills and the Missouri River valley.
3. Hitchcock Nature Area
A sharp turn south on County Road L20 brings you to one of Iowa's loveliest parks, the
580-acre Hitchcock Nature Area. As elsewhere in the western part of the Loess Hills, the
terrain here is rugged yet lush, making it hard to imagine that, only a few miles away, the
vast flatlands of the western prairie stretch toward the horizon.
Hitchcock also displays the same odd mix of vegetation that is characteristic of this
region. While the shaded inner hollows of the Loess Hills support dense forests of oak,
hickory, and red cedar, their western slopes are almost desertlike in appearance, with
faces raked by sun and wind. Look for hardy survivors such as yucca and purple