Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area Curoe Road, Bernard, IA 52032

"Quiet area with lots of trees and prairie. I did the Lost Canyon trail which was real easy (but no benches to sit in anywhere )It was half in the trees and half in the prairie area and mostly walking in grass. I then did the Scenic Overlook trail and once you get to the scenic overlook it is beautiful!! They do have a bathroom in the parking area. When you enter the wildlife area it seems as though you are going down someone's driveway but it does lead to a parking area. Would like to go back and do the Stream Trail next time. Glad I drove the 1.5 hours to check this out!"

"Peaceful & serene hike. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bathroom in the parking lot as the research I had done said there wasn't one. Also, the trails were quite well marked unlike others had said. I do believe the map at the trailhead needs to be updated though. I did the Overlook Trail & the Streem Bottom Trail. The Stream Bottom Trail does loop around(not on map) which was very nice. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because only about 60% of the hike was wooded & the prairie part wasn't very pretty this time of year. Would definitely come back."

"Hidden gem! Grew up within 20 miles and never knew about this. I moved away and came back to visit nearly 15 years later, and found this nearby getaway. It’s quiet, fun, moderately easy, interesting, and peaceful. We appreciated the bite-size trails and felt accomplished for completing most of the refuge’s trails in one evening."

"This spot is tricky to review! On one hand, this wasn't our favorite hike.. on the other hand, this opinion is 100% the result of our own actions! I pride myself on doing solid research before we take roadtrip to hike new trails. This was an area I've heard a TON about and have looked forward to visiting. 1st: check the weather. We visited early this fall when it was 80. For a lot of the hiking we were in full sun and that can wear you out fast! There's no bathrooms or facilities because it's a wildlife area, so make sure you prepare for these things before hand. 2nd: Take a picture of the map board! Here's where our trip went a little wonky... We parked in the lot with only one other car there. We walked from the parking lot, straight down the trial leading to the overlook you seeing in all of the pictures. We decided to backtrack to look at the trail marker and decide there. The paths fork left or right. We chose left to see the land bride... I'm not sure we ever actually did?? I'm also not sure we were actually on a trail made by humans by the end. Things weren't marked so we just followed the path. Eventually (like a long time later) we ended up back up at that overlook. By this time we were hot and tired and it's been a few hours so we decided NOT to go to the last trail. BIG MISTAKE. We didn't for down the path so I can't confirm for sure, but I believe in order to see the cave formations and bluffs you need to take the trail to the lower level. We will visit again someday and skip the first two trails and go straight for the lower level!"