A high ranking Iowa DNR official said that
White Pine Hollow, 25 miles west of Dubuque, may be the most spectacular of all Iowa DNR property. With that kind of endorsement, a beautiful and cool fall day and a hankering by both Claire and myself to get outside, a trip west to the Hollow seemed like the thing to do today.
The drive west from Dubuque on Highway 52 has got to be among Iowa's most beautiful, with dramatic, sweeping views over the rolling hills. Just north of Luxemburg a small sign directs those looking for WPH to follow a gravel road for a mile to a tiny parking lot, suitable for two or maybe three cars. Since information about WPH seems to be in such short supply, Claire and I simply started down the overgrown path, not knowing what the trail would be like, how far we would have to walk, or even really what to expect. The trail immediately began descending and became more of a gully, full of large rocks, than a path. About a 1/2 mile down the trail we made our way across a small stream. Perhaps 200 meters further we could see the stream began to closely follow the base of a cliff. We left the trail, which would cross the stream again and begin to head back uphill to places unknown, and cut through the woods to enter what I assume can rightfully be called a "Hollow."
Remnant white pines graced the north facing slopes and the cliffs shaded the meandering stream. Moss covered many of the rocks. Since there was no trail walking was too difficult for Claire (and she chose to remain in the backpack) and only slightly less so for myself. We made it to a nice spot along the stream and took a break to eat a snack and take pictures. Claire seemed to like it and was scanning the bluffs for deer. As luck would have it, after our snack as we were climbing one of the bluffs underneath the pines a deer rocketed across the stream, found a route up one of the cliffs and sprinted through the woods 20 meters ahead of us. From that point on Claire could do little but say "dee," "dee" as she hopefully continued to look for more deer.
White Pine Hollow is one of those little Iowa gems that you have to want to find. There certainly isn't much information out there about it that I could find, but in many ways that's probably a very good thing. I would wager that, ignoring hunting season, there can be weeks that go by where fewer than 10 people ever make their way there. I found the preserve to be much more spectacular than other, more well-known Dubuque County parks like the Mines of Spain and Swiss Valley and will certainly be going back there again, especially once Claire is old enough to walk a little better on her own over the rough terrain and I don't have to carry her on my back. Since much of the exploring of WPH seems best done off-trail, it would seem that early spring and late fall may be the best times to go as the undergrowth is much more manageable at those times.
Anybody interested in going back there with me?
