DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri Valley IA

Cool taxidermy, great mic'd up bird viewing area, and a wonderful shipwreck display. I enjoyed this park a lot!

For just a $3 entry fee, I was very impressed! Nicely managed visitor center with large windowed viewing areas, nice displays of stuffed birds and wildlife, and nicely arranged steamboat Bertrand display. There are some hands on exhibits for kids.

We followed this with a short drive to the steamboat site for a walk and saw an eagle! We were not able to view impressive amounts of geese today.maybe because it was the middle of the day.

Love going to look at the migratory birds every year. We were actually able to personally see 9 eagles this year. Amazing.

History, nature, awesome! Check out the Bertrand Steamboat museum (dig of most 100+ year old Steamboat found in 1969). Take the drive to the dig site abs the beautiful trails.

This is a great place to visit to bird watch, look for deer, and fish. You can also learn some history about the the steamboat Bertrand. In the visitors center, is a bunch of information about the wildlife in the area and items recovered from the sunken steamboat. There are giant windows that look out over the water.

First class Visitor Center. Has a section dedicated to a Civil War era sternwheeler that sunk nearby and recovered in 1969. Nice dioramas throughout the facility.

Service facilities are now open but due to Covid the hours are shortened. Check website for up to date info. Area is still beautiful and a worthwhile adventure.

Beautiful area for a nature walk and see some great wildlife.lots of different kinds of birds. We also visited the visitor center and the kids learned about the Steamboat Bertrand that sank and saw many artifacts retrieved.

We come here every time we're in the area. It's beautiful and serene. The amount of wildlife here is incredible and the visitor center is amazing. The Bertrand exhibit is especially amazing looking back to the Civil War.

Lots of birds and other wildlife. A few hiking trails, mostly level. Latrines in at least 3 locations. TP was running low the last time we visited.
Roll the windows down, cruise along slowly and listen to the birds. Or bring a lawn chair and a journal and write down your thoughts surrounded by nature. Keep your binoculars handy! Watch for deer.
Bring your bug spray and a hat to prevent the ticks and mosquitoes from having you for dinner. Also bring water and snacks. The visitor's center has very limited hours and there are no concessions.
There are plenty of picnic tables for breaking bread.

A duck stamp will get you in and I believe the sign said an America the Beautiful pass works, too.

This place is gorgeous. A little more funding could make this place absolutely amazing. Definitely a hidden gem

Very nice. Even the game wardens are really cool. Very friendly yet very professional unlike some of the city police officers I have encountered. Not to say all police officers are bad but it only takes one that acts unprofessional to ruin the name of all the rest. There was lots of wildlife to view and the signs throughout the refuge are very informative if you like the outdoors it's definitely a place to visit or at least put on your bucket list

The National Wildlife Refuges are underappreciated gems in the US, and this one is no exception. We visited for birding and I found all my target birds, and then some. Great access, roads open with very little traffic, beautiful scenery and great habitat. Thank you to the gentleman at the visitor center who helped me find Yellow- headed Blackbird.
PS I do wish the feeders were someplace that people could view them without being indoors. Lots of folks are interested in photographing birds these days.

Friendly staff, clean, great museum-Amazed by the amount of objects retrieved and preserved from Bertrand!

Don't let you dogs out of the car! Took a short paved hike and pulled 30 ticks off our dog. Refuge is nicely maintained. Water is low and a lot of downed trees. Turtles, geese, black birds. Missed the visitor center.