Steamboat Rock

One of the rock features of Iowa's Wild Cat Den State Park is Steamboat Rock. This large rock was separated from the rock cliff some time ago, and one of the pieces resembles the prow of a ship. The trail splits here, one part takes hikers between the rocks, and the other takes them around the outside of the "steamboat."

Evidence of visitors to this place is everywhere. Names and initials carved into the soft sandstone are everywhere, including some rather difficult to access places. Some date back to the 1800's if you can believe them, but they do appear old and worn, and written in a typeface not too common anymore.



Steamboat Rock isn't too tall, perhaps 30 feet, but it does seem like people like to climb up to the top for the view or the challenge. Here, one person takes in the surroundings after the climb up.



The easy way up was to climb along a diagonal rock process until some fingerholds were found toward the top of the rock. The carved initials are well defined on this particular rockface, these being in a place relatively easy to reach.

Wild Cat Den State Park, while not overwhelmingly large, offers some interesting trails and formations through a variety of terrain. Visitors can hike all of the trails in a single day.