Work has begun on Neste Valley Park

(Left to right): Conservation Board members Ray Torresdal, Meg Storkamp and Nancy Bolson

Winneshiek County Conservation Board has begun working on development of a new Winneshiek County park that will link the Trout Run and Prairie Farmer trails.

Once completed, the purchase of a 170-acre heritage farm southwest of Decorah will become the "Neste Valley Recreational Area."  The park will serve as a mid-way trailhead on Dry Run Trail, a proposed 8-mile trail link that will run parallel to Highway 52 between Decorah and Calmar.

Neste Valley Recreational Area sits just 2.5 trail miles from Decorah. The Conservation Board envisions a variety of offerings from picnicking and camping, to, hiking trails, a conservation education center and public hunting. 

Neste Valley Recreational Area was purchased by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, which will transfer ownership to the Conservation Board once all funds are raised. Northeast Iowa RC&D secured 55 percent of the funds with a successful $487,025 REAP grant but additional grants and fundraising for the remaining $400,000 are needed for Neste Valley to become a public park.

The proposed route for Dry Run Trail will leave Decorah near the Highway 9 bridge and cross under Highway 52 following the historic path of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific railroad corridor south to where the railbed ends, and then taking the backslope of 200th Street and Highway 52 until it connects with the Prairie Farmer Recreational Trail at County Road B16. The linked trails will create a 43-mile trail system, connecting Cresco, Ridgeway, Calmar, and Decorah.

"The Dry Run Trail and Neste Valley Recreational Area will not only connect the Prairie Farmer and Trout Run trails, it will be a new connection to Winneshiek County's cultural and historical past" says Conservation Board member Nancy Bolson.

In addition to the nearly $2 million in grant funds the Conservation Board and RC&D has already secured for the Neste Valley Recreational Area purchase and Phase I of the Dry Run Trail project, it will also be initiating a private funds drive.

Tax-deductible donations can be directed to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 505 Fifth Avenue, Suite 444, Des Moines, IA 50309-2321 and can be designated specifically toward Neste Valley or Dry Run Trail. You can also visit the webpage created for Neste Valley at http://www.inhf.org/neste-valley-recreation-area.cfm and donate on-line. Recognition donation levels are available.

Map of the trail--click on photo for larger image

Sunset on the trail