decorahnews.com special report: Enjoy the solitude at Neste Valley Park

Neste Valley Recreational Area is currently owned by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, with an agreement that it will be bought by Winneshiek County Conservation over the course of five years and turned into Winneshiek County's newest park.

"This land is Decorah's next natural attraction," says the INHF website.  The property is closed to the public right now.  But decorahnews.com got a tour of the property and what is most impressive about it is the way the hills shut out the sounds of traffic on Highways 9 and 52--which are less than a mile away.  That means the only sounds a visitor hears are the birds and the rushing waters of the stream: