Built by Inmates, Shaped by Stone: The Hidden Wonders of My Favorite Anamosa Escape

I love hiking and exploring. It could be any season and I know immediately which park I'd like to visit. Call it nostalgia. Call it memories. Call it a rut, I don't care. For me there is something so incredibly special about Wapsipinicon State Park in Anamosa, Iowa.

It could be that I remember early years spent fishing on a flat bottom boat not far above the huge dam towards Stone City. The water was crystal clear and my Grandpa McElmeel and I had the chance to enjoy some peace and quite. This park was his favorite to visit. Between the many walks he took there, mushroom hunting, or just enjoying some time on his boat: he always seemed happiest when he was surrounded by the limestone bluffs, Wapsipinicon River, and beautiful pine forest. That area has increasingly become my favorite spot to visit and has a special place as my phone's wallpaper. Heck, I even had my senior pictures taken at the park.

My wife and kids have now explored almost every nook and cranny of this Iowa-gem. From the caves of Horse Thief and Ice, to the upside-down bridge where even I played as a kid, 'Wapsi' has so much to offer hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. My son always loves exploring the caves, even if they come with some creepy crawlies.

I will say my family has had an experience in Horse Thief Cave that was quite alarming. For those of you that know it, there is a large opening back into a smaller more concealed space and a dead-end. After exploring the farthest back area, my family, who were the only ones there at the time, had an old pop can thrown out of the back of the cave at us as we left. I'm not much for ghost stories, but I still can't wrap my head around what exactly took place there that day. Now, it hasn't kept me from going into the cave, but it still gives me a bit of the heebie-jeebies when I visit.

There are several trails to enjoy some hiking at Wapsipinicon State Park, as well as fishing, camping, and a nine-hole golf course. It's even crazier to think that much of the stone arch bridges, lodges, and structures were actually built by the prisoners housed nearby at Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Additionally, ancient human remains were found in Horse Thief Cave thought to be from the Archaic Period. There is even a Wapsipinicon Legend that tells of a tragic love story between to Native American lovers, Wapsi and Pinnekon, who drowned in the river together after a jealous Meskwaki warrior named Fleet Foot shot Pinnekon with an arrow before their wedding while he was in a canoe. Wapsi, his lover, jumped in to save him and the cry of their names became the name of the river as they drowned.

The alternative origin is from an arrowhead plant that grows along the streams; Waubessa (white or swan-like) Pinne-ac (root like potato) and over the years it changed from Waubessa Pinne-ac to Wapsipinicon. I like the lore, better than the plant naming, but usually it's the mundane that is most likely.

No matter your reason to visit, Wapsipinicon State Park will always be a great place in my book. Now maybe you'll have a reason to visit too.

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