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Cedar Hills Sand Prairie

   

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Directions

Take Highway 218 in Cedar Falls to Highway 57 (1st Street).

Turn west and go 5 miles to Butler Avenue.

Go north 3-and-a-half miles (past County Road C67) to preserve on east side of road.

Park along road and enter at gate (The Nature Conservancy boundary sign).

Cedar Hills is on the outskirts of Cedar Falls and is one of the nicest and largest sand prairies in Iowa. The Conservancy works in close cooperation with the University of Iowa in managing this unique habitat.

Why You Should Visit
The diverse habitats of Cedar Hills Sand Prairie support more than 360 species of native plants, 107 species of diatoms (a delicate unicellular organism with yello-brown chloroplas, which enables it to photosynthesize), more than 50 species of birds, more than 50 species of butterflies and more than 90 species of leafhoppers (a group of insects with many prairie specialists).

The preserve sits atop a broad eolian (wind deposited) sand ridge between the Cedar River and Beaver Creek. In the unplowed southern portion of the preserve, dry sand prairie occupies the upland ridges. A large sedge meadow with the inclusion of a small fen occupies a swale that crosses the property. Small marshes occupy depressions in the southwest portion of the property. Most of the northern portion was plowed at one time, but is in various stages of recovery.

Location
About 10 miles northwest of Cedar Falls, in Black Hawk County

Size
90 acres

Preserve Visitation Guidelines

What to See: Plants
There are more than 360 native plants at Cedar Hills, including: big bluestem, sand milkweed, swamp aster, least grape fern, prairie sandreed, marsh marigold, rattle box, silky prairie clover, tall cotton-grass, lance-leaved goldenrod, bottle gentian, frost weed, rough blazing star, hairy puccoon, wild phlox, pink milkwort, little bluestem, prairie dropseed, purple meadow-rue, bird’s-foot violet. 

What to See: Animals
Birds at the preserve include the grasshopper sparrow, bobolink, yellowthroat, savannah sparrow and eastern meadowlark. Visitors can also see monarch butterflies and the regal fritillary. 

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Cedar Hills Sand Prairie was acquired from the Mark Sand Family in 1985. The 36-acre virgin sand prairie on the southern portion of the preserve was purchased by the Conservancy in January 1985, and then dedicated in May 1985 as a biological and geological State Preserve. In September of 1985, the remaining 54 acres were purchased. 

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
This site is an invaluable resource for teaching and research at the University of Northern Iowa.