Very helpful staff for when i moved here last year. Plenty of information and pamphlets to grab…read more If youre new to town, go here to find out all the town info.

From the owner: Visitor information for Mason City and the North Iowa area showcasing events, lodging, dining,…read moreattractions, maps, shopping, coupons, hot deals, and more. Visitor Information Center a offers gift shop and souvenirs.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this place before starting to research a spring break trip…read more Effigy national monument is super close to Minnesota and should be a must see, must visit for anyone living in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa or Illinois within three hours. There's no entrance fee, but there's still several friendly and helpful rangers at the station as well as the museum explaining the significance. It is a very culturally important site to come up with mound stating back more than 1000 years. The scenery is outstanding. Is it the confluence of two rivers, you can see far and either direction if you hike to several of the scenic landing spots. We put in a good 5 mile hike and didn't even reach all of the places. It's great for history, cultural, and hiking. Highly recommend.

This place is special and amazing. I love how we no longer excavate the mounds but use remote…read moresensing technology like LIDAR and GIS to help interpret the data. I had been to some mounds in Whitewater, Wisconsin before but to see them clearly really requires arial view and careful clearing of trees and underbrush. We came across the monument quite on accident. It's definitely on our list to return to and see the area in a different season.

We visited to specifically tour the Lowell Walter house, a.k.a. Cedar Rock, designed by Frank Lloyd…read moreWright. Cedar Rock does not disappoint!! Our tour guide Erick was great- knowledgeable and very engaging as was the other gentleman at the welcome center. Although we traveled by car, we loved that we saw a few guests actually arrived by kayak as the home's boathouse is right on the river- they did mention they called the park to prearrange their tour so as to meet the guide at the house. As avid kayakers we'll be doing this for a return visit. FYI kayakers/canoers- there's a sizeable sand bar forming a nice natural beach right across the river from the Cedar Rock boathouse that's perfect for a lunch stop/picnic. Thank You Cedar Rock staff!

I have been wanted to come here for years. Totally made for a nice day trip!!! All of the…read moreDNR employees were knowledgable and so nice !!! If you are a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright make this trip. The house is so well preserved.

Outside the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, you will find over 500 acres of prairie, forest, and…read morewetlands. Inside, offers hands-on learning. You can learn about owls, hawks, snakes, turtles, and more. You can find each of these live animals inside. Most have a write-up near their exhibits to teach you more about them. If you are lucky you can visit the center when the snake is taken out of its cage and have the opportunity to hold it or see it up close. There are plenty of interactive displays inside and several places where little ones can play. Whether outdoors or indoors this is the perfect way to spend a day.

Our family stopped here before some baseball games to kill time. I like a hike in the woods, but…read moreothers no. The review is for the nature center. They have a live snake, turtle, frog, hawk and owl and information on soil, nature etc. A worker let people take turns holding a snake. We weren't here very long. They have reasonable canoe and kayak rentals for three hours. If we had more time that would have been fun. The visitor center was free.

My furry friend group chose this spot for our big annual camping trip! There were 86 of us total,…read moreand we utilized the Group Site that has several cabins available, plus a main cabin that serves as the place to gather and eat with a full kitchen and walk-in fridge. I really enjoyed the cozy feel to the cabins, which have wonderfully rustic wooden paneling and floors. Our cabin had two wings with four bunk beds each, plus a center room with a large bed (ideal, no doubt, for scouting purposes). The cabins are heated by thermostat and there are a few electrical outlets, but no other amenities that I was aware of. The main cabin had a large center fire pit that made the whole place wonderfully cozy. Also included are several long tables with benches to sit at, as well as additional chairs with backs to gather around the firepit. There are electrical outlets too. Flooring was a mix of wood and tile. There are also restrooms nearby, which include toilets, sinks, and showers. Separated by gender, male and female. The designated parking lot for the Group Site was able to accommodate around 40-45 cars, which served our purposes well. There is also a small roundabout that leads up to the main cabin for ease of unpacking/dropping off gear. All these amenities made the long-weekend very enjoyable! This isn't a huge park by any means, but even in the icy snow, I was able to enjoy a few of the trails while there. The alphabetical trail markings confused me a bit at first, but then I realized it was how the park was indicating "you are here" without customizing each sign. At the trailheads are large informational signs that give you the distance, difficulty, and features you'll see on said trail. The river that cuts through here is really gorgeous. It was partially frozen over during our visit, and we got some flurries while we were camping, which covered everything in a beautiful fresh coat of white powder. Got some great photos and great memories. I was a bit bummed that the Nature Store wasn't open (it's seasonal), because I am a sucker for souvenirs on sightseeing trips to parks and such.

Whitewater is a gorgeous park with some varied scenery. There are a lot of neat formations to check…read moreout such as the bluffs, forests, rivers, and more. There are some easy to more challenging hikes available. There are also a lot of nice amenities and a beach area.

When I'm in Mason City and want to get outside for a bit, my first thought is to go out to Lime…read moreCreek. They've got a nice assortment of trail loops of differing lengths that intersect so you can get whatever distance hike you want, and see the different parts of the land. There is also a nice long trail that runs along the river that has some scenic spots as well. The nature center building isn't super big, but it's nice to take a look at the fossils, taxidermy, and information about the animals. In the winter especially, the trails aren't busy and you can really just walk about and take be at peace in the environment. It would be nice if there was a bit more signage at some of the intersections of the trails, however, as there are some spots where it's not clear where you'll end up.

The visitors center is a great place to learn about the flora and fauna of Iowa. It's filled with…read moreall kinds of unique stuffed animal wildlife. Some taxidermy guy had fun. Kinda creepy, but still interesting. They also have a few aquariums with live fish. Oh..and a live turtle. Very clean and well organized. If you check out the upstairs, there's a lot of hands on exploration things to do with the kids. Remember...don't forget to go to use the restrooms before you go hiking. Yes...there are 11 hiking trails to choose from. Some are short, some are long. I chose the easy hike since it looked like a storm was coming. There are also wheel chair accessible trails. Nice place to check out if you enjoy nature.

If you are looking for a fun and unique activity in Minnesota, look no further than Niagara Cave!…read more This is about 2 hours south of the twin cities in Harmony, Mn. As I was driving I almost missed it, as it is mostly farm fields and this place is well hidden by trees! Once you pull in the driveway, it really opens up to a beautifully kept property!! There is the cave experience(hour long) 9 or 18hole mini golf and an area for panning (you buy a bag inside the gift shop and do the panning outside in front of the building) My boys (7 and 3) and I only did the cave experience and it was very cool!! There are about 275 steps that you do through the cave and then you walk back the same way,so about 550 total steps. Some of the areas can get narrow but are doable. I am 5'7 230 pounds and did fine, but if you have a larger stomach, some of the areas could get tight! Our guide was Parker and he was very sweet and answered everyone's questions to the best he could. He also had some jokes which added a lighthearted vibe to the tour! Definitely wear good shoes (no crocs or sandals) and bring a jacket or sweatshirt as it is always 48 degrees in the cave! Also, it is not expected but it is always nice to tip (in cash) at the end if you liked the tour! I didn't add all of the pictures I took as it would take away from the initial experience, but this place was very fun! There is also a picnic table area and a small playground! There is a gift shop (I know parents, our favorite thing right?? Haha) but things were VERY reasonably priced! Way better than most gift shops I've been to! Both of my boys got a souvenir for $10 a piece and there were even cheaper items! If you haven't been here, definitely put this on your Minnesota bucket list! This is an absolute must!!

I have done a number of cave tours as they travel a lot. This one's a pretty easy tour a flat…read moreground lots of stairs but doable. We had a nice young knowledgeable tour guide. It was interesting. I must say something to do in harmony besides the Amish tours it was worth it for sure you go about 200 feet underground and it's a mile long I went on Saturday tours were about every half an hour. I didn't pre-pay. I just paid when I got there. Wasn't sure what time I'd be there.