Bixby State Preserve

Bixby State Park is a 184-acre preserve containing a rugged forested area along the Silurian Escarpment. It is located in southwestern Clayton County, just north of the town of Edgewood. In 1854, the Bixby family established a homestead here. They allowed the public to use a scenic area on their farm as a park, free of charge. In 1926, the Iowa Conservation Commission purchased the land after residents from the nearby town of Edgewood petitioned to make “Bixby’s Park” into a state park. The park was dedicated in 1979 as a biological and geological state preserve. 

About the Land

Bear Creek flows through the preserve in a steep, narrow valley, one of many along the Silurian Escarpment, a belt of rugged bluffs marking the southwestern edge of the Paleozoic Plateau landform region. This small trout stream is fed by many springs along its course, eventually joining the Turkey River several miles downstream. Rising on each side of the stream are 200-foot bluffs of dolomite (magnesium-rich limestone). At the base of the slopes is an accumulation of rock rubble, or “talus.” The northfacing bluffs found here receive little direct sunlight, and are also full of interconnecting fissures and crevices with a steady flow of cool, moist air. In some places, cold air flows out of the fissures onto sloping talus deposits, forming unusual habitats called algific talus slopes that support several rare species of plants and snails. 

Bixby State Preserve is well known for its ice cave, a large, partially mined fissure with a strong flow of very cold air. It is located a short distance east of the picnic shelter. The cave entrance was enlarged by two men who were purportedly prospecting for lead in the late 1800s. Ice is present in the cave most of the year, forming in the spring as snowmelt, and rain infiltrates the rock from above and freezes in contact with the cold walls of the cave. Melting takes place by late summer in most years, but ice generally remains in the back recesses of the cave. Even during the heat of the summer, temperature of the cave entrance hovers around 52 degrees. 

Directions

1. From the intersection of North Franklin Street and Highway 3 in the town of Edgewood, follow North Franklin Street north to 390th Street. 
2. North Franklin Street becomes Fortune Avenue outside of town. 
3. Continue north on Fortune Avenue (sign: Bixby State Park) to a parking area on the east side of the road, just north of Bear Creek.

Plants

Bixby State Preserve may contain the highest diversity of plants of any Iowa woodland, with over 380 native vascular plant species. The steep slopes are covered with mature oaks, sugar maple, and basswood. Canada yew covers the north-facing slopes along much of the valley. Leatherwood, an uncommon shrub, is also found on these slopes. In spring, snow trillium, wild ginger, Dutchman’s breeches, and bellwort, as well as many others, cover the forest floor. By summer, purple joe-pye-weed can be seen blooming. In the fall, asters, goldenrods, Indian pipe, and fall coralroot orchid can be found here. 

The preserve is open to hiking and picnicking in designated areas. Hunting is not permitted. Other natural areas along the Silurian Escarpment are Brush Creek Canyon, Mossy Glen, and White Pine Hollow State Preserves, and Echo Valley State Park.

Bixby is a unstaffed satellite of Backbone State Park.