Hanging Bog State Preserve

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State Preserves

Hanging Bog is a 16-acre preserve containing a deeply shaded hillside seep with a large population of skunk cabbage. It is located six miles northwest of Cedar Rapids in Linn County. This area was deeded to the Iowa chapter of The Nature Conservancy by Leslie F. Clark in 1968 and was dedicated as a biological state preserve in 1981. Ownership and management was transferred to the Linn County Conservation Board in 2023

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About the Land

The hillside seep in this preserve is formed by the emergence of mineralrich groundwater flowing laterally across an impermeable layer of buried bedrock. Large deposits of porous lime called “tufa” have formed a jumbled series of saturated, slumped terraces on the lower slope of a wooded hillside. 

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Directions

  1. From the intersection of I-380 and Highway 94 in Cedar Rapids, take Highway 94 west 6 miles to Ross Road. 
  2. Turn north (right) and go to the end of the road. Park on the roadside. 
  3. To get to the preserve, walk east on a path through woods on the north side of the fence for about 200 yards (look for a sign at the preserve) to a stile. 
  4. Cross over the steps to get to the preserve.
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Plants

The environment created ideal conditions for the growth of skunk cabbage, a distinctive plant that is the first sign of spring, often emerging through a cover of snow as early as February. It gets its name from the large, cabbagelike leaves that develop during the summer and from the skunklike odor the plant emits when damaged. Marsh marigold and jewelweed also occur on the seep with the skunk cabbage. The surrounding forest is dominated by black maple, red oak, and basswood. Over 170 plant species, plus twenty-three species of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), have been recorded for the preserve. 

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Wildflowers

An abundance of spring wildflowers can be seen here, including:

  • The yellow anthers of the woodland sedge
  • The white flowers of hepatica
  • The maroon flowers of prairie trillium
  • The blue flowers of Jacob’s ladder, or the white flowers of Dutchman’s breeches 

Ferns are also abundant throughout the forest. 

The preserve is an important educational resource for local public schools and colleges. 

Hunting is not permitted. 

Other state preserves in the vicinity include Behrens Ponds and Woodland, Rock Island, and Palisades-Dows.

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