🌊 brushy creek state recreation area!
until the 1990s, brushy creek was “primitive and undeveloped.” that’s when a dam was built, creating a 690-acre lake and establishing an impressive home for fishing, hunting, picnicing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, cross-county skiing, horseback riding, and… hiking!
the 6,500-acre recreation area boasts 35 miles of multi-use trails, which are MOSTLY awesome. the two downsides for hikers like me are: 1) because you’re sharing the trail with horses, you have to dodge occasional, um, large dung deposits; and 2) drainage issues in a handful of spots have created notable mud/ponding areas that are challenging/impossible to avoid.
(as a thru-hiker i’m accustomed to water crossings, but southern minnesota guy wasn’t thrilled to wade through muck in his new hiking shoes!)
overall this was a fantastic hike, and my longest since getting off the pacific crest trail back in the middle of august. i’d really be interested to return in winter and tackle some of these trails in the snow!
brushy creek is located in webster county, iowa — home to indigenous speakers of the Báxoje ich’é (Iowa), Dakȟóta (Western Dakota), and Dakhóta (Eastern Dakota) languages.
hike visualization credits — music: L'etoile Du Nord by Shared Fable, used with express written consent of the artist; route data: onx backcountry + gpx.studio; animation: mapdirector / support independent artists & developers!
my trail name’s mythic and in 2026 i continued my multi-year thru-hike (m.y.t.h.) of the pacific crest trail. as i plan my 2027 return to the pct, i'm going on day hikes & bikes to help keep in trail shape!
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