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Kossuth County


Camping at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park Kossuth County has 3 campgrounds which are now open for the season. See camping pdf for details
Camping at Siems Park A nice, quiet, small, family campground. A great place to relax, fish, picnic, camp, and just enjoy the great outdoors with your family. See Camping Information pdf in Related Items.
Canoeing & Kayaking at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park KCCB has two kayaks for rent from the Water's Edge Nature Center. Call (515)295-2138 for details.
Education at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park Our staff provides many educational opportunities for the public and school groups.
Facility Rentals at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park The Water's Edge Nature Center has meeting room that may be rented. See Meeting Room Brochure pdf for more information. There is also an enclosed shelter on the south side of Smith Lake that is available for rent. Call (515)295-2138 for details. Two kayaks along with life jackets and paddles are also available for rent. Call ( 515)295-2138 for details.
Fishing at Siems Park Bass, bluegill, crappie, and catfish may be caught here.
Fishing at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park Kossuth County has many opportunities for good fishing. Smith Lake has been producing big healthy large mouth bass for the last couple of years, as well as excellent catfishing. It also has a good year class of crappies right now. Siems park is a series of old gravel pits that have been stocked with bass, bluegill, crappies, and catfish. KCCB also maintains several access points to the East Fork of the Des Moines River where good to excellent Walleye and Catfishing opportunities exist.
Hunting at Smith Wildlife Area This area is about 145 acres of mostly hardwood timber with a little upland cover around the edges. Deer, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, and pheasants can be found here.
Other Activities at Smith Wildlife Area In the spring, KCCB conducts its Maple Syrup Making Program. School groups and the general public come in large numbers to see how maple syrup is made. Most people do not leave without sampling a bit of the finished product. See the Sugar Shack Facts pdf in Related Items for more information.
Picnicking at Siems Park Siems park offers shelters, fire pits and more for a picnic
Picnicking at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park Smith Lake offers a nice place for picnicking. We have an enclosed shelter, an open shelter, several pedestal charcoal grills, and picnic tables.
Swimming at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park Smith Lake offers two public swimming beaches. There are no lifeguards. It is swim at your own risk.
Trails & Hiking at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park Smith Lake offers a trail that circles the entire lake. It takes you through our tree garden, past several nice fishing areas, and through the pine/cedar grove to the west of the Nature Center.
Winter Activities at Water's Edge Nature Center and Smith Lake Park At Water's Edge Nature Center, we offer snow shoe rental. We have a nice trail around the lake and through the pine trees to the West of the Nature Center that provides a great place to snow shoe. We also groom a trail around the lake for cross country skiing.

Adair	Carroll	Decatur	Hamilton	Johnson	Marshall	Pocahontas	Union
Adams	Cass	Delaware	Hancock	Jones	Mills	Polk	Van Buren
Allamakee	Cedar	Des Moines	Hardin	Keokuk	Mitchell	Pottawattamie	Wapello
Appanoose	Cerro Gordo	Dickinson	Harrison	Kossuth	Monona	Poweshiek	Warren
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Bremer	Clayton	Franklin	Iowa	Lyon	Osceola	Sioux	Winneshiek
Buchanan	Clinton	Fremont	Jackson	Madison	Page	Story	Woodbury
Buena Vista	Crawford	Greene	Jasper	Mahaska	Palo Alto	Tama	Worth
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Calhoun	Davis	Guthrie

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Boating	Facility Rentals	Picnicking
Cabins	Fishing	Swimming
Camping	Historic Visits	Trails & Hiking
Canoeing & Kayaking	Hunting	Winter Activities
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