Scott Church Park
Scott Church Park is a five-acre roadside park located five miles southeast of Iowa City at the junction of Hwy 6 and American Legion Road. Facilities at this area include a toilet, a swing, and a reconstructed prairie.
Location
5409 American Legion Road SE, Iowa City, IA 52240
Features
Scott Church has the distinction of being the "first" county park in Johnson County. It was acquired and developed by the fledgling Johnson County Conservation Board in 1965 under a sponsoring agreement from the Iowa Highway Commission for the development of a highway safety rest area. Facilities include a picnic area, picnic tables, a swing set, a mowed play area, potable water supply and a pit toilet.
A triangular-shaped area, approximately one half-acre in size, just to the north of the picnic shelter, was seeded to native grasses and forbs in the fall of 2001. This gives the area a much more natural appearance, reduces maintenance costs and provides much needed wildlife habitat. A multiple-row shelterbelt composed of Red Cedar, Norway Spruce, High Bush Cranberry and Ninebark was planted along the property line. The prairie and shelterbelt provide badly needed nesting and winter cover for wildlife in a locale of intense row-crop agriculture that provides virtually none.
