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The Lick Creek Unit contains two nonmodern equestrian campgrounds with nonelectric campsites. Facilities include pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, gravel parking pads, water hydrants, hitching rails and shade for horses. There are also stalls for overnight stabling.
Shimek State Forest is located in Lee and Van Buren Counties in southeast Iowa near the town of Farmington. Although the forest's original and most important function is to serve as an example of forest management for Iowas citizens, recreational opportunities abound in the forest. Visitors come from a wide area to hunt, fish, hike, ride the equestrian trails, mountain bike, camp, picnic, study nature and enjoy the outdoors.
Visitors can expect to find oak-hickory forests and bottomland hardwood timber forests but will also find several areas where native prairie plants can be found and about 1,000 acres which have been planted to conifers. In this extremely varied habitat wildlife is abundant. Bring your camera or spotting scope!
The forest is managed by the Iowa DNR Forestry Bureau and is comprised of five separate units with a total of 9,148 acres. The forest headquarters is located about one mile northeast of Farmington on county road J56. The four lakes in the Farmington and Donnellson Units are stocked with bass, channel catfish and panfish. There are no designated swimming areas. The entire forest is open to hiking and hunting (except in the camping areas).
Nice maintain trails for the most part good place to park your trailer don't know why they didn't have water a little closer to the horse stables but it all worked.
The place was well maintained
Great setup for horse camping. May be a little busy in spring and fall due to this. We like to walk our dog on the trails when campsits aren't busy. Trails are great and creek is nice to walk.
Dam gave out due to the rain got us trapped all the way around.
Was stuck for numerous hours until we could get help and have a rope tied across so we could hold on while we made it across
Water moving extremely fast and about 4foot deep.
10/10 would do it again
