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Submission
To reach the Lucas Unit of Stephens Forest: From the junction of Highway 34 and Highway 65 at Lucas, go south 2 miles on Highway 65, go west on 467th Street 1 mile, go north on 137th Trail 1 mile.
Be ready for primitive camping. If you need heat or air conditioning, you'll have to have a generator. Riding is rather easy but consistantly in the trees. Very pretty in the fall.
Went during the heat of the summer and it was too muggy and buggy to fully enjoy. Walked through dozens of spider webs as there aren't a lot of people on the trails. It's pretty wild out there and does have potential for someone wanting to get off the grid. I'll try again in the fall or spring.
This is Iowa's hidden gem. We had a great time camping here. Some advice: campgrounds are are equipped with picnic tables, fire rings, and 99% of them have toilets. I wouldn't worry about reservation if you couldn't make one since there are plenty for first-come/first-serve, and you can self register one at arrival. Staff was also very helpful. She answered all the questions we had.
This was a beautiful place to ride and our family and friends really enjoyed the trails here. We only were her for trail riding, however, there looked to be a good amount of spots to camp as well. Parking was great and had plenty of options on our visit. The trails we rode did have a lot of down trees that our horses had to either step over or go around. The trails are pretty well maintained other than a couple of the trails that we went on but were able to find our way. There are some crossings and as you would expect step inclines and declines in areas. We were fortunate and able to go in dry conditions. Would not go if it was rainy or had rained recently, I think the park does a great job listing the conditions. Would recommend.
Horse trials were nice and well groomed. The Whitebreast campground was very nice with lots of shade for the horses. Primitive bathrooms were very clean. Nice campground even without electricity. The DNR officer was very nice as well.
