Ambrose A Call State Park

About Ambrose A Call State Park

The park is located at the eastern fork of the Des Moines River, south of downtown Iowa City, Iowa.

Ambrose A Call State Park is a rugged hill, densely wooded with rolling, rolling farmland, with a small stream flowing in the middle.

At the current location of the park, there is a walnut tree carved by the early settlers of the area, Ambrose A. Call. The brothers spent their first night on July 9, 1854 in Kossuth County and their second on August 1, 1850, on the river in Des Moines County, Iowa.

While Asa was looking for his wife's supplies, his traveling companion John C. Call and his brother began work on what is now State Park.

The park was inaugurated in 1929 and Mrs. Gardner Cowles handed over the land to her son-in-law John C. Call Jr. and his wife Margaret.

The authentic log cabins are made of 18-inch diameter elm trunks, similar to the ones built by the original settlers in the area. Four men were needed to come to terms with the tribe during the harsh winters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, according to an article in National Geographic.

The cabins in the park are located on the east side of the creek, near the entrance to the campground at the northern end of Amrose A Call State Park. The park moved from the paid farm to its current location in August and has 16 campsites, 13 of which are without electricity.

All camping permits are issued by self-registration and each campsite has modern, safe toilets and access to toilets and showers.

The rugged, densely wooded park offers hiking trails that wind through forests, canyons, picturesque, winding streams and scenic views of the Hudson River. A log cabin - a lodge in the style of 1928 - provides access to the main campsite of the park and several other campsites. For lodge reservations, please call the lodge reservation number 581 - 4835 for more information and a list of available lodges and campsites.

In A.A. Call you will find many kinds of shrubs, flowers and trees, and in winter cross-country skiing and in summer snowshoeing.