Site Details

Chichaqua "Duck ponds" - Polk County

GPS Coordinates: 41.7901128466648, -93.4201169013977

Management: None listed

Directions: The duck ponds are off the south side of NE 126th Avenue to the east of the ranger's house and associated buildings. How to get there. From NE 134th Ave (aka F22 on the DeLorme Gazetteer), head south on NE 80th Street. At the end of this road, you'll automatically be heading east onto NE 126th Ave, which is smoothly paved. After about three-fourths of a mile, look for some buildings (including the ranger's house) on the north side of the road. Just before these buildings, there is a large, rectangular parking lot. Park here. (You could alternatively park in a small area that is ENE of the ranger's house, but the big lot is probably the best bet on weekends - and it's close to where you'll need to walk anyway.) Now, walk out and follow 126th Ave again to the east. After a short distance, about where a separate road heads to the north, notice that 126th is gated. Walk past this gate and continue east along the gravel two-track path. After a leisurely ~10-minute walk, you'll see the unlabeled "duck ponds" off the south side of the path. These ponds are obviously much deeper than the wetlands you may have noticed during the first part of the walk. At my last check, there was an elevated outlet pipe distributing water into the ponds.