Nine Eagles State Park
Lake Loop

Oak covered hills, long views across a lake, soft trails and a fun water crossing make Nine Eagles State Park a fun place to visit. In the early spring oak leaves cover the ground and the views across the frozen lake show the clear contours of the surrounding hills.

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This is a nice, easy hike with pleasant rolling hills and a well groomed path. For me it's an easy stop when I'm heading south along the freeway and need to stretch my legs. I'm hoping to visit sometime during the fall - I bet it will be spectacular!

Approach

From the junction of Interstate Freeway 35 and Interstate Highway 69 east of Lamoni Iowa, head east on Hwy 69 4 miles to Cty Rd. J66.

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Turn right onto J66 and head south and east for 5.6 miles to the entrance to Nine Eagles State Park on your left.

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Enter the park road and drive 2.0 miles to the parking lot for the beach and playground.

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Coordinates for the hike: 40.6000390,-93.7650060

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Parking / Trailhead amenities

The paved parking lot is large and has plenty of room. Adjacent to the parking lot are toilets, a swimming beach, picnic tables, a shelter, a playground, and a boat launch.

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Trail observations

The trail exits the parking lot on the side furthest from the beach. The trail hugs the perimeter of the lake and is generally wide and well maintained. There were a few wet spots when I hiked it in late February, but nothing too hard to find a way around.

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At the far end of the lake there is a spillway that needs to be crossed on large cement blocks. One of the blocks has broken and it might be a bit of a long step over the rushing water for little kids. Of course, if my son had been with me, that would have been his favorite part of the hike...

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Oddly, the trail ends in a little parking lot a short way before it reaches the beach parking lot where the trail began. Simply follow the park road down the hill to reach your car.

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Trail statistics

The trail is 3.32 miles long. The sum of all the uphill climbs is 163 feet.

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Trail waypoints

0.00 mi	Parking	View from the parking lot
0.14 mi	Trailhead	Trailhead
0.20 mi	Go right	Branch - stay right
0.64 mi	Woods	Trail entering the woods
0.81 mi	Dock	Fishing dock
0.83 mi	Stay right	Branch - keep right
0.89 mi	Go right	Branch - keep right
1.57 mi	Right	Branch - keep right
1.77 mi	Sharp left	Take a sharp left to the bottom of the spillway
1.91 mi	Head up	Head up the hill alongside the spillway
2.74 mi	Keep right	Branch - keep right
2.93 mi	Upper lot	Trail ends in upper parking lot. Follow road
3.18 mi	Follow road	Head down the road to where you started
3.32 mi	End of trail	End of trail