Tama County Conservation-new pg

08/30/2026

Mark your calendars for a day of FAMILY FUN at Tama County Conservation’s Fall Fest!

Interested in being a vendor at Fall Fest this year? Contact us at [email protected]

08/18/2026

Building a swale with a little help from our 4H friends!

This area by our new playground at Otter Creek Park funnels all the water off the road and hillsides nearby, previously creating some serious canyon-sized cuts in our turf grass area.

So we added rock, re-meandered the water flow, added biodegradable erosion control matting, then seeded it with annual cover crop and native grass and forbs. We finished it off with almost 700 baby native plugs and a bunch of elbow grease to help boost the new native vegetation that will take over this area.

08/17/2026

North Loop campground at Otter Creek Lake is looking pretty fresh with some new fire pits! These now include a swivel grill top for your convenience.

There’s still plenty of decent camping weekends left; come try them out!

08/01/2026

Don’t forget our last Free Canoe night of the year tonight! This time with a few kayaks! Registrations are chuck full but feel free to bring your own water craft to join tonight’s full moon float

Join Tama County Conservation for our FULL MOON FLOAT this Saturday evening from 6:00pm - 10:00pm.
Canoes and a limited number of kayaks will be available for free check-out. Registration is strongly recommended, but not required. To reserve your canoe/kayak go to:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqO09-q6TIThZYNxE9IXAgk6bRITTwOFUkpW5u_hSCBCyB4A/viewform?usp=header

07/29/2026

Flowers are in peak showy season around the Nature Center at Otter Creek Park!

07/27/2026

Join Tama County Conservation for our FULL MOON FLOAT this Saturday evening from 6:00pm - 10:00pm.
Canoes and a limited number of kayaks will be available for free check-out. Registration is strongly recommended, but not required. To reserve your canoe/kayak go to:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqO09-q6TIThZYNxE9IXAgk6bRITTwOFUkpW5u_hSCBCyB4A/viewform?usp=header

07/22/2026

Kayak / Paddleboard Dispenser is Open!! Tell your friends!

Thank you to everyone for your patience while technical issues were being addressed with the kayak and paddleboard dispenser at Otter Creek. We appear to be back to fully functional for the rest of the summer. Come try it out!

07/15/2026

We’re at the Tama County Fair today! Drop by to see some critters, artifacts and a try your hand at our casting challenge! We also have stickers! See you there!

07/07/2026

We had a great morning hanging out with campers at Pilgrim Heights today, learning about animal classifications!

07/04/2026

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!!
The rain has stopped, the sun is shining and the lake is calm! Perfect to spend a bit of time paddling at Otter Creek Lake & Park.
10:00 - 2:00pm today (last canoe out at 1:15pm).