Hickory Hill Park
Encyclopedia
Hickory Hill Park is a large natural area in northeast Iowa City, Iowa
consisting of 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) of forest, abandoned fields, reconstructed prairie, wetlands, and parkland centered around Ralston Creek and its tributary drainages. It is owned and administered by the city, with help from Friends of Hickory Hill Park. The park is popular with day hikers, dog walkers, cross-country skiers, sledders, and picnickers.
Iowa City’s Hickory Hill Park should not be confused with Hickory Hills Park near Waterloo
, or Hickory Hills Park in Tama County
.
. Oakland expanded slowly, leaving much of the land to naturalize. An area of 50 acres (202,343 m²) was added in 1952 and the area was formally dedicated as a park in 1968, thanks to efforts of Dee Norton and other citizens. The park was expanded to 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) in the 1980s as part of a storm water control project. In April 2008, Friends of Hickory Hill Park raised $160,000 to purchase a 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) parcel that abuts the northwest edge of the park. The parcel includes wooded and open areas. The remains of an ice dam and an ice house may be found on the property.
. Other threats include trail erosion, and invasive species including garlic mustard
, multiflora rose
, and tree of heaven
.
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
consisting of 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) of forest, abandoned fields, reconstructed prairie, wetlands, and parkland centered around Ralston Creek and its tributary drainages. It is owned and administered by the city, with help from Friends of Hickory Hill Park. The park is popular with day hikers, dog walkers, cross-country skiers, sledders, and picnickers.
Iowa City’s Hickory Hill Park should not be confused with Hickory Hills Park near Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
, or Hickory Hills Park in Tama County
Tama County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,767 in the county, with a population density of . There were 7,766 housing units, of which 6,947 were occupied.-2000 census:...
.
Park history
Hickory Hill Park traces its origins to 1927 with a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) parcel of wood lots and farm fields purchased for expansion of the adjacent Oakland CemeteryOakland Cemetery (Iowa City, Iowa)
Oakland Cemetery is located on the north side of Iowa City, Iowa, and has served as the main cemetery for Iowa City since 1843.-Cemetery history:...
. Oakland expanded slowly, leaving much of the land to naturalize. An area of 50 acres (202,343 m²) was added in 1952 and the area was formally dedicated as a park in 1968, thanks to efforts of Dee Norton and other citizens. The park was expanded to 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) in the 1980s as part of a storm water control project. In April 2008, Friends of Hickory Hill Park raised $160,000 to purchase a 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) parcel that abuts the northwest edge of the park. The parcel includes wooded and open areas. The remains of an ice dam and an ice house may be found on the property.
Park layout
Hickory Hill Park is irregular in shape owing to its piecemeal land acquisitions. Much of the park is steeply sloped and wooded, with large areas of abandoned fields that are slowly being naturalized. Two picnic shelter areas are available, one near the far south entrance off Bloomington Street and one in the west off Conklin Lane. A large retention dam, built in the 1990s, sits in the center of the park.Park threats
Until the 1990s, Hickory Hill Park was at the edge of the city, and the park boundaries abutted farmlands to the north and east. However, development of the First Avenue extension to the east and Scott Avenue to the north enclosed the park, and new housing and commercial developments within this area greatly reduced the potential expansion area for Hickory Hill. Expansion plans are also limited by the adjacent Oakland Cemetery, St. Joseph’s Cemetery, and Regina High SchoolRegina High School (Iowa)
Regina High School is the only Catholic K-12 Education Center in Iowa City, Iowa. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport. It currently houses 450+ in the elementary, and 400+ in the Junior/Senior High School...
. Other threats include trail erosion, and invasive species including garlic mustard
Garlic Mustard
Garlic mustard is a biennial flowering plant in the Mustard family, Brassicaceae. It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, and northwestern Africa, from Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern Scandinavia, and east to northern India and western China...
, multiflora rose
Multiflora Rose
Rosa multiflora is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in China, Japan and Korea....
, and tree of heaven
Tree of heaven
Ailanthus altissima , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, or in Standard Chinese as chouchun , is a deciduous tree in the Simaroubaceae family. It is native to both northeast and central China and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus Ailanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather...
.