Central Park in Jones County Is an Eastern Iowa Hidden Gem

I think we sometimes forget how many great places we have right here in eastern Iowa to explore. We talk about taking a trip, getting away for a weekend, or finding somewhere new to experience. Meanwhile, there are some pretty incredible places sitting much closer to home. That was certainly the case for my family, when we decided to spend the day at Central Park in Jones County, just outside Center Junction.

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I grew up camping at this park, roughhousing on tractor tire innertubes in the lake, and fishing from just about everywhere. On this visit, our plan was pretty simple. We loaded up the kayaks, grabbed our fishing poles, and headed out for a day on the water. It was one of our families last weekends to enjoy before school began. We also realized this was the first time we'd gotten the kayaks out all summer. Somehow, summer had again flown by. Between hiking, vacations, and various summer activities and sports, we had not found the time to kayak; we figured better late than never.

When we pulled into Central Park, we immediately knew we had picked the perfect time to visit. The park covers 312 acres and includes a 25-acre lake and a seven-acre pond. There is also a swimming beach, playground, sand volleyball court, horseshoe pits, camping, cabins, hiking trails, and the Jones County Nature Center. You could come here with a completely different plan than ours and still have plenty to do.

My wife and daughter put the kayaks in near the beach and paddled around the main lake. It was a beautiful day, and the water was calm enough that they could take their time and explore. For me it was another chance to fish and for my wife it was a chance to test fishing from angler kayak out. I will say, there is something about being in a kayak that makes a familiar place look completely different. Instead of just seeing the lake from the shore, you are right in the middle of it, looking back at the trees, campground, and shoreline from the water.

My daughter really glides across the water effortlessly. She even paddled so far ahead that she had to turn around because she had reached the far end of the lake. Eventually they both decided to take the kayaks under the historic Fremont Mill bridge, built in 1873 and relocated to the park around 1985.

The fishing on the main lake wasn't exactly spectacular for most of us. I lost a worm and hook to the inevitable snag, and there were plenty of casts that resulted in nothing. That all changed when Bennett caught a decent sized bass. It's always a big deal to Bennet when we hooks a fish. This time around I wanted to show him how to handle it and get it back in the water.

That is one of the things I enjoy most about taking the kids fishing. It's not really about how many fish you catch. There are plenty of little lessons that happen along the way. They learn patience. They learn how to cast, how to handle a fish, how to set a worm, and eventually how to get the fish back off the hook. They also learn that you can sit there casting for what seems like forever without getting a bite, only to suddenly have something on the other end of the line.

We had originally talked about doing some swimming during our visit, too, but that plan changed when we saw the warning posted at the beach about high E. coli levels following the recent rain. So, we decided that swimming could wait for another day. Fortunately, we were at Central Park, where there was no shortage of other things to do. Instead, we decided to test our luck fishing at the West Pond.

We gathered up some of our fishing gear and drove to the back section of the park. This area is more secluded than the main lake, and for the most part we had the place to ourselves. The well-maintained trail took us through a marshy area with cattails, and as we crossed a small bridge, we could hear water running underneath us, and frogs everywhere. We found a spot near the cattails and started fishing again. This time, the fish were much more cooperative, as we started pulling in the bluegills.

The fish may not have been keepers, but the kids were having a great time. I got to teach Bennett how to handle the fish, remove the hooks, and place them back into the water. Then we started noticing some of the other residents of the park.

We spotted a turtle swimming in the pond, and then we looked out toward the field and saw deer. There were several of them, including a couple of fawns. We were standing there with our fishing poles, watching deer in the distance and a turtle moving through the water, and I remember thinking that this was exactly why days like this are worth taking. You don't have to do anything spectacular, just slow down enough to notice what is around you.

As the evening went on, the sun started dropping in the sky. The West Pond became incredibly peaceful, and we were treated to one of those Iowa sunsets that makes you stop what you are doing for a minute. The water was getting darker, there was a little mist starting to rise and the whole area was still and peaceful. The perfect escape with even better company.

If you visit you can make it a quick afternoon adventure like we did, or you can turn it into a weekend or longer stay. The park has two cabins and several different camping options. There are about five miles of trails running through the park's woodlands, restored prairie, and wetland areas. The Jones County Nature Center is home to educational displays and hands-on activities, and there are programs throughout the year.

Of course, Central Park still holds some nostalgia for me. I grew up camping there with my family. We are talking about the early 1990s, when I was a kid and the park looked a little different than it does today. There was an area near the back where the west pond no resides that was called the Bee Tree, a little piece of childhood that sticks with you. So, while I was out there with my wife and our kids, I wasn't just visiting a county park for another family outing. I was bringing my own kids back to a place that had been part of my childhood.

I got to see them exploring the same place where I had spent time as a kid, only now they were the ones fishing, kayaking, and making their own memories. Places change over the years, but there is something special about returning to one of them with your own family and realizing YOU are adding another generation to that story.

That is one of the things I think makes places like Central Park special. They can be whatever you need them to be. A place for a family reunion, a weekend camping trip, an afternoon of fishing, a hike with the kids, or just a quiet day on the water. For me, Central Park is now all of those things, plus a little piece of my childhood.

We left Central Park knowing we would certainly be coming back. If you live anywhere around eastern Iowa and have never really explored Central Park in Jones County, you may be missing out on a pretty special place. For my family, it was just a day of kayaking and fishing. But it ends up being so much more than that.

It was Bennett catching a bass. It was Sawyer gliding across the lake. It was watching the kids catch bluegill and learn how to put them back. It was a turtle swimming by, deer standing in the field, and a beautiful sunset over the pond with my wife. It was remembering a little bit of family history and, at the same time, creating some new memories. Sometimes adventures are closer than you think; something from your past could be worthy of a return.