Boone resident Natalie Moorman has been going to Ledges State Park with her family for the past 35 years. She said she loves seeing the scenic views while she looks down from the trails. For her, Ledges is a family tradition.

“I came with my family when I was younger, and then I started bringing my kids,” Moorman said.

Moorman said she goes to Ledges for the trails, the picnic areas and the environment it provides. “I just like everything about the Ledges,” she said.

Moorman isn’t the only one who likes spending her weekends relaxing at Ledges. They’ve become a popular attraction in central Iowa, drawing thousands of residents, including many ISU students, to the outdoors.

Gail Banowetz, senior in dietetics, goes to Ledges with her friends to hike on the trails and to grill out at campsites.

“I guess I just like the trees and the nature part of it,” Banowetz said.

Even though Banowetz has only been to Ledges a couple times, she said she enjoys the openness of the park.

Ledges doesn’t paint the typical portrait of Iowa landscape, said Neal Iverson, assistant professor of geological and atmospheric sciences. “It’s unique for central Iowa,” he said.

The bedrock formations at Ledges were created because of the cutting down of the Des Moines river, which runs through the park, Iverson said.

The park has a history set in stone. Ledges State Park Manager Marc Peter said about 13,000 years ago, glaciers began to cut through the sandstone, forming the cliffs and valleys in the park.

A development of the park in the late 1980s led to 15 miles worth of trails and 94 campsites, Peter said.

“We have wonderful trails with some beautiful scenic views,” he said.

The scenic views come with a price tag of up to about $200,000 per year. The park’s budget is allocated from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which helps keep the park open 12 months a year, from 4 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

“We have some cross-country ski trails [for the winter],” Peter said. “People even camp in the off-season.”

The only time when the park is closed is when rain floods the lower river valley, he said.

“Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day are very big for us,” Peter said. “But the campsites are full from Memorial to the first week of August.”

He said 24,000 people camped at Ledges State Park in 1999, and 455,000 people were counted as daily visitors.

But because of the large number of people who frequent the park, there has been some damage to the stones, Peter said.

“We have problems with people climbing and carving in the ledges,” he said.

Once someone carves into the sandstone, the impression is there for a very long time and the erosion into the stone increases the defacement of the sandstone, he said.

Peter added that underage drinking and littering also have been problems in the past.

He added, however, that he doesn’t believe those issues detract from the Ledges experience.