Looking at all the trees and grass on campus might fool some people into thinking they are attending classes in a scenic park.

However, when the urge to answer the call of the wild becomes too strong, there is a place to go. Simply get in your car and drive 15 miles west of Ames to Ledges State Park.

Ledges State Park ranger Mark Plymale said students have been visiting the park for nearly 75 years.

“The state began acquiring land in 1920 for the park,” Plymale said. “They finally dedicated Ledges State Park in the summer of 1924.”

Plymale thinks the popularity throughout the years is due in part to its location and facilities.

“It’s close to Ames and has a lot of camping sites,” he said. “We have about 94 camp sites available, some without electricity and some with it.”

The camping sites are what first attracted Kevin Emmert, freshman in computer science, to the park.

“I have been camping there several times with my brother,” he said. “It really is a damn fun place to party.”

Besides the camping sites, Ledges has many other attractions.

“I feel that our biggest draw is probably our sandstone cliffs,” Plymale said.

“The cliffs formed when the Des Moines lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier melted. The resulting water created a big lake with sand underneath, and the pressure of the water on the sand cut out a canyon underneath the lake,” he said.

Ledges includes many trails for hiking and biking. It was the trails at Ledges that interested Karen Platner, freshman in advertising.

“The trails are great because they go really high and there’s not a lot of people, so it’s pretty quiet,” she said.

Emmert also noted that the trails were nice, but said he and his brother preferred biking on them.

Plymale said although winter weather does not permit easy hiking or biking of the trails, enthusiasts still get a workout.

“When we have a decent snow cover, we get a lot of cross country skiers,” Plymale said. “We also see the occasional snow camper during the winter.”

Another aspect of the park is its wildlife. Plymale said many ISU classes make field trips to the Ledges, especially botany and zoology classes. He said the majority of the animals at Ledges are typical indigenous species.

“We see a lot of deer and that sort of thing,” he said.

But there are many things to be enjoyed at Ledges State Park, and not all of them are as grand as sand cliffs or hiking trails.

“The upside down bridges are really cool,” Platner said. “I like driving through the water running over them. I really would definitely recommend Ledges to anyone, it is such a beautiful place,” she said.

From camping to class field trips, the area is grounds for a plethora of varied activities. Admission is free to everyone, and the camping grounds and park are open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. year round.