Golden leaves and crisp autumn air draws many people outside before the cold weather sets in.

Ledges State Park near Boone on highway 164 is a good place for a late-season picnic or hike.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous with the leaves turning. It takes your breath away,” said Karen Platner, a sophomore in creative advertising.

Mark Plymale, a park ranger at Ledges, said there are an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 visitors each year.

The majority of people come to the park during the summer and fall months, and the peak time to see the changing colors of the trees is Oct. 1-15, he said.

Platner said the trees are really pretty, and this time of year is great to see birds, rabbits, and chipmunks.

Ledges was dedicated as a state park in 1924, and is one of the oldest, Plymale said.

A booklet sent by the Tourism Department of Iowa claims Ledges has seventeen miles of nature, hiking and cross-country trails.

“Lots of families with kids [use the trails],” Platner said. “It’s really safe because there’s wood rails and little rest spots along the way.”

The trails are expansive and offer lots of choices of which paths to take, Platner said. “You can see so far [from the overlooks],” she said.

Plymale encourages everyone to stay on the trails because erosion problems have occurred from people going off the trail and wearing away vegetation.

It is also prohibited to sign the cliffs. Plymale says signing the cliffs is a simple misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $100 plus court costs, and they will definitely prosecute offenders.

“It takes away the beauty of the park which is public property,” Plymale said.

“[The vandalism] is parallel with spray painting a bridge, but it’s permanent and it’s there forever. Those names mean nothing except to the ones who wrote them. It takes away from the beauty of the area for everyone else,” he said.

Another problem the rangers face is rock climbing, which is also prohibited in the park. The cliffs are made of sandstone and were created 300 million years ago.

“[The rock climbers] are wearing it away, and it’s irreparable,” Plymale said.

There are modern campground facilities at the park, and 40 of the 94 sites feature electrical outlets. All the sites are numbered, and there are individual restrooms and showering facilities.

The restroom facilities will be closing Oct. 15.

The camping area has self-registration with information available at the campground entrance.

The Des Moines River is fishable but there is not a good access, though people get catfish here and there, Plymale said.

In the low areas, there are trees showing the marks of the flood of 1993.

“We lost a lot of trees and are continuing to lose them because they were stressed from the flood of ’93. Pretty much all that have died [near camping and picnic areas] have been removed,” Plymale said. “Cottonwoods between the road [and cliffs] won’t be removed unless they’re a hazard to picnickers,” he said.

One of the planned improvements includes the moving of a stone shelter house in the valley to higher ground.

The shelter house will be moved out of a flood area and given a new roof.

“[The shelter was] built in the ’30s using glacial stone from Boone County,” Plymale said. “It was moved south to the Lost Lake area and set in an open field.”

They are also hoping to get a bridge on the road over Peace Creek replaced within the next two years.

Ledges is open year-round from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

“Canyon Drive closes after the first snow or ice; you can walk but it’s too steep and dangerous to drive on,” Plymale said.

Although the park is peaceful during the winter, the summer season, which ranges from prior to Memorial Day through October, is an extremely busy time, Plymale said.