$415
Experience the magic of northeast Iowa by river, traveling two days down the beautiful Turkey River near Elkader. We’ll spend the first night in the Elkader city campground, which has a walking trail that leads into cute downtown Elkader, where we’ll enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. Saturday morning we’ll pack up our gear and hit the river, floating to a private campground about 9 miles downriver. Upon arrival, we’ll be treated to an amazing live bluegrass show coordinated by Cabin Concerts and enjoy dinner on the banks of the Turkey. Sunday morning we’ll pack up and head home. We can’t wait for the magic of this trip!
Trip Details
Adventure Rating: Beginner
Main activities: Hiking, Paddling
Camping Details: Tent only campsites with primitive restrooms (pit toilet and no showers).
Skills learned on this trip: Fire building and starting, camping preparation & safety, Leave No Trace, basic camp cooking, setting up and taking down tent, basic canoeing skills
About the Turkey River
The 98-mile Turkey River Water Trail begins on the Little Turkey River at Gouldsburg Park in Fayette County, merges with the Turkey River near Eldorado, and flows southeast through Fayette & Clayton counties toward the Mississippi River. The water trail features beautiful scenery and numerous historic landmarks. For generations the Turkey River, with its wooded bluffs, fertile lowlands and wild game populations has served as a cultural melting pot. Prehistoric archeological sites of the Archaic and Woodland Tribes exist in the Turkey River Valley; with the most notable being a group of woodland mounds at Turkey River Mounds State Preserve above the confluence of the Turkey and Mississippi Rivers. In the 1700s, the French Fur Trade brought many of the first Europeans to the area including people of Spanish and French decent. These settlers traded with the historic Native American tribes of the Ioway, Ho Chunk, Sauk and Meskwaki. The scenic beauty of the Turkey River can be credited to the geological land form it flows through: the Paleozoic Plateau. This rugged landform contains four different rock formations ranging from 300-530 million years old. Along your route look for outcroppings of bedrock most frequently found in the sedimentary forms of limestone, dolomite, or sandstone. These rocks are responsible for forming the picturesque cliffs, ledges, and bluffs common along the Turkey. Source: Turkey River Watershed Management Authority
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Wander Women trips are designed to be restorative and relaxing, full of connection and knowledge building. Days are filled with activities ranging from skill-building workshops (like fire building or plant identification), hammock reading and card playing, to group hikes, impromptu yoga sessions and creek stomping. Nights are spent around the campfire sharing in storytelling, often digging deep into ourselves and our place in nature.
Please know that to us, there’s no right way to wander. We ask that you come as you are — you don’t need to have the gear, the knowledge or anyone else with you to make this trip great. We grant participants and ourselves the right to be imperfect or nervous, and encourage a “challenge by choice” mentality — letting you decide when you’ll step outside your comfort zone, knowing it’s often rewarding when you do. By the end of the weekend, we want you to feel confident in newfound skills, your place in the outdoors and your part in this community. That’s what these trips are all about!
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Each Wander Women trip has an Adventure Rating attached to the trip to give Wanderers a better idea of the activity level and physical requirements of the trip. These ratings are based on general Wanderer ability. If you have specific questions about a trip’s difficulty or specific accessibility questions, please reach out to us at hello@wanderwomenmidwest.com!
Beginner: This trip is designed for the low-key adventurer. Hikes will be taken at a leisurely pace and include small elevation changes on easy to navigate trails (wide, free of roots and other obstacles). Plenty of down-time built into this trip for participants to relax and create time for themselves. No prior outdoor skills required.
Moderate: This trip is designed for the adventurer looking for a jam-packed weekend or in-depth, hands-on skill building. Hikes will be longer (6+ miles) and taken at a moderate pace. There may be other recreation activities (paddling, paddleboarding, fishing, etc.) that are beginner-friendly but require moderate physical strain. There will still be plenty of down-time built in for participants to relax and create time for themselves, but there may be optional additional adventures offered. No prior outdoor skills required, unless otherwise noted.
Challenging: Participants are expected to hike, backpack or paddle long mileage days, often with weight on their backs or in their boats. Terrain will be challenging and have elevation changes or tricky parts to navigate. Previous hiking and paddling experience is strongly recommended.
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Your trip fee includes:
Delicious meals cooked for you all weekend
Campsite and/or cabin reservations (note: most out-of-Iowa trips will require car tags or park fees — you’ll be made aware when you’ll be responsible for those)
Guided, hands-on outdoor skills instruction and facilitation from our expert guides
A Wander Women swag bundle with goodies for you to enjoy during and after the trip
Communal gear, like camp chairs, cooking equipment, guide books, activity boxes, and more
Membership in our private Facebook group and exclusive access to Wander Women day hikes, educational opportunities, and other special events
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We are once again offering gear rental this year! We know that buying camping gear on your own can be very expensive and cost-prohibitive, so we’re excited to offer affordable gear rental while maintaining the highest standards for comfort and durability.
Choose between shared tent (Wanderers who opt to share a tent will sleep in a spacious 4-or-6 person tent with one other participant during their trip), solo tent or backpacking gear.
Note: All participants signed up for backpacking trips will have their own tent.
Gear Rental: What’s Included
Frontcountry trips: Tent (solo or shared), sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, sleeping pad and/or cot, tent lantern, camp chair, dining mess kit
Backpacking trips: Backpack, tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, backpacking stove, utensil kit, water bottles, trekking poles
*At this time, we do not have the ability to rent gear a la carte. If you have a backpacking tent but no other gear, you will still need to rent the full gear package.
HOW IT WORKS
During sign up, select your gear rental choice as an add-on to registration right in the trip page. Super easy!
Gear Rental (Solo Tent): $40
Gear Rental (Shared Tent): $35
Gear Rental (Backpacking): $45
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We want our trips to be accessible to all Wanderers. If you’re not able to afford the full trip fee now, WeTravel (our booking platform) easily lets you make a downpayment (this is also your non-refundable trip deposit!) and pay in installments throughout the year! There is NO fee for choosing the payment plan option!
All participants are subject to the Wander Women Trip Cancellation Policy.