10 Fun Free Places To Go Near Le Mars (Part 1)

Note: All driving times are approximate, I got the information from Yahoo! Maps. Since some of these lists are long, the next five of the Top Ten will be listed next Monday.

1. Starting closest to home is of course - home! Le Mars has enough to get a great family day started. You could start your morning off with going to any one of the city parks, Cleveland Park is always a favorite to kids young and old alike. Then head over to the golf course area to play disc golf and catch the biking trail. Stop for a picnic by the pond or any other park and then head on over to the Plymouth County Museum for a fun tour in history.

2. Hinton - 20 minutes away. Heading South make sure you check out Hillview Park just west of Hinton on C-60. Hillview offers camping, fishing, swimming, hiking (but beware of hills!) and two different playgrounds. The nature trails offer many different views, including the resident elk herd. There is also a wonderful flower garden that attracts many butterflies and is a great scenic place to have a picnic. Throughout the summer they usually have scheduled activities for children. Check their Facebook page or call the park at 712-947-4270 for more information.

3. Sioux City - 30 minutes away. There are so many fun things to do in Sioux City, that the free things are sometimes the hard ones to find! One of my family's favorites is the Sioux City Art Center downtown. The center is basically free except for special exhibitions, and the main floor is always free and has a wonderful kids station where the kids can play art games on computers, make wall art, draw a "movie" and play with blocks and legos. Just a short drive away is the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center which offers a fun way to learn about the Lewis & Clark exhibition. At the front desk you can ask for a "passport" which can be stamped (kids love this) throughout the exhibit and includes actual excerpts from the journals of Lewis & Clark. Just down the parking lot from the Lewis & Clark center is the Sgt. Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center. This museum centers on Missouri River history and best of all is on a dry-docked boat! A little further downtown at 29th and Jackson is the Sioux City Public Museum This was the home John Pierce and explores the evolution of Sioux City and the regions Native American heritage.

South of town is the Dorothy Peacaut Nature Center. The Dorothy Peacaut center offers indoor and outdoors fun with many nature exhibits. Like Hillview it also offers Summer Day camps, hiking, camping and butterfly and wildflower gardents. But also includes a bird viewing area, and outdoor amphitheater.

Some other great places to check out are Grandview Park, near St. Luke's hospital and in Morningside Latham Park. Both of these offer spectacular flowers and scenery. For more information and even more stuff in Sioux City check out this website: http://www.siouxcitytourism.com/attracti...

4. Correctionville - 40 minutes away. Little Sioux Park is just outside of Correctionville on Hwy 31. It provides a 10-acre lake with fishing and boating opportunities as well as a nice swimming beach. Camping, hiking and a biking/walking trail are also great ways to spend a day here.

5. Storm Lake - 1 1/4 hours away. My family once went over to spend a day at King's Point Waterpark and never made it! We stopped at a park right outside King's Pointe for a picnic and had so much fun there, we didn't need to go to the water park! There's plenty of beaches with free swimming, a walking trail, and for $1 a person you can go up in the lighthouse and check out the scenic view.

Be sure to check next week for the next five great places to see close to home!