Baxter Community Recreation Area
The Baxter Community Recreation Area, began in 1996, is
a beautiful new and developing recreation complex for
citizens of all ages. The 25-acre recreation area sits
at the west edge of Baxter, adjacent to the new West
Field Horizons residential development. The Baxter
Community Recreation Area houses a number of athletic
and recreational facilities including a soccer complex,
fields for football, baseball, little league and
softball, and a terrific new 400m all-weather track for
athletic competition as well as recreational use.
Walkers and joggers of all ages take full advantage of
the public-use track lighting to utilize the facility
around the clock for exercise and camaraderie. A
full-size picnic shelter equipped with electricity has
recently been completed, along with two smaller shelters
and a children's playground area.
Caboose
Our community hosts a restored 1913 wooden caboose,
located at the northern trailhead of the Chichaqua
Valley Bike & Nature Trail in downtown Baxter. This
historical attraction houses history and memorabilia of
Baxter and the railroad that once ran through our
community. The caboose is a link between the community's
rural beginning and its prosperous years to come.
Chichaqua Valley Trail
The trailhead for the Chichaqua Valley Trail is the
center of Baxter. This trail was developed on abandoned
Chicago-Northwestern right-of-way, with 24 miles being
aquired through a joint effort of the Department of
Natural Resources and the Polk and Jasper County
Conservation Boards. The 24-mile paved trail cuts
through sprawling meadows, rolling farm land and
beautiful hardwood timbers that teem with wildlife and
provides riders and walkers with serene landscapes of
some of Iowa's greatest treasures. This scenic trail
begins in Baxter and ends in Bondurant. This trail
segment of the overall Heart of Iowa Trail, when
connected, will be of loop design and encompass portions
of Polk, Jasper, Marshall, Story, and Boone counties.
The Chichaqua Valley Trail is an integral component of
the America Discovery Trail, which will eventually go,
nationally, coast to coast and thus through the Baxter
Community.
Ashton Wildwood Park
Ashton Wildwood Park, composed of 113 acres, is located
7 miles west of Baxter, just off of Highway F17 West.
Walking trails down the forested slopes provide a
viewing of a wide variety of spring wild flowers.
Picnicking, camping, and softball facilities are
available at Ashton Park. An Astronomical Observatory is
located at Aston Wildwood Park.
This area is a climax upland woods of
oak-hickory-ironwood complex. It was probably a
woodland-prairie savanna when pioneers first arrived,
but due to the suppression of fire has matured into a
climax woodland. Some of the large white oak trees are
over 350 years old. The woodland also has a full
complement of woodland wildflowers.
The Harvester golf resort
The Harvester is a premier residential and resort
golfing community located in the heart of Iowa's
agricultural surroundings. Set amidst 2,100 acres of
stately hardwoods, prairie grasslands and natural creeks
and wetlands, The Harvester is built on natural
principles of hard work, honesty, and integrity.
The first of three courses planned for the community,
The Harvester Tournament Course is a high-end public,
daily-fee golf course where golfers are welcomed with
quality service and spectacular golf. The layout of the
course will challenge the best golfers in the world
(7,240 yards from the professional tees), but will be
playable enough for the average golfer to enjoy.
Harverster Golf website
Wild Feather Hunt Club & Inn, Ltd.
Dwight & Kathy Fisher
10088 W. 56th St. N.
Baxter, IA 50028
641-227-3090
The Wild Feather Hunt Club is 649 acres of rolling
pasture and crop ground. The preserve is open to bird
hunters for a fee, from September 1-March 31. Birds
available are pheasant, chukar, quail, and huns. The
club has daily hunts or yearly memberships. Hunters can
bring their own dogs or use ours. It is a great place
for getting young hunters started, or for training dogs.
Our four-bedroom Inn is opened year-round for hunters or
non-hunters. It has a fully equipped kitchen for those
that like to cook. Reservations are required for hunting
and the Inn.
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