Hey, Iowanderers! Have you met Matt Scott of Iowa Parklands? After meeting him at Active Endeavors at a pop-up market, we knew we wanted to introduce him to all of you!
Follow along to hear about Iowa Parklands from Matt himself…
I was born in Des Moines and moved to Ankeny when I was in third grade. I grew up exploring the wild places on the edges of a growing community and dabbling in various creative endeavors such as cartooning and model building. After receiving my degree in graphic design from Iowa State University I worked as an exhibit designer, technical illustrator and web developer.
Along the way I’ve been a husband to my loving wife and father of two boys who are now successful young men.
I’m a goal-oriented person who finds great satisfaction in completing projects or tasks. Iowa Parklands has been an enjoyable endeavor for me because there are many new challenges to conquer in a small business.
What is Iowa Parklands?
Iowaparklands.com has detailed firsthand descriptions of Iowa’s most popular parks as well as free printable trail maps. My favorite part of the Iowa Parklands project has been hiking hundreds of miles of trails with a GPS in hand to create accurate trail maps.
I also sell products on the site including trail map bandanas of many popular trail systems. The multifunctional bandanas have been popular with hikers, bikers, birders and equestrian riders. Several bandanas have been sold to Iowans living outside the state as a piece of nostalgia for their favorite Iowa Park.
I launched iowaparklands.com in November of 2012 as an outlet for my interests in design, fitness and the outdoors. I was also frustrated by the lack of accurate maps for Iowa’s hiking trail systems and decided to create my own.
Meeting local makers at the popup markets where we exhibit has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of the business. It’s such a fun and vital community and they are all so creative.
It was especially fun to finally meet Zach Steele last summer. His Instagram was an inspiration for me to visit as many Iowa parks as I could and write about them.
I also want to mention all the park rangers, foresters and park employees that I have met. They have always been friendly and informative. Our state park caretakers along with volunteer groups do the best they can to maintain our wild places with the resources given to them.
What is your favorite state park + why?
I am emotionally connected to Ledges State Park. I have been going there my whole life with grandparents, parents and my children. Visits to the park never get old and I always find a new adventure at the Ledges.
Not many people seem to know about Shimek State Forest in the southeast part of the state. Shimek State Forest has one of the largest remaining single pieces of contiguous forest in Iowa and around 50 miles of trails. The area was on track to become a national forest called “Hawkeye National Forest” but the plan never came to fruition.
Any exciting plans for 2018 for Iowa Parklands or your personal travels?
I have a couple new products in the works based on customer feedback. One of the most requested items is a way to display the bandanas on a wall, so I’ll be developing a system to do just that.
I’d like to create maps for three more trail systems which include Loess Hills State Forest, Steven’s State Forest and Whiterock Conservancy.
One final note…
I would encourage people to go to an Iowa park that you have never been to before. Every park has unique qualities that are fun to explore.
Make sure to visit Matt’s site + let us know what parks you explore this year!
Great article and love your idea of mapping out our parks, Matt! It would be wonderful to have a “passport for the parks” that parents / grandparents could share with their children/grandkids!
Having a page for each visit that either the child or parent or grandparent could write a little note during or after their visit would be a wonderful keepsake. Keep up the amazing work!