Near the town of Bridgewater, Adair County, Iowa, is a lovely park named after the Mormon pioneers who made their way past the area beginning in 1846. The 170-acre park, including Mormon Trail Lake, is named in honor of the pioneers who traveled along the Iowa Mormon Trail beginning in 1846.
There is a National Park Service historical marker/panel in the park that gives insights into the entire Mormon Trail as well as the landscape and different types of vegetation the pioneers would have seen as they passed by with their wagons.
About a half-mile from the park’s lake is a site where surviving wagon ruts from that period can be seen. Such a site is rare in Iowa. These ruts that identify the original trail followed by the Saints are better seen when the vegetation is dormant and not when it is vibrant and growing.