$395-415
Get down and dirty inside the earth! There’s a reason this is one of our most popular trips every year! Explore two different cave systems in eastern Iowa — Maquoketa Caves State Park and a private cave close by in Clinton County! We’ll hike the trails and see Maquoketa’s famous caves before getting down and dirty spelunking in a (short) cave system! There’s no better way to beat the heat of summer!
Trip Details
Adventure Rating: Beginner
Main activities: Hiking, Caving
Hike Length: We will be hiking and exploring the trails at Eden Valley Refuge, and hiking at Maquoketa Caves State Park on Sunday morning. In total, we’ll hike ~ 3 miles at Eden Valley and ~4 miles at Maquoketa Caves.
Camping Details: We will be camping at Eden Valley Refuge in Baldwin, Iowa. There are 8 spots available in a rustic cabin and 4 spots available in tents. You will have access to modern restrooms (flush toilets and showers)
Skills learned on this trip: Fire building and starting, hiking preparation & safety, camping preparation & safety, Leave No Trace, basic camp cooking, setting up and taking down tent, basic caving
Caving Expectations:
We will be caving on private land near Eden Valley. This allows for you to get a private and amazing experience.
You will be getting very dirty as you will be crawling through muddy caves. Clothes and shoes that you are okay getting dirty are required.
You will be crawling and kneeling a lot, and squeezing through small spaces
You must wear a helmet when caving (provided)
About Eden Valley Refuge & Maquoketa Caves State Park
From the earliest blooming hepatica to the brilliant fall colors and snow-covered trails, Eden Valley Refuge offers a refreshing and natural experience for the visitor. The limestone bluffs and forested hills teem with plant and animal life. The park's 201 acres are nestled along the banks of Bear Creek. Source: mycountyparks.com
With more caves than any state park, Maquoketa Caves is one of Iowa’s most unique outdoor attractions. Enormous bluffs tower throughout the park, and a six-mile trail system winds through geologic formations and forests brimming with natural beauty. As one of the state’s earliest state parks, Maquoketa Caves has been a popular destination for picnickers and hikers since the 1860s. Grab your hiking shoes and a flashlight before traveling to Maquoketa Caves, because this state park is nothing short of adventure. Source: Iowa DNR
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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.