Cedar Park improvements rejuvenate activity

Union County’s Cedar Park is buzzing with new life and flying disc thanks to the innovation of Union County Conservation and local disc golfers who took on park improvement projects.

Located approximately four miles southeast of Creston, Cedar Park is a 12-acre park. The one-acre pond was recently renovated by Union County Conservation through a grant to improve fish habitation.

“We were able to dredge dirt out of the bottom and use that to raise the dam to raise the pond level,” said Mike Hilger, Union County Conservation park ranger at Cedar Park. “Before, it was just a little mud hole with no fish in it. Now it has been stocked, but it will take a couple years for the fish to get bigger.”

Hilger said the pond will eventually have bluegill, bass and catfish.

The construction at Cedar Park also added a new footbridge across a section of the pond and reestablished the park’s dirt walking trail. This spring the Union County Conservation plans to reseed grass and add some native prairie grasses on the north section of the park.

A nine-hole disc golf course highlights the recent renovations. Austin Smith and Joey Hoepker approached Hilger about adding a course to the park in February 2014.

“It gives people an alternative way to see the natural beauty of the whole park,” Smith said.

In the past, Cedar Park was gated off to the public to deter reoccurring vandalism and damage to the park’s infrastructure.

Smith said he hopes the addition of the disc golf course and the renovation of the pond will help increase positive activities at the park and help prevent future criminal mischief.

“This wouldn’t have happened without the conservation board helping us out,” Hoepker said. “They really liked the idea and that gave us more motivation to get us through.”

Course features

The baskets and tee posts are set, but Smith said they are still working to add several features to the disc golf course. They are preparing to lay concrete tee boxes, mulch trails between the holes and construct benches.

“This course is more of a timber setting,” Smith said. “It has a variety of technical holes. It is geared toward skill rather than power.”

Disc golfers will find a variety of challenges including water hazards close to the pond and fairways with trees as obstacles.

Smith said the course is split for holes that favor backhand and forehand throws. Most of the holes will have two locations to alternate between.

The first hole gives players a mental challenge over a small section of the pond. The third hole is the longest on the course, covering the length of the restored prairie.

The course circles the pond, utilizing natural challenges to keep the disc golfers on their toes with each throw.

Course funding

Smith and Hoepker applied for a grant through the Endow Union County Grant administered by South Central Iowa Community Foundation. The $2,150 grant was awarded in August 2014. It matched part of the donation from Union County Conservation and the labor Smith and Hoepker donated to setting up the course.

“Without the grant, we would have had to fundraise to get the money and we would still be waiting to put it in,” Hoepker said. “The grant and the conservation board helped out a lot.”

The grant covered a majority of the construction costs. Creston Disc Golf League funded some of the additional costs.

Smith, Hoepker and their friend Ben Lundy spent a couple months designing the layout of the nine holes. Hoepker said for some of the holes they had to go on site and visualize where the disc could travel before adding it to their plan.

“We steered clear of the shelter area so people could have peace of mind that no discs would be flying by,” Smith said.

Smith works full time as an engineer. Hoepker farms in Union County.

It took about 12 rough drafts before the trio was satisfied with the layout. When the weather allowed, they started clearing underbrush and lower tree limbs to make the course playable.

“If more people start using it, we hope it will turn into a better place to go,” Hilger said. “They can help take care of the park while they are out there.”