Little Wall Lake
http://www.jewelliowa.com/lwl.htmlThe lake is located at 3540 Little Wall Lake Road in Hamilton County, Iowa. This road is also Highway 69 and the park entrance is located two miles south of Jewell, Iowa.
Little Wall Lake, 258 acres, is termed a "natural lake" by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The lake earned it's name because it was formed by the moving ice of a glacier pushing against the earth and creating a "wall" of soil where water could collect. Little Wall Lake
The water is held by a combination of recessional moraines rather than a significant geological feature. Therefore, such lakes tend to be fairly shallow and contain small watersheds. Because of the small watershed which feeds the lake, it was more of a marsh than an open body of water. Only with artificial efforts, such as dredging, has the area become a lake and not become an eventual marsh. In 1905-06 and again in 1936-41 the lake was reported to have gone dry.
In the 1950's the Iowa DNR arranged for a dredging machine to open channels and clean some of the lake from the vigorous growth of aquatic plants. Approximately 65 acres were dredged. A few low spots surrounding the lake were filled with the dredged material resulting in the loss of some low marsh areas.
In October of 1960, the Hamilton County Conservation Board signed a contract with the Iowa DNR for a joint management program for the area. The Iowa DNR manages all aspects of the lake and the conservation board manages the park and two thirds of the land around the lake. In 1961 the conservation board entered a maintenance agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for the right-of-way along the east side of state highway 69 adjacent to the lake. The conservation board assumed maintenance of the areas at the north and south ends of the lake and along the west side of the lake where the lake borders the highway.
Little Wall Lake In 2002, approximately 100 acres of the lake was dredged for better boating and fishing. In 2004, natural water filters and screens were installed so that pumping water from a nearby creek could bring the lake water levels back to near normal. With your continued financial support in donations, water pumping will be available as needed.
The Little Wall Lake recreational development has provided the residents of Hamilton County, central Iowa, and many tourists and visitors with a quality outdoor recreation area. The park and lake are used for camping, hiking, water skiing, boating, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling and many more outdoor activities.