Gravel roads wind up, down and around the bluffs in Clayton County, providing excellent access to Sny Magill North Cedar, the popular wildlife area with high quality trout streams flowing through its valley. At more than 10 miles long, the trout streams are a major draw here due to their accessibility and unique opportunity to catch all three species of trout found in Iowa.
“I remember coming here to fish with my grandpa,” said Kyle Frommelt, wildlife technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Upper Maquoketa Wildlife Subunit. “There’s plenty of opportunity to fish here. If someone is parked at one site, just go on to the next.”
The nearly 2,000 acres of Sny Magill North Cedar Wildlife Area is the largest public area in Clayton County. Known for its excellent deer and turkey hunting, the heavily timbered area is also important for birds – both resident and migrating – and, in particular, cerulean warblers. The abundance of cerulean warblers here has led to some birders referring to the North Cedar portion of the wildlife area as the cerulean trench. It’s part of the Effigy Mounts Yellow River Forest Bird Conservation Area.
Sny Magill has been following a forest stewardship plan finalized in 2008. Currently, Frommelt said they are creating a soft edge on the bottomland near a food plot by allowing cottonwoods to grow until around 10 years old, then those trees will be ground out to keep the soft edge transition between old growth timber and the forage area.
Frommelt said staff have converted 10 crop fields into mixed oak and shrub plantings since 2022 – 14 acres of plantings were established in 2022, and another 20 acres planted this past spring. The trees have protective tubing to improve their chances for success. The tree plantings were possible through a grant from Alliant Energy and forestry contractors.
The area also has small patches of prairie and a few wetlands managed through prescribed fire and water level manipulation.
With convenient access via the Great River Road, and near other attractions like Pikes Peak State Park, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Bloody Run Wildlife Area and Yellow River State Forest, Sny Magill gets a lot of visitors, especially during fall colors.
“This area is a destination for people who love the outdoors,” Frommelt said.
Trout Fishing
Both streams at Sny Magill North Cedar Wildlife Management Area support naturalized populations of brown trout, with trophy-sized fish occasionally exceeding 20 inches. Additionally, catchable-sized rainbow trout are stocked weekly from April through October. In the upper reaches of North Cedar, anglers can also find wild brook trout, making it one of the few publicly accessible streams in Iowa where all three trout species—brown, rainbow, and brook can be caught.
Anglers can enjoy a wide range of fishing experiences, from deep pools shaded by overhanging trees to riffles and runs that test casting accuracy and technique. The clear, cold water provides ideal habitat for trout and allows anglers to spot fish in action, creating exciting sight-fishing opportunities.
Whether you’re a seasoned fly fisher chasing a grand slam of Iowa trout or a family looking to spend a peaceful afternoon by the water, Sny Magill North Cedar WMA delivers a rewarding outdoor experience steeped in natural beauty and angling tradition.
Ruffed Grouse habitat
Sny Magill North Cedar is in what’s considered Iowa’s historical ruffed grouse range of northeast Iowa and the local wildlife staff continue to manage the habitat necessary for the elusive bird to survive. Ruffed grouse are one of many species reliant on this type of early successional habitat, other bird species include American woodcock, gold-winged warbler, blue-winged warbler, yellow billed-cuckoo, and Eastern towhee.
“We will continue to manage the forest resource as a system with our Forest Wildlife Stewardship Plan guiding our management going forward,” he said.
Frommelt said they have completed several aspen clear cuts since 2006, with another 4.5-acre aspen clear-cut completed last winter. It is critical to have various age classes for many reasons but it is especially important when trying to manage habitat for ruffed grouse.
“There’s a lot of bare ground – 4 to 4-1/2 acres cut last year – should be good growing conditions. Going to cut another 5-10 acres of Aspens this year,” Frommelt said. “We will keep cutting like we have birds here, with the hopes of them returning.”
He said they held an impromptu ruffed grouse drumming survey this spring but didn’t hear any.
Illegal camping
Just off of a maintained parking lot, in a valley near the 20-acre tree planting, are trails leading into small clearings where people set up camps while hunting on the area.
Manipulating and removing vegetation and installing rock fire rings to create a campsite on a state wildlife area or other DNR managed areas is not allowed.
Two unlawful camps were visible at this site. Water bottle caps, plastic spoons and beer bottle caps was just some of the trash left behind.