Lindsey Wilderness Area
Some 200 acres of woods and hiking trails run along the northeast side of
Bonaparte, and more visiting vacationers are utilizing the area for long walks,
mushroom hunting and geode searching.
Christy Creek, which runs through the Lindsay Wilderness Area before emptying in
the Des Moines River on the east edge of Bonaparte, is an excellent geode
hunting site, and groups of school children take annual class outings to search
for the beautiful rocks.
Operated by the Van Buren County Conservation Board, the Lindsay Wilderness Area
features second growth and some virgin timber that includes scattered regions of
butternut, walnut, sugar maple and hornbeam. A wide variety of native shrubs
such as blackberry, raspberry, hawthorne, hazel bush, redbud, and dogwood are
scattered throughout.
The area was donated to the county by sisters Margorie M. Lindsay and Faye
Miller Dawson in 1982.
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