Lily Lake In Amana, Iowa

170 acres make up Lily Lake.  Located between Amana, Iowa and Middle Amana, Iowa.  Originally a bog, the rich mud on the bottom creates a very fertile environment for the American Lotus, or the Great Yellow Water Lily as it is commonly known.

It’s amazing to visit this lake.  The lilies grow so thick you could easily mistake it for a field.  We did.  We drove by it several times on our way to and from the town of Amana.  We had always thought it was just another field.  Corn or something.  Let’s face it, there is a lot of corn around here.  And it grows tall!

Anyway, when we stopped to check it out we actually saw it was giant water lilies.  The lily pads themselves are much larger than your head.  To say they are huge is an understatement.  And they completely blanket the lake.  You can only see the water around the edges.  And the wildlife that’s in this lake… we’ve never seen so many dragon flies.  I think the dragon fly should become the town’s symbol.  They are everywhere!

It was a beautiful day to explore the lake.  No boats aloud in these waters.  However there is a nice walking path along the shoreline.  For us it was way too hot to do anything though except take a few pictures and hop back into the air conditioned car.  With a heat index in the 100’s and rain coming, therefore it was very humid, you melt anytime you step outside.  We’re from New York, we can’t take this mid west heat!