Aqua Expeditions, a travel company, recently surveyed over 2,000 Americans asking them their favorite natural landmarks. One of Iowa's very own managed to crack the top 10.

Indeed, Iowa's Pikes Peak State Park came in at #8 on this survey, joining the likes of New York's Niagara Falls, Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park, and Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains as one of America's most beloved landmarks. Such company is quite esteemed. We beat out the other, more-famous Pikes Peak in Colorado!

Here's the full list:

  1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee)
  2. Niagara Falls (New York)
  3. Elephant Rocks (Missouri)
  4. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
  5. Redwood National and State Parks (California)
  6. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
  7. Hanauma Bay (Hawaii)
  8. Pikes Peak State Park (Iowa)
  9. The Grand Canyon (Arizona)
  10. Waikk Beach (Hawaii)

To see Iowa top the Grand Canyon of all locations is incredible in itself. But Pikes Peak wasn't the only Iowa destination to crack Aqua Expeditions' list, which ranked 250 locations.

A creek within Pikes Peak. Photo Credit: Tom Ehlers, Townsquare Media Dubuque
A creek within Pikes Peak. Photo Credit: Tom Ehlers, Townsquare Media Dubuque
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Here's how other Iowa landmarks fared:

109. Eggify National Monument
110. Laura Ingalls Wilder Park
111. Maquoketa Caves State Park
218. Ledges State Park

Overlooking the Upper Mississippi River and the Wisconsin River, Pikes Peak State Park is a sight to behold with its 500-foot bluff. The park is operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and gets its name from the high point that overlooks the gorge of the Upper Mississippi. Like Pikes Peak in Colorado, the state park is named for Zebulon Pike, an American brigadier general.

Pikes Peak is the highest point off the Mississippi River. Photo Credit: Steve Pulaski
Pikes Peak is the highest point off the Mississippi River. Photo Credit: Steve Pulaski
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Pikes Peak is still one of the destinations I have yet to explore. I caught a glimpse of it in August, when my friend and I set sail on a boat tour from Maiden Voyage, located in the nearby town of Marquette, IA.

Pikes Peak State Park is located at 32264 Pikes Peak Road in McGregor, IA.

Read more about Aqua Expeditions' list here!

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