Location: Woodman Hollow, Otho, Webster County, Iowa
Water Source: Woodman Hollow Creek
Drop: 20 Feet
Directions: From Rt. 20, take 169 south 1.1 miles to the county road to the left (east) to Otho. Follow that road (N. Highway St.) 2 miles into Otho. At the T intersection, turn right (south) and continue on N. Highway St. to the water tower. From the water tower/City Clerk's Office in Otho, continue on N. Highway St. out of town to the east for 1.1 miles to Nelson Street going to the north (left). (Note: .3 miles from the water tower Nelson Ave. will turn off to the right (south); do not take this. You want to take Nelson Ave. to the north, with is 1.1 miles from teh water tower.) Take Nelson Ave to the north (left) for about .l mile to Woodman Hollow Rd. and take it to the right (east) for 1.5 miles. Next to the large power lines, at 2498, on the right side of the road, is a small sign for Woodman Hollow on a strip of grass about 20-30 feet wide between a field and a house. Park there and walk past the sign into the park beyond. There is a path through the tall grass back to the woods beyond. Once in the woods, continue straight back past the stone house to the second stone house and down the hill. Continue down and to the right until you come to the water. Go around the large rocks to find a path down to the water, and continue going to the right to the falls. The total trail is about 1/2 mile.
Notes: I visited Woodman Hollow Falls on March 22, 2003. I had a hard time finding the Woodman Hollow Preserve. (Thanks to the very nice lady who told me where to find it). I also had a hard time finding a trail to the falls. There were a lot of leaves on the ground that may have covered the trail, or there was no good trail. What trail I could find seemed to go to the left once I was in the woods, but the falls are back and to the right. There is a fence along the right side of the park. if you follow the fence past the second stone house down the hill and continue to the right, you will come to the falls. There was no water in the little creeks that I followed to the falls. I don't know the best way to go if there is water in them at other times of the year. At first I thought the falls were along that dried creek and were just not flowing, but I could hear some water trickling off to the right. I followed the sound of that water, and that is how I found the falls. The creek was frozen, and the falls were frozen except for a small amount of water that was melting and flowing behind the frozen falls (the day was about 50 degrees, so the ice was melting.)
Page last updated 24 Mar 2003.
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