Backbone Lake
- Easy
- difficulty
- Apr, Jun–Oct
- best months
Clear at last check
Weather is good · OpenWeather · checked 22 h ago
Backbone Lake is a 94-acre reservoir in Iowa, managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. It sits about a mile from the town of Forestville, and the surrounding area offers a mix of hiking, climbing and paddling within a short drive. Summer is the warmest stretch for a visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Manchester put July highs around 82°F with lows near 61°F, while September cools to highs in the mid-70s. Several trails start close by. East Lake Trail and Bluebird Trail are each within a quarter mile, and West Lake Trail is about half a mile away. Backbone State Park, a climbing area, is roughly a mile off.
East Lake TrailHikingPhoto: christinejwarner, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.1 mi- Bluebird TrailHikingPhoto: christinejwarner, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.2 mi
- West Lake TrailHikingPhoto: christinejwarner, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.6 mi
Backbone TrailHikingPhoto: christinejwarner, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)1 mi- Backbone State ParkRock climbing1.1 mi
- Backbone EastRock climbing1.1 mi
- Drive In WallRock climbing1.1 mi
- Maquoketa River Water TrailCanoeing4.1 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Best time to visit Backbone Lake
Best months: April and June–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
26° / 8°
9 wet · 7 snow
Feb
31° / 12°
8 wet · 6 snow
Mar
44° / 24°
10 wet · 4 snow
Apr
58° / 35°
11 wet · 1 snow
May
70° / 47°
13 wet
Jun
79° / 58°
12 wet
Jul
82° / 61°
10 wet
Aug
80° / 58°
10 wet
Sep
74° / 49°
9 wet
Oct
61° / 37°
9 wet
Nov
45° / 26°
8 wet · 2 snow
Dec
32° / 15°
9 wet · 6 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Manchester #2, IA, 10.4 mi away at 990 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
