Iowa’s summers are perfect for exploring the Great Outdoors, from our many lakes and rivers to our amazing state parks. Whether you are hitting the water or hitting the trails, staying safe is the first step to a great adventure. Use the resources below to stay informed and protected.
Plan: Know Before You Go
Preparation is the key to a stress-free summer. Check these real-time resources before you leave the house.
- Signs of Severe Weather: Iowans are affected by floods, tornadoes, snowstorms, and other natural and human-caused disasters. Learn the signs of severe weather and the actions you can take to stay safe.
- Air Quality Alerts: Check the DNR’s air quality index (AQI) to ensure it’s safe for outdoor exercise, especially for children and those with respiratory conditions.
- Burn Bans & Fire Safety: Always check for active burn bans in your county before starting a campfire.
- Park Alerts & Closures: Get the latest on trail closures, facility updates, and campground status for all Iowa State Parks.
- Hiking and Biking Trails: Regardless of your preference, you will find trails in Iowa state parks and forests that suit your needs.
Alert Iowa and Smart 911 App
Don't get caught in a storm! Sign up for Alert Iowa or edit your account to receive weather and safety alerts! Or download the Smart911 App for location-based alerts on your phone.
Protect: Stay Summer Safe
Summer hazards can include extreme weather, heat exhaustion, and illness. Learn more about potential summer hazards now to ensure safe summer fun!
Tick and Mosquito Safety
Whether working, playing or just enjoying the outdoors, it is essential to limit your exposure to ticks and mosquitoes. Both can carry diseases that can make you sick.
Mosquito Protection
- DRAIN: Drain standing water from items around your home, yard, and business.
- DEFEND: Use an EPA registered insect repellent when outdoors. Make sure door and window screens fit tightly with no holes.
- DAWN TO DUSK: Protect yourself from morning to night, especially during prime times for mosquito activity.
- DRESS: Wear long sleeves, pants, and closed toe shoes when outdoors to cover your skin.
Tick Protection
- DRESS: Wear long sleeves, pants, and closed toe shoes when outdoors to cover your skin.
- DEFEND: Use insect repellent when outdoors and avoid tick habitats.
- CHECK: Check your entire body for ticks after being outdoors, including your children and pets.
- REMOVE: Use fine-tipped tweezers to promptly remove ticks.
Sunscreen and Bug Spray
Sunscreen and bug spray are important steps to protecting yourself while you enjoy the outdoors. Choose a sunscreen that has a sun protection factor (SPF) 30 or higher. For sunscreen and bug spray make sure you read and follow all of the packaging instructions.
Heat & Hydration
Heat Safety: Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths. Drink plenty of water (avoid alcohol/caffeine, which cause dehydration) and take frequent breaks in the shade.
Know the Signs:
- Heat cramps: May be the first sign of heat-related illness, and may lead to heat exhaustion or stroke.
- Symptoms: Painful muscle cramps and spasms usually in legs and abdomen. Heavy sweating.
- First Aid: Apply firm pressure on cramping muscles or gently massage to relieve spasm. Give sips of water unless the person complains of nausea, then stop giving water. Seek immediate medical attention if cramps last longer than 1 hour.
- Heat Exhaustion: Symptoms include heavy sweating; weakness or tiredness; cool, pale, clammy skin; fast, weak pulse; muscle cramps; dizziness, nausea or vomiting; headache; fainting.
- First Aid: Move person to a cooler environment, preferably a well air-conditioned room. Loosen clothing. Apply cool, wet cloths or have person sit in a cool bath. Offer sips of water.
Seek immediate medical attention if the person vomits, symptoms worsen or last longer than 1 hour
- First Aid: Move person to a cooler environment, preferably a well air-conditioned room. Loosen clothing. Apply cool, wet cloths or have person sit in a cool bath. Offer sips of water.
- Heat Stroke: Symptoms include throbbing headache; confusion; slurred speech; nausea; dizziness; body temperature above 103°F; hot, red, dry or damp skin; rapid and strong pulse; fainting; loss of consciousness.
- First Aid: Call 911 or get the victim to a hospital immediately. Heat stroke is a severe medical emergency. Delay can be fatal. Move the victim to a cooler, preferably air-conditioned, environment. Reduce body temperature with cool cloths or bath. Use fan if heat index temperatures are below the high 90s. A fan can make you hotter at higher temperatures. Do NOT give fluids.
Weather & Emergencies
- Emergency Supplies: Always keep a "Summer Go-Bag" in your vehicle. Essential summer items include:
- Water (1 gallon per person per day)
- First aid kit and sunscreen (high SPF)
- A portable fan and towels
- Flashlight with extra batteries
- Whistle to signal for help
- A regional paper map (in case of cell failure)
- Lightning: "When thunder roars, go indoors." If you are on the water and see lightning or hear thunder, get to shore immediately.
Play: Responsible Recreation
Enjoy Iowa’s natural beauty while respecting the environment and your own limits.
Go Outdoors Iowa
The official Iowa DNR portal for buying hunting and fishing licenses, tags, and permits. Users can also register boats or ATVs, report harvests, and sign up for hunter education classes or outdoor events in one location.
Water & Boating Safety
- Wear It, Iowa! State of Iowa law requires life jackets on every watercraft, whether it’s a motorized boat, jet ski, kayak, canoe, or even a paddleboard. Always wear a properly fitted, personal floatation device (PFD). Make sure kids wear their life jackets before getting in the water. How to choose the right life jacket.
- Be Vigilant: Watch young children when swimming or playing near water. Drowning can occur quickly and quietly. Be close enough to touch the child at all times, even in ankle-deep water.
- Boating & Alcohol: Operating a vessel while intoxicated is illegal and dangerous. Always have a designated operator.
- Boating Safety and Laws: Learn boating basics, regulations, required equipment, safety tips, and motor regulations for Iowa lakes through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Responsible Recreation
- Follow "Leave No Trace" principles: Pack out your trash, stay on designated trails, and respect private property bordering public lands.
- Wildlife Interactions: Observe wildlife from a distance. Never feed park animals, and keep pets on a 6-foot leash at all times to protect both your pet and the local wildlife.