Fun Valley is located in Montezuma, Iowa, with 14 named runs and 5 trails, with only 30 inches of average snowfall a year. With 35 acres of skiable area, they use 100% of snowmaking for the winter enjoyment of their skiers and snowboarders. Catering to beginners and intermediates, the Fun Valley ski resort makes a great place for families with children and beginners to learn how to ski, or to learn how to snowboard. Snowboarders are also welcome, with a gentle terrain available. Eight paths are for snowboarders alone with no cross-country available. Unfortunately, no handicap accessibility is available but night skiing is there. Group lessons are in one-hour increments, for 6-years and older and private lessons are offered 5-years and under. Skiing and snowboarding are in both private and group packages with advance reservations preferred, so it would be a good idea to book in advance for the lessons. Snow tubing is also available as one of the winter activities, in addition to snowshoeing.

Fun Valley offers outstanding group rates for groups of ten or more. Birthday packages are also fun, exciting and wonderful for that special day for kids, and their friends and family, ages twelve and under. Every Wednesday and Thursday night the ski resort offers a student night with greatly reduced rates. Buddy Pass Friday’s are also popular – bring your friends and you will all save on lift tickets. Coca-Cola sponsors Sprite Saturday’s at Fun Valley, where you can participate in three activities for one flat affordable fee. Sundays are Family Four Pack Day. There is no doubt about it, today when family values are questionable, going skiing is a way for everyone to have fun with each other and also, by doing something different.

Crappie is a plentiful species of fish in most areas of the United States, and there are thousands of lakes and rivers in the country where crappie can be found. As in many states, Iowa crappie fishing is best in spring but can be done in most months of the year. Where are the best locations, and what tips and tactics should be used to produce the most crappie? Crappie Fishing in Iowa is good throughout the state and although these plentiful panfish prefer standing waters with brushpiles and other heavy cover, you can also find them in many interior streams, as well as the backwaters and oxbows of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. However, the best places to look in Iowa are the man-made lakes, oxbow lakes, reservoirs, and small ponds that litter the state. You’ll find consistent catches in the early and mid spring, though fishing in many of the natural lakes provide an abundant crop of crappie year round.

In the spring, Iowa crappie fishing is most productive, but the characteristics of the lakes vary widely from one to the next. You’ll find your best opportunities in waters that have warmed to about 58 degrees or more. Here, spawning can occur, and you’ll find large schools of crappie hanging around. This temperature can be hard to find, depending on your location within the state, at least until May, when spring actually starts to take off in Iowa. The length of the day can also affect the ability to find crappie, with the panfish more likely to appear when there is more daylight keeping the waters more consistently warm throughout the day. Look for conditions to be best in inlets, marshes, canals, and marinas in natural lakes. As summer begins, the crappie shift from shallow waters back to the deeper, cooler waters that range anywhere from eight to twenty-five feet. You may have trouble fishing during these months without the assistance of a depth finder that will locate the large schools of fish. Drift fishing will produce the best catch for you during these months, with trial and error being the only “scientific” way to determine the locations. However, determining the level at which water in the lake no longer carries adequate oxygen for the fish to breathe will help you find the depth at which you can expect to find the crappie. Try fishing under structures during the summer, where you can find some of the best Iowa crappie fishing all year long.