Cayler Prairie State Preserve
Cayler Prairie
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
The True Prairie: Cayler Prairie, Iowa diorama at the Milwaukee Public Museum
Location in Iowa Show map of Iowa Location in United States Show map of the United States
Location	Dickinson County, Iowa
Nearest city	Spirit Lake, IA
Area	160 acres (65 ha)
Established	1971
Governing body	Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Cayler Prairie State Preserve is a 160-acre land parcel of tallgrass prairie located in the northwest region of the U.S. state of Iowa in Dickinson County near Spirit Lake. It is a National Natural Landmark.

Cayler Prairie is dominated by big bluestem grass. Prairie forbs include (in spring) golden alexander and Lambert's crazyweed; (in summer) sawtooth sunflower and prairie rose; and (in fall) Missouri goldenrod, New England aster and dotted gayfeather. The prairie rose that blooms here is the state flower of Iowa.^[1]

Adjacent wetlands are managed in combination with the prairie, creating a managed land complex of 1,204 acres.^[2] Historically, much of the visitation to the prairie has been connected with wetland and upland wildfowl hunting.

The prairie was uncovered by botanist Ada Hayden in 1944, who recognized tallgrass plants growing in a hayfield. She recommended that it be preserved as one of the last remaining patches of old-growth tallgrass prairie in Iowa. In 1958, the Cayler family - who had owned the land since frontier settlement - sold the land parcel to the Iowa Conservation Commission. The tallgrass parcel was named as a National Natural Landmark in 1966, and was dedicated as a state nature preserve in 1971. Bufferland was purchased in 1998.^[1]

• U.S. Geological Survey Map at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved December 7th, 2022.

43°23′50″N 95°14′38″W / 43.39722°N 95.24389°W / 43.39722; -95.24389