Take E18 west for about 0.5 miles. Turn south on gravel for 1.25 miles to the preserve parking area on the west side of road. Doolittle Prairie is a mesic to wet prairie and includes several potholes. Mesic areas are dominated by big bluestem, Indian grass, and prairie dropseed.
Wet prairie is dominated by slough grass and sedges.
Vegetation in the potholes varies seasonally and annually, depending on water level. Knotweeds, bulrush, sedges, and slough grass dominate various locations at different times. The landscape here was formed by slow melting of the Des Moines Lobe ice sheet about 13,000 years ago. This was recent enough that drainage is not well developed, and wet areas like these potholes still remain. Facilities on the preserve include a parking lot.