Hiking at Palisades-Kepler State Park

One of my favorite parts about living in Cedar Rapids is the incredible wealth of parks, picnic areas, and hiking / biking trails the area offers.  It's a very easy city to be active and outdoors in.  My favorite spot is Palisades-Kepler State Park.  

A not-so-decent but still effective panoramic view of the river

Located off of Hwy 30 just before Mount Vernon, this is hidden Iowa treasure.  I'd never heard of this park before until we moved to the area.  It's a sizable hunk of wooded land along the Cedar River and there's camping, cabin rental, boating access, and picnic areas.  The trails, however, are what I've fallen in love with.

My childhood is filled with very fond memories of exploring the trails of state parks.  I've been all over the hills in Lime Creek (Mason City), Phelps Park (Decorah), Grandad Bluff (LaCrosse, WI), Effigy Mounds (McGregor/Marquette), and Backbone State Park (Strawberry Point).

Can you make out the house?  I can only imagine how amazing the view is!

I feel so luck to have Palisades only a 10-minute drive away.  Mike and I have often whipped up a barbeque picnic, ate alongside the river, and then walked off our dinner.  It's a fantastic way to kill an afternoon.  

This weekend, I finally hit the trails for the first time this year.  I spent an hour on the Cedar River trail, which follows the bluffs along the river.  It's so gorgeous and peaceful and has an air of the Mississippi about it.     

This is a hilly, rocky, tree branch-laden path with some reasonable inclines.  I see people of all ages and shapes out here though, a lot with dogs and little kids.

Starts out gentle - there are several cute bridges like this

Then you get to your first set of steps

This is a little lookout point once you climb to the top of the first bluff

Hard to see the depth, but this is the view from the lookout point

The trail continues atop the bluff

Dropping off a bit on a shoulder

This is the sharpest incline, though it's hard to tell from the picture how steep it really is

Almost to the top!

A beautiful view to reward your legs for the climb

On the way back - lots of exposed rock faces to marvel at

Spotted this little guy - like a muskrat but had a bushy tail though ... Help anyone?

If you need some variety for working out, this is a great way to do it

I have yet to hit the end of the river trail and there are several others I haven't tried that extend into the hills away from the bluffs.  I just read on the website there are Native American mounds, which has me super intrigued.

Places like Palisades make me supremely happy - I love being outdoors and hiking.  Throw in bluffs and a river and I'm in my element.  

  
What are your favorite parks?