Iowa trails · Cedar River Trail
Cedar River Trail
A 13.5-mile network in Iowa, with 111 ft of climbing. Reaches Cedar Lake. Managed by Local Government.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 64% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 4.5. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Cedar Lake (lake)
Getting there
Cedar River Trail junction. About 10 min drive (5 mi) from Cedar Rapids. 41.92278, -91.63162 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:49 a.m., the sun rises at 7:17 a.m. and sets at 6:26 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:54 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 09 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 13.5-mile route takes roughly 5 h 03 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 12:20 p.m. — 6 h 06 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Cedar River Trail + Cedar Lake Loop — 1.5 mi loop, 22 ft gain
- Cedar River Trail + Cedar Valley Nature Trail + Cedar Lake Loop — 1.6 mi loop, 16 ft gain
- Cedar River Trail + Cedar Valley Nature Trail — 1.9 mi loop, 16 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Beverly Park Mountain Bike Trail — 4.3 mi
- Sugar Bottom Trails — 11.5 mi
- Pleasant Creek Multi-Use — 17.0 mi