May 2026 Trail News
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
In this edition:
Trail shorts- just the details
This trail project will extend the Cedar Valley Nature Trail from where it stops at 7th Avenue SE in downtown Cedar Rapids to the future Alliant Energy LightLine Bridge over the Cedar River. The Project was bid in late April and is expected to start construction this year.
The segment in red will be bid this fall and construction to start in 2027.
Construction will begin this fall from Westwood Ave to 13th Street and continue through 2027.
The path along the blue section is to be determined. Green is completed trail, red marks where the Biechler Bridge will cross the Cedar River.
Meetings with the public are scheduled for this summer, watch for details. The large “squares” of yellow by Bever Park are awaiting specific route details. Funding is already secure for this section.
By summer the county will select an engineering firm to plan the route. It should take about a year to complete the planning phase. Orange line is the route to be determined.
There will be a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Open House on May 28th from 4:30-6:30 at the Hiawatha Library for the projects. This will cover the projects recommended for funding by the Policy Board. Please join!
LCTA has purchased several trail counters and installed them across our area trails. This location is the Grant Wood Trail by Waldo’s Rock. Counters not only help us see what usage is, but trail counts are important information to provide for future trail building and grants.
Tour the northern half of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail!
By Allyssa Rentschler
Are looking for a trail to put in some big miles for RAGBRAI training, or are just curious about the northern half of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail? Now is a great time to check it out! The entire trail is paved and there are currently no closures for construction. If you want to check for trail conditions around the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area including the northern half of the CVNT, check out cedarvalleytrails.org for an interactive map (look under Paved Trails).
Today’s route will begin in Urbana and go north to downtown Waterloo for a total of 73 miles round trip. Too far? There are lots of trail heads you can start at to make a shorter distance. Check out this OntheGo map
In Urbana, park at City Hall on Capital Ave and hop on the trail. This is close to Jam’s Coffee Bar if you want a caffeinated beverage or a snack to get you started!
The trail to Evansdale is straight forward. There are few comfort stops but one great stop is at the Gilbertville Depot. There are bathrooms and a bottle fill station inside the building which is open from about mid-April to mid-October during daylight hours. There is also a great display detailing how the trail was built and pictures of the railroad cars that were used when this corridor was a railroad.
Once you get past the Evansdale trail head you may need a little guidance. After passing under HWY 380 you will find yourself at the edge of a neighborhood. I recommend turning left on to Arbutus Ave. About 1 block over you will find the trail crossing the street. Turn left on to the trail. This will take you around Meyers Lake where you can access Angels Park or continue straight to Gilbert Dr. Turn left and there is about a block of riding on the street. Go straight, through the stop sign, towards Deerwood Park. Approximately a block later you will see the trail again heading to the right. This is on top of the dyke and you will shortly see the Cedar River. Continue following this trail, and the river, all the way to downtown Waterloo.
Upon returning southbound you can take the same route back.
The northern half is a beautiful section of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. It is very wooded and you can see the Cedar River in many spots. There are 2 long bridges over the Cedar River and many smaller ones. You may spot a lot of wildlife and there are always turtles sunning themselves on logs.
Come on out and check out this trail gem!
We thank our business donors!
We appreciate our individual donors as well. Every dollar counts towards trail progress as most grant funds require an 80/20 match. Your dollars go towards the 20%.
