Tour the northern half of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail!
- 30 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By Allyssa RentschlerÂ
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).Â
Today’s route will begin in Urbana and go north to downtown Waterloo for a total of 73 miles roundtrip. Too far? There are lots of trailheads 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!  Â
The trail to Evandale is straight foward. 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.Â
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.Â
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.  Â
Come on out and check out this trail gem!Â
