Soft Surfaced Trails
Getting off the paved path is the way to see acres of scenic parks and public spaces in the Cedar Valley. Bike, hike, snowshoe or just find a quiet place to rest and take it all in. There are a lot of places to choose from with approximately 30 miles of soft trails!
Choose your Adventure
The Cedar Valley Trail system is unique in that trails are interconnected, making it easy to access our soft trails. Plan to explore both soft and paved trails. With hotels, restaurants and other essential amenities close by, bikepacking may be just the ticket.
Click the map of our Cedar Valley Trails & Recreation Guide below to explore the various loops of the Cedar Valley Trails. To receive a hard copy of our trail guide, call the Cedar Falls Visitor Center at 319-268-4266 or stop at the Cedar Falls Visitor Center at 6510 Hudson Road. Soft trails are indicated with a dotted line.
Or, the Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails (CVAST) also has an online map of our local soft trails. You can find the map on their website.
We are Bicycle Friendly!
Cedar Falls was the first Bicycle Friendly Community recognized in Iowa by the American League of Bicyclists in 2009. A Bicycle Friendly Community welcomes bicyclists by providing safe accommodations for bicycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation.
Cedar Valley Nature Trail
The Cedar Valley Trail system is also connected to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, a 52 mile multi-use trail which leads to Cedar Rapids. This linear park runs along a converted railroad bed and features beautiful scenery and historical landmarks.
No motorized vehicles are allowed. Call 319-433-7275 for additional information about this trail.
Bike Shops
Bike Tech (217 Washington Street, Cedar Falls) features the area's largest selection of e-bikes & recumbent trikes. In addition to a full line of traditional bikes, they offer fast repairs and speedy special orders.
Hall Bicycle Company (4302 University Avenue, Suite E, Cedar Falls) has recently opened with bicycles, cycling equipment, information and friendly service and expertise.
SCHEELS (402 Viking Plaza Drive, Cedar Falls) is a local bike and service shop with bike experts and technicians as well as a wide selection of bikes for sale.
Rentals
Bike Tech (217 Washington Street, Cedar Falls) check in to see if they are still doing bike rentals (in addition to standard bikes, they rent fat bikes, recumbent trikes, e-bikes and child trailers)
The Runner's Flat (120 Main Street, Cedar Falls) rents snowshoes and ice skates for your winter activities.
The UNI Wellness Center (2250 Hudson Road, 174, Cedar Falls) rents snowshoes and x-country skis.
Events
Several organizations and local businesses offer annual and weekly events on the trails:
- Cedar Valley Trails Partnership has a comprehensive monthly calendar of trail events. If you have a trail-related event to add, please click HERE.
- CVAST (Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails) hosts several weekly events with local businesses including Two Wheel Wednesday, Waterloo on Wheels, Monday Night Mayhem Trail Runs, Trail Sisters and Fearless Women of Dirt.
- The Runner's Flat (120 Main Street, Cedar Falls) hosts Thursty Thursdays, Saturday TRF Breakfast Club, Monday Night Mayhem with CVAST and other various runs throughout the season.
- Bike Tech (217 Washington Street, Cedar Falls) hosts the Hammer Ride on Tuesdays, Two Wheel Wednesday with CVAST and the Pint Night Rides with SingleSpeed Brewing Co.
- Cedar Valley Cyclists hosts W.O.W. (Wednesday on Wheels) at 6:15 pm most Wednesdays beginning in May. Meet at the corner of 4th and Main Street in Cedar Falls and choose either a trail ride or a road ride. All skill levels are welcome. Check their calendar for additional events.
- Bike Iowa is another great resource for finding bike events in Iowa.
- The Iowa Games offers a Snowshoe Race (and family hike) in January and the Fat Bike Race in February.
Log Your Miles
The National Bike Challenge is a free, online program that encourages biking for transportation, fitness and recreation. Although you can join and log your miles throughout the year, the challenge officially runs May through September. You can join by visiting their website. It's free and a great way to challenge yourself. Join and then log your miles and monitor the leaderboard of your city, team or workplace.
Safety
Safety is an important aspect and can’t be stressed enough. While riding the trails, please be sure to:
- Wear a helmet
- Stay on designated trails
- Keep to the right
- Call out when passing
- Keep all pets on leashes
- Keep our trails clean
- Enjoy nature – please tread lightly
Cedar Falls is a Bicycle Friendly Community that embraces cycling as a form of transportation, too, but it’s a two way street! Street cycling is a right but it comes with responsibilities. Cyclists are subject to the same laws as motorists.
Links
The Cedar Valley Trails traverses a number of jurisdictions, requiring a lot of collaboration. Local municipalities and organizations include:
- City of Cedar Falls Parks
- City of Waterloo Parks
- City of Evansdale
- City of Hudson
- Black Hawk County Conservation
- George Wyth State Park
- Cedar Valley Trails Partnership
- Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails
- Cedar Valley Cyclists
In addition to the Cedar Valley Trails, exciting cycling opportunities exist throughout the state of Iowa. In fact, we like to think of Iowa as the Trails Capital of the World! Visit Iowa by Trail to see what we mean!
Trail Closure Information
The Cedar Valley Trails Partnership maintains their Facebook page with up-to-date information about trail conditions due to weather damage, flooding and construction. You will also find helpful information about the trails, events and the trails patrol on their website.