Cedar Cliff Trail

This is an amazing trail but the “easy” tag is false. This is moderate at the very least. Lots of large rocks and tree roots all over the path. You NEED good hike boots or sneaks with lots of tread. Good elevation change too. Watch your footing!!! Enjoy!

Went right at the fork and that was definitely smart. Great trail, lower portion should be saved for the return. Don't fall and crack your phone screen.

beatiful views. we hiked in January during a warm weather pattern. bald eagles all over the river.

Will do again

Pretty forest trail with nice river views. There are a few spots of ups/down with steps. Nice family outing ...

great trail. usually not too busy, pretty moderate and not very long. easy to continue the adventure off trail.

The park offers some delightful views. The paths, while well-traveled and worn, do offer a challenge with good elevation changes (for Iowa), and some rockiness. Someone should be commended for maintaining the park. There was very little litter.

Quiet and very few other hikers. Some nice views and interesting side trails. I did the Cedar Cliff trail only, not the Cool Hollow.

This is a beautiful park. I'm sure it's great for fishing. The hiking was so-so. There's almost no place to park at the beginning of the trails. It's hard to follow some of the trails because they lose visibility because of weeds and plants. One trail goes back and forth across a creek bed. There's a pretty good elevation gain.

Loved the hike. We took our 18 mo old and 3 year old and everyone enjoyed it.

Great hiking; the park contains about four miles of trails total, with great views of the Cedar River from the Palisades above (hence the name). While not too difficult, it has a couple of inclines which get the blood pumping.

I've been all over this park, and more than once, having attended college in the area. Very enjoyable. Not too difficult, but some up and down hills near the river can make this park tiring on a hot day in summer.

There is a lot that can be done at this park. great river edge/bluff hiking. With proper permit and gear there are excellent rappelling areas and bouldering at the lower points near the old dam. The hike down through sleepy hollow is really cool (temperature wise) on a hot summer day. Plenty of nature to observe. Bald eagles love to fly through and the bluff area and if you are really lucky you will be able to look down on one from the gazebo located below the campground.
DO NOT be fooled by the water flow of the river. It looks inviting, but for some reason the shifting sand bars make this a very dangerous place to wade into the water. Ever couple of years there are fatalities here when the water looks so inviting.

I love this trail! I used to live in the area when I was younger and always came here. 20 years later and not much has changed. This trail is where I learned to rock climb when I was 8. There is not huge wall but there are quite a few smaller ones overlooking the lakes or beaches that you could practice or learn on as well. I recently went back here for hiking and some fishing, great place to spend a day but can get crowded depending on the time of year.

Very beautiful trail. One can see the Cedar River on the trail. Parts of it are steep and narrow. Some branches of the trail are not as busy as others. Better a hiking trail than a running one.

Very pretty trail, but much too busy to be a place that I feel comfortable trail running on or even fast hiking. Once you get past where the climbers are, the crowds definately thin, but you never feel truly alone and some parts of the trail are very technical and i don't feel comfortable taking my companion (Bandit the Mutt) on those parts. Definately need hiking poles to complete some of the hills if you are a newbie.