Cedar Valley Trail is a rail trail

Rail trail

A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

 running 52 miles (83.7 km) from Hiawatha, Iowa

Hiawatha, Iowa

Hiawatha is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb located north of Cedar Rapids and is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 to Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

.

It runs through the counties of Linn

Linn County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 211,226 in the county, with a population density of . There were 92,251 housing units, of which 86,134 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, Benton

Benton County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 26,076 in the county, with a population density of . There were 11,095 housing units, of which 10,302 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, and Black Hawk

Black Hawk County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 131,090 in the county, with a population density of . There were 55,887 housing units, of which 52,470 were occupied.-2000 census:...

. The southern 3 miles (4.8 km) as well as the northern 15 miles (24.1 km) of the trail are paved with asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

, with the remainder being lined with crushed limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

.

Because locomotives required the route to be flat, at no point in the trail does the grade exceed 2%.

Cities on the Trail

• Hiawatha
  Hiawatha, Iowa
  Hiawatha is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb located north of Cedar Rapids and is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area...
  
  
• Lafayette
• Center Point
  Center Point, Iowa
  Center Point is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,007 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Center Point is located at ....
  
  
• Urbana
  Urbana, Iowa
  Urbana is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,019 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Urbana is located at ....
  
  
• Brandon
  Brandon, Iowa
  Brandon is a city in Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 311 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Brandon is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
  
  
• LaPorte City
• Gilbertville
  Gilbertville, Iowa
  Gilbertville is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 767 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Gilbertville is located at ....
  
  
• Evansdale
  Evansdale, Iowa
  Evansdale is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,751 in the 2010 census, an increase from 4,526 in the 2000 census. It is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
  
  

Flood of 2008 Damage

A portion of the Cedar Valley Trail was damaged in the Iowa Flood of 2008

Iowa flood of 2008

The Iowa flood of 2008 was a hydrological event involving most of the rivers in eastern Iowa beginning around June 8, 2008 and ending about July 1. Flooding continued on the Upper Mississippi River in the southeastern portion of the state for several more days...

. The Cedar River bridge approximately seven miles west of Brandon

Brandon, Iowa

Brandon is a city in Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 311 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Brandon is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 was covered by floodwaters, and the limestone surface was washed away. There are no plans for bridge replacement. The nature trail no longer is continuous. http://my.kwwl.com/kickapps/_Cedar-Valley-Nature-Trail-Bridge/photo/1369484/28825.html?b=&enlarge=true)

History

Prior to 1977, the path of the trail was used as a railroad corridor

Transport corridor

A transportation corridor is a tract of land in which at least one main line for transport, be it road, rail or canal, has been built...

 by Illinois Central Railroad

Illinois Central Railroad

The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

. That year, the corridor was abandoned and the tracks were removed. The Iowa state legislature and nonprofit organizations such as the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is a statewide non-profit natural conservation organization based in Des Moines, Iowa. The organization has protected more than in 94 of Iowa’s 99 counties and worked on hundreds of different project sites since its inception in 1979. INHF is donor-supported...

 and the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund raised the funds necessary to purchase the site by 1983. The following year, the trail opened to public traffic.

External links

• Rolling by the Rivers - Cedar Valley Nature Trail