Paddlers float down newly designated water trail on Cedar River

CEDAR FALLS — Paddlers on the Upper Cedar River now will be floating on designated waters — the Cedar Valley Water Trail.

The state formally recognized the river, from Janesville to around La Porte City — about 46 miles — as a designated water trail and as part of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail on Sept. 28.

Fourteen miles of Black Hawk Creek, from Hudson to the Cedar River, also was designated an official water trail.

Representatives — from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Black Hawk County Conservation, Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments and Partnership for a Healthy Iowa — paddled from Washington Park in Cedar Falls to the Waterloo Boat House in celebration of the designation.

Kayla Lyon, director of the Iowa DNR, said Iowa has more than 1,000 miles of designated water trails.

The state’s first designated water trail was the Cedar Valley Paddler’s Trail in Black Hawk County. The 10-mile trail was recognized in 2005.

Peter Komendowski, executive director of the Partnership for a Healthy Iowa, said the waterway was first paddled by 26 eighth-graders and adults, which took over six hours.

Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green said the Cedar Valley Water Trail “has been 18 years in the making. It’s exciting to see it come to life.”

Green also said the timing couldn’t be better — a reference to the river projects happening in Cedar Falls and Waterloo.

The designation is part of the Black Hawk County Water Trails Master Plan, the guide for projects along the river and creek.

Projects also will encompass a chain of lakes, including the Alice Wyth, Fisher, George Wyth, Shirley, Manatt and Brinker lakes.

Last month, the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments released its proposal for the Cedar Valley River Experience, which focuses on linking the downtowns of Waterloo and Cedar Falls through the river.

“It’s been a marathon … but it will open up a lot of opportunities,” said Nick Fratzke, the agency’s community development specialist. “We realized we had something right here.”

Vern Fish, former executive director of the Black Hawk County Conservation board and an avid paddler, echoed that statement, saying water trail designations will connect communities.

He said members of the Meskwaki Tribe first came to the area because of the water.

“Water has tied communities together since Day One,” Fish said. “If we get people wet … you don’t have to go to the Arctic Circle or the tip of South America … you can go right here in our own backyard.”