The Cedar River and Cedar Falls, Iowa.
No surprise that Cedar Falls is on the Cedar River. Native American tribes lived here for millennia, and European settlers began to arrive in the 1840s. Today, the city of 40,000 is home to the University of Northern Iowa, one of Iowa’s three state universities. Between 1950 and 1980, Cedar Falls grew rapidly due to the university and growth nearby manufacturing firms, especially John Deere and Company, Rath Packing, and Chamberlain Manufacturing. The downtown historic district has 59 buildings from 1860 to 1960, including the Black Hawk Hotel (1870), the Odd Fellows Temple (1902), and the Oster Regent Theater (1910).
Cedar Falls became one of our Trail Towns in May 2025, the second town to achieve this designation. The website will be updated with photos and links from the celebration.
Cedar Falls is about 110 miles from Des Moines and 150 miles from Davenport. As the crow flies, it’s about 100 miles west of the Mississippi River.
