Mike Chmi Posted July 7, 2003 Share Posted July 7, 2003 Hi everyone, I'll be moving to Iowa within the next month or so to start grad school and coming from PA (where great hiking, backpacking, caching and huge forests are plentiful) I'm interested in finding places to hike, cache, kayak, etc. I'll be atttending the University of Iowa so I'm in the Iowa City, Cedar Rapids area. Does anyone know the area and can give me some info. Is there anywhere nice nearby to go hiking, caching, backpacking, and kayaking (if so are we talking fast rivers, slow rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.) Can anyone suggest the best caches in the area? Looking forward to meeting up with you Iowa cachers. Thanks, Mike "...Not all those who wander are lost..." Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Iowa! You'll love the people and we have some great places to visit. Give me a little time to put together a list. Kayaking I'm going to have to think about. There's not too many mountain streams around. Quote Link to comment
+WindChill Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Welcome to the area. As I'm sure you've already checked, there are lots of caches in the "corridor" (CR/IC/Waterloo area). The Coralville Reservoir/Lake McBride area has lots of water, but I don't have any idea how good it is for kayaking. There is an attempt to create a project called River Run (http://www.gotideas.biz/scripts/news_x-sports.asp) that would include (among many things) a man-made white water course. The project hasnt gotten the support it needs (yet) to get started but the supporters seemed to be pretty dedicated so who knows. There are several Rails to Trails trails (old railroad right of ways that have been converted to nature trails) in the area. The longest, The Cedar Valley Nature Trail, runs from CR to Waterloo http://www.cedarvalleytrail.com/links.html. As for actual hiking...There are lots of parks in the area with trails. For something more difficult, I've heard/read good things about the trail system at Backbone SP (2-3 hours north of IC near Strawberry point) and Yellow River SF (3-4 hours away, north of Dubuque) but have not been to either. The Iowa County Conservation Board web site (http://george.ecity.net/iaccb/welcome.html) has links to and info about all of the counties. Linn (Cedar Rapids) and Johnston (Iowa City) both have pretty good pages. Hope this gives you someplace to start. If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask. There are several cachers in the area that are more than happy to help. ------------------------------------------------ The world is a playground. Go outside and play! ------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Here's a couple links for Kayaking. Iowa Whitewater Paddleiowa Quote Link to comment
Mike Chmi Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 Thanks guys, One thing I've always heard about and noticed while I was interviewing there is how friendly everyone is. When I was down it was winter though and I didn't get much of a chance to explore. I was a little concerned that I'd be surrounded by farms and no forests or woods would be available so I'm glad to hear that isn't so. I think I'll just stick with my little otter kayak, I was considering getting a whitewater one before I left (for the sole purpose that I can get them dirt cheap at work right now til I leave, but I'm not sure I'll get to use it much) Any recomendations for the best caches in that area, I'll have a few days before grad school starts up in full swing and while I'll probably bag them all i'd like to hit the better ones first. Especially since I'll be introducing some of the other grad students to the sport. Thanks again, Mike "...Not all those who wander are lost..." Quote Link to comment
+WindChill Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Ive certainly enjoyed all of the local caches. They are well maintained and offer a challenge because of where/how they are hidden, rather than how far away from the car they are. Here are a couple of my favorites: With the kayak, you'll definately have to hit Abbys Treasure Island Palo Marsh is a fun one because each finder gets to move the second stage. YoDaLin is a clever hide. If you like a good puzzle, you want to check out the caches by Squeamish, like this one Steepest Hill. They are a little farther away, but are definately a challenge. ------------------------------------------------ The world is a playground. Go outside and play! ------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment
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