Warm weather is finally here and it’s time to get outside and enjoy it. From trail guides and navigation aids to hike logs and social networks for outdoor adventurers, we put together a list of apps, maps and resources to encourage you to get outside and enjoy the many trails in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area. Download the apps and bookmark this blog for quick access to maps and other resources.

Hiking and Outdoor Adventure Apps:

• Yonder: For all you outdoor lovers, Yonder, allows you to easily share your experiences when it comes to hiking, camping, and biking. It acts like a social media network for those that enjoy the great outdoors. 
  
  
• Cairn: Cairn helps you stay out of harm’s way and get help when you need it. The app crowdsources cell coverage areas, so you know where you can expect service before you set foot on the trail.  
  
  
• Geocaching: Make hiking a little more adventurous. Geocaching, a modern-day treasure hunt, requires players to hide small items and tokens before posting the GPS coordinates in the Geocaching app for others to track down.  
  
  
• Leafsnap: Leafsnap uses visual recognition technology to help you identify what species of tree a leaf is from — just take a photo and the app will tell you what you’re looking at. 
  
  
• AllTrails: With 50,000 trail guides, this apps helps find trails near you. You can even create your own trails with GPS tracking, photos, and text, and save them for later or share them with others.
  
  
• Mountain Hub: With Mountain Hub, you can look to your fellow hikers, skiers, hunters, and climbers for updates on terrain and weather.
  
  
• MapMyHike GPS Hiking: Looking for an app to track your hike or cycle? This app will provide you with detailed feedback on your route, your average pace, distance covered, calories burned, and a whole lot more. 

Parks and Walking/Running Trails in Cedar Rapids:

• Sac and Fox Trail City Park: This park includes a 7.1 mile long wooded, nature, prairie trail that follows the Indian Creek and Cedar River.
  
  
• Prairie Park Fishery: This park includes a 1.7 mile trail loop around a 65 acre lake offering views for hikers, walkers, bicyclists, and bird watchers.
  
  
• Cherokee Park: This is a 1 mile crushed limestone trail located off Johnson Avenue between Edgewood Road and Wiley Boulevard NW. Parking is along Midway Drive on the trail's north side. Fitness stations and shady tree-lined stretches are features of this trail.
  
  
• Indian Creek Nature Center: Roughly five miles of trails wind through 210 acres of wetlands, riparian forests, maple sugarbush, tallgrass prairies and oak savannas.
  
  
• Seminole Valley / Cedar Lake: Included within this 409-acre city park are Ushers Ferry Historic Village and the historic Seminole Valley Farm. 

Mountain Biking Trails in Cedar Rapids:

• Beverly Park: This was Linn Area Mountain Bike Association’s first official mountain bike trail in Cedar Rapids, IA, adopted in 2006.  The park provides a fast and fun riding experience in Cedar Rapids with a variety of trail difficulty levels and technical skill features.
  
  
• Squaw Creek Park: These trails offer a wide range of mountain biking experiences. The trails are comprised of both hand-built and pro-built singletrack and have elements of tight and twisty singletrack and berm filled flow trails.  
  
  
• Sac and Fox Singletrack: Flowing through the woods and grasslands adjacent to the Cedar River, this trail segment strives to create a trail experience rarely found in the area – a linear singletrack tied directly to existing park infrastructure (parking areas, picnic facilities, and other multi-modal trails with community connectivity).
  
  

Parks and Walking/Running Trails in Iowa City:

• Waterworks Prairie Park: This 200 acres park is filled with hiking trails, ponds, wooded areas and has canoe access on the Iowa River. 
  
  
• Ryerson's Woods: This 49.2 acres park amenities include a walk-run trail routes, picnic shelter, and nature study.
  
  
• Hickory Trail Park: This 185 acres park includes a hiking and jogging trail routes, picnic shelter, cooking grills, and nature study. 
  
  
• Crandic Park: This 5.2 acre Riverfront view park includes a biking trail, picnic shelter, and cooking grills.
  
  

Get and Stay Connected

While you’re enjoying your outdoor adventures, remember ImOn offers free public Wi-Fi in many public parks and attractions around the area to help keep you connected. Just look for the network named “ImOn_FreeWiFi”. We currently offer free community Wi-Fi services to Downtown Cedar Rapids, the McGrath Amphitheater, Newbo City Market, various city parks in Hiawatha, Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena as well as the Iowa City Ped Mall and the Dubuque Ice Arena.