By:
Submission
From Cedar Rapids, travel east 10 miles. The Palisades entrance is well marked and is directly off of Highway 30. From Mount Vernon, travel west 4 miles on Highway 30 to the park entrance.
This is my happy place! My favorite time to visit is in Autumn, but beautiful all times of the year. These pictures are not doctored. It really is just this beautiful and golden there. Pics taken 10/22.
So many people come here for family photos. They are is beautiful especially in the fall. So many trails, gorgeous birds, parking is limited. Weekends can be very busy however people are very polite.
Grills are fairly standard by picnic tables. Cabins and pavilions are available.
The currents are very dangerous so every few years there is a drowning in the river.
We had a spectacular hike today. Lots of people meant we passed someone every ten minutes or so depending on the trail. Other than a two inch piece of a glass bottle coming out of the ground in the middle of one of the trails, people respect the park extremely well. (And, yes, we dug it up and disposed of it because there are garbage cans in the bathrooms.) This was the first piece of garbage we found in three excursions here. The bathrooms ALWAYS need more attention, but you'll find the impressive trails and river beaches pristine and well groomed.
