Palisades-Kepler State Park

About Palisades-Kepler State Park

Palisades - Kepler State Park is located on the beautiful Cedar River in Linn County. The 840-hectare park features dramatic river falls, scenic river views and a variety of hiking, biking, camping, fishing and hiking trails.

The exposed rocks of the Cedar River are laden with fossils from millions of years of history, and mammoths "molars were once found here. Palisades - Kepler State Park also houses the largest fossil collection in the United States with more than 2,000 fossils.

The presence of the Indian Hills reminds us that hundreds of years ago, this was a popular place for the Indians to stay.

In the late 1890s, James Sherman Minott acquired 160 acres of woodland along the Cedar River and built a spacious guest house to accommodate visitors. He also founded a boat rental business and sold the land to build holiday homes.

In the early 20th century, it was common to top an afternoon cedar river trip with a trip to Palisades - Kepler State Park by combining a boat trip, picnic and a visit to one of the park's many attractions.

Many people took advantage of this and the population in the area soon rose to over 200. Carl Sandburg visited the Palisade every year from 1920 to 1930 and founded the Palisade Kelp Forest, the first public park in North America, with his wife Mary Jane in 1922.

In September 1928, the Board of Conservation accepted a donation of real estate from the estate of Louis H. Kepler, which substantially doubled the size of the park. Much of Minot's original land was acquired, and the State Conservation Commission took particular note of these unique and bold cliffs and declared the Palisades Line a special cedar riverbed.

In July 1934, the Civil Defense Society was founded in Palisades, Kepler, and the Board of Directors added the name to the parking lot name. Since then, almost 700 hectares have been added to the Kepler Islands, and in addition to parking, there are more than 1,000 hectares of hiking, biking, fishing, camping, hiking and other activities.

Since then, construction of many of the park's facilities has begun, and three barracks and a trade fair hall have been built. The rustic character of the parks is still conferred by the old wooden buildings, such as the wooden bridge over the river and the stone walls dating back to the 18th century.

Palisades - Kepler has four family cabins that can be rented weekly, and one of them, a two-bedroom and a bathroom cabin, closed in 1941. Cabin users must bring their own food and water as well as a small amount of camping equipment. The cabins, which can accommodate up to four people, have showers, toilets, stoves and refrigerators.

You can book the cabins for a fee by calling toll free at 1-877-IAPARKS or by e-mail or telephone. There are no campsites in Palisades - Kepler, but there are 44 campsites, 26 of which have electricity and a total of 5,000 square meters of tent space.

About half of the campsites are still open on the "first come, first served" principle, but reservations for all can be made online at the Palisades - Kepler State Park website or by calling 1-877 - 788 - 5555. The park has a limited number of cabins and some other amenities.

The Lodge in Palisades - Kepler is a beautiful stone building built in the 1930s by the Civil Defense. There is no parking in the park and reservations are to be made through the park office, but there are enough parking spaces for those interested in tents and hiking.

The Cedar River offers a variety of species, including catfish, perch and bluefin, and fishermen often try their hand at fishing bluefish and other fish in the waters of the river.

Palisades - Kepler State Park is a beautiful place for a family getaway and a wonderful place to hike.

Picnickers can enjoy the trees - lined steep slopes of the park's trails, as well as scenic views of the Cedar River. Open picnic areas are available or can be reserved at the park office for a fee.

There are many species of trees, shrubs and flowers, as well as countless species of songbirds.

Walkers can often see a variety of wildlife along the six-kilometre-long trails, including white-tailed deer and wild turkeys.