Check out these nature spots in the Cedar Valley

       Hartman Reserve Nature Center

  Hartman Reserve is a nature center located in the center of Cedar Falls and Waterloo. The Nature Center has over 300 acres of forest, wet land and prairie. The Hartman Reserve forest is a mature forest that has many different species of trees over 100 years old. To control the growth of trees and vegetation, Hartman Reserve practices controlled burning.

    The Nature Center is filled with wildlife; birds, deer, otter, turkeys, pileated woodpeckers, red shouldered hawks, foxes, vultures and bald eagles are some of the wildlife you might see. 

     Hartman has been collecting sap from maple trees since 1985. The sap is collected at the end of February throughout March. The sap is boiled down to produce maple syrup in the Sugar Creek located on the reserve. The maple syrup is used during Hartman’s annual Maple Syrup Festival. The pancake breakfast raises money for Hartman Reserve. 

Katoski Trails

The Katoski Greenbelt is eight miles of flood plains forest following the Blackhawk Creek from Waterloo to near Hudson. Katoski has easy walking trails and is very wooded. For a short time in early spring, bluebell flowers bloom throughout the forest. In the winter, the trails were great for fat tire biking, and snowshoeing and XC skiing are also popular. Katoski is located in Waterloo, off Ridgeway. Dogs are also welcome on this trail.