Hike to the Lake Macbride Waterfall

Where's the fun in driving right up to your scenic destination? Here's how we had a more adventurous day at the lake by hopping off the beaten path: Just as you enter the park from County Road F16 coming out of the small town of Solon, IA you will see a small, grass parking lot on your right (this lot has been marked by the pin on the map below). On the opposite side of the street is the entrance to the Lake Macbride Recreation Trail, which leads back towards Solon- Connected to the parking lot is the entrance to the Lake Macbride Interpretive Trail, a small loop trail that has a section branching off to a beach along the Coralville Lake. Once you reach the beach and the trail ends, simply start along the shore of what becomes the Iowa River towards the Coralville Res Boat Ramp.

This shoreline is mostly rocky with some beach spots tucked away here and there, and can also be very windy, giving it a coastal vibe. There's a few spots along the way that are perfect for hammockin', rock skippin', and bonfire chillin'. Eventually you wrap around a sharp corner along the Iowa River where you'll see the boat ramp parking lot and the path to the waterfall. The falls are a wide, gradual spill-out of Lake Macbride into the Iowa River with two steep bluffs surrounding it. The waterfall can be strategically walked across without even getting wet and both bluffs can be climbed with little effort. Where you end your day is entirely up to you, we hung up the hammock over one of the bluffs at the falls, but going back and setting up shop somewhere along the Iowa River shore is just as tempting. You can either follow your footsteps back to your vehicle or follow the road connected to the boat ramp parking lot and be back to your car in no-time.

Although the Interpretive Trail isn't explicitly marked on it, I found the Lake Macbride trail map on http://www.traillink.com/trail-maps/solon-lake-macbride-recreation-trail.aspx to be helpful.

The State Park offers both a modern campground along with a traditional one located on the south side of the park but they ask that you camp in the designated areas.