Palisades Kepler State Park
- 19 routes
- 5.4 – 5.10
- Trad · Top Rope · Bouldering
- Apr, Jun
- best months
Palisades-Kepler State Park is a state park in Iowa managed by the State Department of Natural Resources, and it is a climbing area with several named climbing areas within its boundaries. The park's own climbing areas include The Last Portage and Raccoon Cove, both about 0.4 miles away, and West Bluff, about 0.8 miles away. The park's climbing routes run from about 5.4 to 5.10 on the YDS scale, with 11 trad routes and 7 top-ropes among the 19 listed. Melanie is a trad route at 5.7, and Pete Cleveland is a trad route at 5.10. The boulder route is a single V3. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Cedar Rapids show May highs around 74°F and September highs around 77°F, with July the warmest month at about 86°F. Nearby, the Sycamore Loop and Bena Trail hikes are about 5.6 miles away, and Big Creek offers canoeing about 7.9 miles away. Coralville Lake is about 10 miles away for lake fishing.
Best time to go · Apr, Jun
Best time to visit Palisades Kepler State Park
Best months: April, June and August–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
30° / 13°
9 wet
Feb
35° / 17°
8 wet
Mar
49° / 27°
10 wet
Apr
63° / 38°
11 wet
May
74° / 50°
13 wet
Jun
82° / 60°
12 wet
Jul
86° / 63°
10 wet
Aug
83° / 61°
9 wet
Sep
77° / 53°
9 wet
Oct
64° / 42°
9 wet
Nov
48° / 29°
9 wet
Dec
35° / 19°
9 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Cedar Rapids #1, IA, 10.6 mi away at 813 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Routes (19)
Boat Ramp Boulder (Roadside Attraction?)(1)
Golden Arches(2)
Old Quaker Area(1)
Orlando Buttress (Four Points)(2)
Outlook(2)
Palisades-Dows Preserve(3)
Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
CLIMB
The Last Portage
Next door
Last Portage, The in Iowa has 7 bouldering routes ranging from 5.11a to 5.12c.
CLIMB
Raccoon Cove
Next door
Raccoon Cove in Iowa has 6 top-rope routes across 5 difficulty grades.
CLIMB
West Bluff
~1 min drive
West Bluff in Iowa has 12 bouldering routes across 4 grades.
CLIMB
Dows
~1 min drive
Dows is a bouldering crag in Iowa with 2 routes.
CLIMB
Waldo's Rock Park
~14 min drive
Waldo's Rock Park in Iowa has 7 bouldering routes across 4 grades.
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Centennial Park
~23 min drive
Centennial Park in Iowa has 14 bouldering routes across 8 difficulty grades.
CLIMB
Chicago Wall
~50 min drive
Chicago Wall in Iowa has 5 sport climbing routes across 4 difficulty grades.
CLIMB
Gumby Wall
~50 min drive
Gumby Wall in Iowa has 6 sport climbing routes across 5 grades.
CLIMB
Wild Iowa Wall
~51 min drive
Wild Iowa Wall in Iowa has 12 climbing routes with 8 difficulty grades, offering sport, top-rope, and trad styles.
CLIMB
Pictured Rocks
~51 min drive
Pictured Rocks in Iowa has 27 climbing routes with 19 difficulty grades, offering bouldering, sport, and trad.
