Cedar Lake has always welcomed visitors to fish and boat within the 1,750-acre reservoir and swim off of Poplar Camp Beach– but with recent improvements to trails and the introduction of primitive campsites, it now serves as one of Carbondale’s premier outdoor recreational sites for hikers, mountain bikers, and overnight campers.
Over the past few years, much work has been done to establish two primary multi-use trails- the Cedar Lake Trail and the Woodland Trail.
Cedar Lake Trail
The Cedar Lake Trail is comprised of 7 miles of new trail constructed using the Recreational Trail Program (RTP) grant funding. On the map this trail is shown in blue and is marked on the ground with blue diamonds.
Woodland Trail
The Woodland Trail is mostly the original trail system. The Woodland Trail is shown as green on the map and is marked on the ground with green diamonds.
Distinctions of Trails
- The Cedar Lake Trail tries to keep the user closer to the lake while the Woodland Trail is primarily farther in the woods, with limited access to the water.
- There are a few sections where these two trails share the same piece of trail. These are shown on the mapin blue/green dashed line. These sections are marked on the ground using a blue and green diamond (shown on the map).
- Any other trails are marked with white diamonds with arrows pointing the user in toward the main trail they are heading towards.
- Refer to trails map here.
New Primitive Campsites at Cedar Lake
There are now 10 primitive campsites at the North end of Cedar Lake.
- All campsites are hike in or boat in only
- Dispersed camping is allowed only in the designated areas, and is first-come, first-served with a maximum stay of 14 days
- Campfires are allowed only in provided campfire rings
- No unattended campfires
- Must follow Leave No Trace principles
- No permanent structures, nails in trees, or ground disturbance
- No downing of trees for firewood
- All campsites are marked on our map found here.
