visiting palisades-dows observatory

The Eastern Iowa Observatory and Learning Center is located at Palisades-Dows Nature Preserve and Observatory on the southeast edge of Palisades-Kepler State Park. Located at 1365 Ivanhoe Road, the Pal-Dows Observatory is approximately 15 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids and approximately 20 miles north of Iowa City.

From the Cedar Rapids metro area and points north of the Coralville Lake, Ivanhoe Road can be reached from Highway 27 (Interstate 380) and Highway 30. From points near Mt Vernon and south of the Coralville Lake, such as Iowa City, Ivanhoe Road can be reached from Highway 1. Directions to the observatory are indicated by brown State Park signs at the entrances to Ivanhoe Road and near the observatory's driveway at 1365 Ivanhoe Road.

Watch out for deer! The area around the observatory is heavily wooded and populated with wildlife.

Note: At the present time, the Google directions gidget places the destination marker approximately 0.2 miles east of the actual location of the Palisades-Dows Observatory (considering it to be near 1365 Ivanhoe RD.) The location of the observatory is properly marked on this web page's main map.