Ghost Tours come to the downtown Cedar Falls

The Cedar Falls Ghost Tour is a 90-minute, one-mile walking tour through historic downtown Cedar Falls. For $24.80, on Oct. 22 and 29 from 7:30-8:30 p.m., tour coordinator Lauren Riensche shares local history and spooky stories connected to the places we visit in the Cedar Valley. In order to buy tickets, visitors must send an email to cfghosttour@gmail.com.

After extensive research during the pandemic, Riensche developed the tour so people in the Cedar Valley could feel more connected and meet new faces. Since Cedar Falls didn’t have a ghost tour at the time, she decided that creating one would create a new hobby for the city’s citizens to enjoy. 

In order to set up the tour, Riensche said, “I start working on the coming season each February and spend the months leading up to October doing research, working with community partners and getting everything ready for the season, but behind each and every tour are also years of historical research, interviews, fact-checking and relationship-building that make it possible for me to tell these stories in a respectful and engaging way.”

During the tour, guests are to learn the dark history of Cedar Falls. Riensche said, “opportunities to sit on local boards, explore the nooks and crannies of historic buildings, engage millions of viewers, listeners and readers in thinking about our local history, and even reunite families with long-lost media of their loved ones.”

Due to the positive reception of the tour, Riensche has received a Cedar Valley 20 Under 40 Award, which recognizes 20 people under 40 who make an impact in the community through leadership, careers and community service.

Riensche said, “I’m honored that this work has been recognized with a Cedar Valley 20 Under 40 award, but even more meaningful to me are the relationships I’ve formed with so many talented and interesting people in this community. That’s been the best part of all of this for me: following one story almost always leads to another person, place or piece of history I never expected to find.”

Those interested in finding out more about this tour can follow the Cedar Falls Ghost Tour account on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for tour updates at linktr.ee/cfghosttour.