Explore the best rated trails in Altoona, IA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the South Tama Recreation Trail and Galloping Goose Trail (IA). With more than 76 trails covering 474 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Long Meadow Trail is a quaint path in suburban Johnston, IA, popular with joggers and walkers from the various neighborhoods it runs through. The paved trail provides an important off-road...
The 1.6-mile McVay Trail in Indianola provides a paved route for cyclists, walkers and joggers between East 5th Street and Pickard Park. The trail follows the bed of the former Chicago, Burlington and...
The South Tama Recreation Trail connects the adjacent towns of Tama and Toledo in Tama County, Iowa. The original section of the trail, a 1 mile stretch built on an abandoned railroad corridor, opened...
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For residents looking for a low-key space to get some exercise, the Greenway Trail provides a swathe of nature nestled between suburban subdivisions of Altoona. The trail runs the length of Greenway...
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Following a former railroad corridor, the River's Edge Trail (formerly known as Iowa River Trail) will one day span 34 miles from Marshalltown in Marshall County to Steamboat Rock in Hardin County....
The Heart of the Warrior Trail runs east-west through Waukee, a small city in the Greater Des Moines area. On its east end, the trail begins in Lions Park. Here, it connects to the popular Clive...
Residents enjoy getting outside and onto this popular Urbandale trail thanks to its ease and connectivity to neighborhoods, parks and other trails. The trail begins just above Douglas Avenue, crossing...
South Skunk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. In Ames, the Skunk River Trail brings residents closer to river and to nature. The shared use path sits on the shady west bank of South Skunk...
The Northwest 62nd Avenue Trail is a wide sidepath in Johnston, IA, that serves as an important off-road connector between many of the trails in the city's well-developed trail system and the greater...
The trail is made up of two as yet unconnected segments: the northern segment is about half a mile long, providing access to Grinnell Community Senior School, Lion's Park, and Iowa Valley Community...
The High Trestle Trail is one of the most pristine and highly trafficked trails in Iowa—even at night. The trail’s popularity is largely due to its famous 130-foot-tall High Trestle Bridge, which...
The Bob Layton Trail, dedicated in 2014 and named in honor of the city of Urbandale's former city manager, offers a little over a mile of paved trail through the city's Walnut Creek Regional Park. A...
The Kruidenier Trail cuts through beautifully landscaped areas around Gray’s Lake and leads you into downtown Des Moines. The park offers a permanent on-site bike rental facility, restrooms, and a...
The James Street Trail begins on Meredith Drive in Urbandale and stretches over two and half miles north into the neighboring municipality of Grimes. The concrete trail is generally flat and easy to...
The Mahaska Community Recreation Trail wraps around the southeast Iowan city, winding through neighborhoods, farmlands, community parks, and woodlands. Construction of the trail began in 1999 and to...
Take a morning bike ride or evening stroll on the Des Moines River Trail. The paved trail diverges from the Meredith Trail and Prinicipal Riverwalk, continuing for 2.6 miles downstream to the James W....
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Connecting neighborhoods to parks and trails in the center of Waukee, a small but fast-growing suburb west of Des Moines, the Sugar Creek Trail helps provide an easy way to bike or walk around the...
Covering the majority of the northern side of the small suburban community of Grimes, IA, the Beaverbrooke Park Trail offers a lovely paved route along the tree-lined path of an irrigation ditch....
The West Des Moines Levee Trail was named in 2015 as one of the Top 10 most frequented trails in the Des Moines trail network. The trail is the connector between two other popular trails, Jordan Creek...
The Green Meadows West Trail is a short multi-use path that provides an off-road connection for the Green Meadows neighborhood to the rest of the Johnston area's network of trails, enabling residents...
Covering the majority of the northern side of the small suburban community of Grimes, IA, the Beaverbrooke Park Trail offers a lovely paved route along the tree-lined path of an irrigation ditch....
The Bob Layton Trail, dedicated in 2014 and named in honor of the city of Urbandale's former city manager, offers a little over a mile of paved trail through the city's Walnut Creek Regional Park. A...
Constructed in a lovely corridor that runs in between suburban neighborhoods in West Des Moines, the Ashawa Greenway Trail offers a short but pleasant paved path that serves both as a means of...
Providing a pleasant off-road route between the two Des Moines suburbs of Urbandale and Johnston, the Johnston to Urbandale Trail also serves as one of the main points of connection from Urbandale's...
The John Pat Dorrian Trail, formerly known as the East River Trail, runs for nearly 3.5 miles from Pete Crivaro Park in south Des Moines to Birdland Park and Marina just north of downtown. At this...
Helping to connect three of the city of West Des Moines' public parks - and allowing residents to access the parks safely via bike or on foot - the Knolls Greenway Trail provides a nice recreational...
A short, paved trail that connects neighborhoods and preserved open space to the Mark C. Ackelson Trail at Easter Lake Park, the Easter Lake Spine Trail is a useful asset to the community and forms a...
The Green Meadows West Trail is a short multi-use path that provides an off-road connection for the Green Meadows neighborhood to the rest of the Johnston area's network of trails, enabling residents...
The 1.6-mile McVay Trail in Indianola provides a paved route for cyclists, walkers and joggers between East 5th Street and Pickard Park. The trail follows the bed of the former Chicago, Burlington and...
The Heart of the Warrior Trail runs east-west through Waukee, a small city in the Greater Des Moines area. On its east end, the trail begins in Lions Park. Here, it connects to the popular Clive...
Who says Iowa doesn’t have hills?! The winding route of the Volksweg Trail sticks mainly to the rolling hills and scenic viewpoints from Lake Red Rock all the way to the town of Pella. Dutch...
The Bill Riley Trail delivers a short but immersive trail experience in a tranquil natural setting. The trail begins at the southern end of the Walnut Creek Trail, and follows the creek into Ashworth...
As it runs directly through the heart of Marshalltown in central Iowa, access to the Linn Creek Recreational Trail is easy for many of the city's residents. They will want to take advantage of it,...
The East Hillcrest Trail is a short suburban trail located in the community of Indianola. Running along the avenue of the same name, the trail provides several important local connections, linking the...
The Long Meadow Trail is a quaint path in suburban Johnston, IA, popular with joggers and walkers from the various neighborhoods it runs through. The paved trail provides an important off-road...
The Rock Creek Recreation Bike Trail is a paved multi-use trail that provides a connection between the small, charming college town of Grinnell and Rock Creek State Park, a popular destination for...
Running through suburban neighborhoods on the western edge of Johnston, IA, the Green Meadows North Trail offers a pleasant dose of nature and serves as a great recreational amenity for nearby...
The trail is made up of two as yet unconnected segments: the northern segment is about half a mile long, providing access to Grinnell Community Senior School, Lion's Park, and Iowa Valley Community...
The Hubbard Prairie Trail is a one-mile rail-trail extending from the northwest edge of the small town of Hubbard in central Iowa to the Meier Wildlife Refuge. The refuge offers a pleasant place to...
Connecting neighborhoods to parks and trails in the center of Waukee, a small but fast-growing suburb west of Des Moines, the Sugar Creek Trail helps provide an easy way to bike or walk around the...
The Mills Civic Parkway Trail follows the route of its namesake roadway through suburban West Des Moines, helping to connect residents to popular destinations like local parks, schools, numerous shops...
The Bill Riley Trail delivers a short but immersive trail experience in a tranquil natural setting. The trail begins at the southern end of the Walnut Creek Trail, and follows the creek into Ashworth...
Beginning at the end of the Bob Layton Trail in Urbandale, the Walnut Trace Park Trail allows walkers, cyclists, and others to continue exploring the peaceful meadows alongside Walnut Creek for over...
The Heart of the Warrior Trail runs east-west through Waukee, a small city in the Greater Des Moines area. On its east end, the trail begins in Lions Park. Here, it connects to the popular Clive...
The Heart of Iowa Nature Trail traverses classic Iowa farmland along the former route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, also known as the Milwaukee Road. The trail transitions...
The Rock Creek Recreation Bike Trail is a paved multi-use trail that provides a connection between the small, charming college town of Grinnell and Rock Creek State Park, a popular destination for...
The Mahaska Community Recreation Trail wraps around the southeast Iowan city, winding through neighborhoods, farmlands, community parks, and woodlands. Construction of the trail began in 1999 and to...
It may be hard to believe now when you see children laughing on the playground and neighbors out on a morning jog but Easter Lake and the park that surrounds it sit on the site of a coal mine that...
The West Des Moines Levee Trail was named in 2015 as one of the Top 10 most frequented trails in the Des Moines trail network. The trail is the connector between two other popular trails, Jordan Creek...
The John Pat Dorrian Trail, formerly known as the East River Trail, runs for nearly 3.5 miles from Pete Crivaro Park in south Des Moines to Birdland Park and Marina just north of downtown. At this...
The Oralabor Gateway Trail is a 5.2 mile concrete-surfaced spur branching off from the Neal Smith Trail south of Saylorville Lake and just north of NW 66th Avenue. While running adjacent to suburban...
Providing a pleasant off-road route between the two Des Moines suburbs of Urbandale and Johnston, the Johnston to Urbandale Trail also serves as one of the main points of connection from Urbandale's...
Beginning just past the junction of the Johnston Interurban Trail and the Trestle to Trestle Trail, which carries users over the creek and south into Des Moines via the area's stellar system of...
Take a morning bike ride or evening stroll on the Des Moines River Trail. The paved trail diverges from the Meredith Trail and Prinicipal Riverwalk, continuing for 2.6 miles downstream to the James W....
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Des Moines' Inter-Urban Trail was opened in 1998 on the abandoned tracks of the Urbandale streetcar line. Residents and visitors of Iowa could ride the electric-powered trolley from Urbandale to Des...
The Iowa 330/US 30 Trail stretches from just west of the small town of Melbourne to the outskirts of Marshalltown, the largest city and county seat of Marshall County, located close to the geographic...
Residents enjoy getting outside and onto this popular Urbandale trail thanks to its ease and connectivity to neighborhoods, parks and other trails. The trail begins just above Douglas Avenue, crossing...
Located just over thirty miles east of Des Moines, the small city of Newton boasts a charming midwestern feel - and complementing the city's charm is the lovely Newton Hike and Bike Trail, which...
Although short, the Reumpers Nature Trail runs under a beautiful canopy of trees along the former Chicago Northwestern Railroad in Radcliffe, a small town in central Iowa.
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The Hiawatha Trail provides a convenient way to cross Perry's northeastern neighborhoods and provides a connection to Raccoon River Valley Trail, a scenic 89-mile rail-trail. The east end of the...
Short but sweet. Nice bridge over the skunk river. Benches along the way but little shade.
For the most part this is a great trail. The bottom section towards university park is roads and not marked vary well hard to find the trail. To find go to the park (university park) ride East past park trail is on the left. Once back on the trail is easy to stay on.
Best linear park in the world. Starting at the People's Bank trailhead, you
experience restored prairie marshland on your left and restored prairie potholes on your right with riparian woodland in the background. At about 1,500' you cross the North River and ascend a 10% grade with upland woodland on your left and cropland on your right. At the peak of the grade you descend to a 3-acre pond and then ascend via a hairpin trail through an oak savanna. You cross under Scotch Ridge Road and then traverse a conservation subdivision and two city parks before you connect to the Summerset Trail.
The bridge south of Jefferson is still out. It's unfortunate, because the TH facilities, depot and campground in Jefferson are quite nice and it seems the locals are not getting the bike traffic and traveler money that other communities are.
I have ridden many different trails around Iowa, but haven’t been on any for awhile. After getting a new bike, I wanted to find a nearby trail that would give a good workout without being too much of a challenge. This trail was perfect! Amazing scenery, lots of convenient stopping points, and I would highly recommend this for any locals or visitors in the area!
A good training trail. Not a level trail—nothing but hills and valleys. Very scenic and plenty of places to stop to catch your breath and measure your heart rate...
We especially enjoyed the area around Copper Creek Lake! We connected with the trail coming from The Chichaqua Valley Trail at Berwick. Coming into Altoona there were a few hills which made it more interesting. Looking forward for the completion of the trail with the connection to Bondurant! Loved it!!
We skated from Perry to just passed Dallas Center and back for 30 miles. They mechanically blow this section of the trail every Friday! Smooth pavement with friendly and polite cyclists. Several nice places to stop for food and beverage breaks. All respecting COVID19 social distancing practices.
Beautiful ride. Wide concrete trail around a lake. Wooded, bridges, scenic. Plenty of places to stop with picnic tables.
After the high school, I wouldn't call the hills "gentle". Even the ones that aren't as steep are long. Trail surface was good. I enjoyed the country landscape, and Rock Creek State Park is a worthy destination. But if you don't like hills, you will NOT like this trail.
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