Explore the best rated trails in Ames, IA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Galloping Goose Trail (IA) and Brewer Creek Trail. With more than 70 trails covering 479 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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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...
The Jordan Creek Trail is a pleasant suburban trail that connects neighborhoods with shopping and retail, schools, and recreational amenities. The trail gets its name from the Jordan Creek, which it...
Nestled in the suburbs of Des Moines and traveling through the towns of Ankeny, Berwick, Pleasant Hill, and Altoona, the Gay Lea Wilson Trail is named for a local advocate who first conceived of a...
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...
While Greater Des Moines is flush with multiuse trails, one of the paved pathways running through the suburb of Clive really stands out. Offering a string of trailside parks and fun twists and turns...
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...
On the western outskirts of Des Moines, the Raccoon River Valley Trail offers a quintessential central Iowa experience. Over its 89-mile span, you’ll traverse woodlands, prairie and agricultural...
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 Waveland Trail runs through the historic neighborhoods of Waveland Park, Waveland Woods and Waterbury in western Des Moines. Along the way, the trail passes a community center, library, golf...
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 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...
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...
There are few better ways to experience Boone River without actually getting your feet wet than the Boone River Recreational Trail. The trail weaves along the scenic river, taking you from one end of...
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...
A short, paved path that runs through open fields and clusters of trees alongside Beaver Creek, local residents use the Augustine Trail both as a convenient means of recreation and dog-walking, as...
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...
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 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...
A newly constructed six-lane highway built to accommodate the rapidly expanding suburb of Waukee, the Grand Prairie Parkway was designed to serve a variety of needs, and the accompanying Grand Prairie...
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...
On the western outskirts of Des Moines, the Raccoon River Valley Trail offers a quintessential central Iowa experience. Over its 89-mile span, you’ll traverse woodlands, prairie and agricultural...
The Lions Park Trail provides a charming path alongside a little creek in the suburb of Grimes, IA, far to the northwest on the outskirts of the Des Moines area. This short trail provides a perfect...
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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...
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...
The Soldier Creek Nature Trail runs south from Snell-Crawford Park alongside residential neighborhoods in Fort Dodge. For most of its route, the trail is within just a few feet of Soldier Creek (hence...
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...
Named for the major project the city of Des Moines has undertaken to improve transportation and connectivity along the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in the southeastern section of downtown, 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 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...
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 Pine Lake Trail runs through a heavily wooded state park of the same name, which is especially known for its 250-year-old white pine trees. The trail begins at Deer Park, a half mile east of...
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...
A sidepath trail located along the side of the adjacent busy parkway that shares its name, the Martin Luther King Jr. Trail may not provide the sort of pleasant, natural trail experience that other...
Following a former railroad corridor, the Iowa River Trail will one day span 34 miles from Marshalltown in Marshall County to Steamboat Rock in Hardin County. Currently, two short segments are open at...
The Comet Trail is built upon an abandoned right-of-way of the old Chicago Northwestern Railroad. It runs for 7 miles between the town of Conrad (City Park) and just east of Beaman, traversing 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...
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...
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The Wolf Creek Trail begins in Gladbrook, a small city about 70 miles northeast of Des Moines. The trail was established in 2001 by volunteers from the Gladbrook community who secured the right-of-way...
The Fort Dodge Nature Trail begins at the city's Snell-Crawford Park and runs northeast for nearly 3 miles. The trail travels adjacent to overhead power lines and crosses a couple of bridges over...
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...
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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...
Brewer Creek Trail is a 2.2 mile multiuse pathway in Webster City, Iowa. As the name suggests, the trail traces the course of Brewers Creek. To the north, flat prairie stretches out, while to the...
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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 Lions Park Trail provides a charming path alongside a little creek in the suburb of Grimes, IA, far to the northwest on the outskirts of the Des Moines area. This short trail provides a perfect...
The Johnston Interurban Trail, built on a corridor used by Iowa's Inter-Urban Railway from 1906 until 1948, provides an important connection for the area's top-notch trail system, which enables trail...
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...
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 Fort Dodge Nature Trail begins at the city's Snell-Crawford Park and runs northeast for nearly 3 miles. The trail travels adjacent to overhead power lines and crosses a couple of bridges over...
The Waveland Trail runs through the historic neighborhoods of Waveland Park, Waveland Woods and Waterbury in western Des Moines. Along the way, the trail passes a community center, library, golf...
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,...
On the western outskirts of Des Moines, the Raccoon River Valley Trail offers a quintessential central Iowa experience. Over its 89-mile span, you’ll traverse woodlands, prairie and agricultural...
Running along a pleasant wooded corridor that follows the path of the Little Walnut Creek on the western outskirts of Urbandale, the Little Walnut Creek Trail is an excellent means of recreation for...
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 Ewing Park Trail is a paved path, perfect for a short bike ride or jog, located in the city of Des Moines' Ewing Park. One of the city's largest public parks, the park is home to a popular lilac...
Polk County's Trestle to Trestle Trail stretches from Des Moines to Johnston, one of its northern suburbs. The 3.7 mile asphalt trail, which runs near both heavily-wooded forest and the Des Moines...
Central Iowa's Pioneer Trail—which gets its name from the early settlers of Grundy County—is built on a former rail line that once connected the towns of Holland and Reinbeck and the communities in...
The Pine Lake Trail runs through a heavily wooded state park of the same name, which is especially known for its 250-year-old white pine trees. The trail begins at Deer Park, a half mile east of...
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 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...
We started at the south trailhead in Martinsville. NOT suitable for skating and probably not nice on a bike!!!
The descriptions online and videos on Youtube can’t do this trail justice! Words are utterly inadequate. The videos I saw online were fine but, videos can’t quite convey the feeling of pulling off into one of the observation areas, getting off the bike, and just taking in the majesty of it all! The view of the river valley is awe inspiring and guaranteed unforgettable. Crossing the High Trestle Bridge was a blast! It’s one thing to ride the bicycle down any plain path but, add a thirteen story high, half mile long bridge over a breathtaking view of a river valley, and that’s when it becomes an experience you don’t want to miss! I’m glad I came! Thank you to the people who dreamed this up. Thank you for making your dream a reality!
We came from the east and west side of Iowa to ride. We started at Captain Roy's and heading south to Cumming. Beautiful scenery and lots of places to stop and have refreshments/food. The bridges in Des Moines are beautiful and the path is well maintained.
I started in greenwood park. This trail is short but connects to other trails in the area. I only rode a short portion because I wanted to connect to the walnut creek trail. It is thru the woods and a pleasant ride. I rode August 2019. The trail is smooth. There are benches along the trail. There were no bugs. There was an order of something in the woods that may have been dead but it wasn't that noticeable. The humidity was high but temps were nice upper 60's-low 80's the day I rode. I didn't see any wildlife.
Overall I like this trail and ride it often. There are sections that are unfortunately in deplorable condition. The same terribly large cracks in the pavement have existed near Mega 10 park and the Riverview/Nicholson Ford area for many years.
It is very rare to find a trail of this length with such a smooth and well maintained surface. Gentle railway grade provides just enough work. Amazing trail for serious marathon training or a leisurely recreational skate. No hazards and suitable for skaters of all levels, even beginners. We skated on a Monday morning so traffic on the trail was light. Next time we will be sure plan our skate to be at the bridge for sunset and to enjoy the amazing lighted art exhibit.
Paving from Slater east towards Huxley is supposed to begin summer of 2019. Further down the road the DOT is replacing a bridge for I35 over the trail with a box culvert so a little more pavement happening there. I think that is in the ten year plan, 2023 work stops just short of there.
why don't we have a current trail update map????????? Frustrating!!!!! Snow across pass approximately 1 mile north of Panora on April fools day, 2019. No way this is passable as of April fools day.
In Mid-March 2019, a bridge collapsed which carries the Raccoon River Valley Trail over the North Raccoon River just south Jefferson. The Trail is now closed between 252nd St and 265th St. No timeframe for repairs but certain to be closed for several months.
I rode the section from Humbolt to Rolfe and back on Friday August 31, 2018. As others have posted, this is a crushed limestone trail but it is very smooth and in great shape, especially considering all the rain this area has received this summer. There were some small branches and leaves on the trail and there was one spot just west of Bradgate that was a little soft but other than that it was firm. I rode my Kona Rove with 700c x 35 mm tires and had no problems at all. I felt that the entire route was very scenic as it follows the Des Moines River. There are a lot of wooded stretches and glimpses of water. I even saw a Beaver near Bradgate.
If you take this trip, there's not much in Rutland or Bradgate to stop for, but there are nice picnic areas alongside the trail near both towns. There may have been restaurants in Rolfe but I wasn't really paying attention. Humbolt looked like a fabulous little town with a very vibrant Main Street and several restaurants. This is about an hour from my home, and so I plan to come back and ride the other direction to Eagle Grove. All in all, a great day.
Skated this trail from the trestle bridge to the oasis after Sheldahl. The pavement is like a big, wide sidewalk until Slater and beyond to the south, where it is more like asphalt. Trail was fairly busy, even away from the bridge. The bridge was well worth the trip, especially if you see it at night. The rest of the trail is standard Iowa scenery with pretty much no slopes and very long straight stretches.
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