Explore the best rated trails in Johnston, IA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Galloping Goose Trail (IA) and Hubbard Prairie Trail. With more than 75 trails covering 460 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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It took a nearly a decade of work and collaboration between two Central Iowa communities and a host of other partners to move the JewEllsworth Trail from vision to reality. The trail sits in the...
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...
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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...
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,...
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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...
This is a shared-use path located on the east side of Northwest Beaver Drive in Johnston, Iowa. The trail connects residents to two recreational sites on the west shore of Saylorville Lake as well as...
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...
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...
The Westridge Greenway Trail spans just shy of a mile, running along a beautiful shaded corridor in the heart of suburban West Des Moines. The flat trail is a mixture of concrete and asphalt paths,...
The Summerset Trail links the two central Iowa communities of Indianola and Carlisle, both of which have embraced the trail, including providing helpful signs at each end with clear directions for...
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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 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...
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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 paved Chichaqua Valley Trail crosses 27 miles of central Iowa farmland between the northeastern Des Moines suburbs and the rural community of Baxter. The trail’s name, pronounced chee-chak-wah, is...
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...
Opened in 2016, the Carlisle Nature Trail is a beautiful way to experience the natural beauty of the small Iowa community of Carlisle, located about a dozen miles southeast of Des Moines. Running...
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 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...
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...
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...
It took a nearly a decade of work and collaboration between two Central Iowa communities and a host of other partners to move the JewEllsworth Trail from vision to reality. The trail sits in the...
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...
This is a shared-use path located on the east side of Northwest Beaver Drive in Johnston, Iowa. The trail connects residents to two recreational sites on the west shore of Saylorville Lake as well as...
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 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...
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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...
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...
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 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...
Part of an expansive trail network in the Greater Des Moines region, the 26-mile Neal Smith Trail rolls along the banks of the Des Moines River through the Ding Darling Greenway conservation area and...
Stange Road trail connects residents of the Somerset neighborhood in north Ames, to the Iowa State University campus that lies directly south of it. The shared use path sits on the west side of Stange...
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...
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...
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...
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 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 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 Bloomington Road Trail is a shared use path along the road of the same name. The trail is located in Ames, near the northern city limits. It provides a safe, car-separate facility where residents...
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 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...
The Jerry Kelley Trail, named for the city of Indianola's former long-tenured mayor, provides a great community pathway that links residents to schools, local parks, and the city's pair of fantastic...
The Cinder Path in southern Iowa is notable as the state’s first rail-to-trail conversion. Following a shady route past farms and wetlands along the Chariton River between Chariton and Humeston for...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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 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...
Opened in 2016, the Carlisle Nature Trail is a beautiful way to experience the natural beauty of the small Iowa community of Carlisle, located about a dozen miles southeast of Des Moines. Running...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
This trail is great for beginners & up. The new extension to Cordova Park has opened up another 4 miles of biking. https://www.marioncountyiowa.gov/maps/parks/Cordova%20Park.pdf
All year hiking. Dog friendly. Trail goes into Pella where you can enjoy the dutch bakeries, meat shops, sandwich shops, restaurants and stop at The Cellar Peanut Pub for a vast selection ciders & craft beers. Easy access to Iowa's largest lake. Great waterfront hiking as well. Boating, swimming, fishing, cabins along lake. Eagle nesting below the dam. Also the white pelicans are a joy to watch as well.
I love this trail. Surfaces are solid no pot holes or anything it is smooth riding. There is not many people that use this trail which makes riding on the trail more fun.
This is one of the best rides we have found in Des Moines. Pretty level and wide. Couple of nice bridges including a covered one! Nice places to stop and rest and view the scenery.
There are no more trail closures due to construction. You can ride from Cordova Park trailhead to Pella if you choose.
Great ride, trail well maintained and the fall foliage was a perfect setting. The bridge after sunset was beautiful.
Went out and got to the first bridge from Jefferson that crosses the river and it was still down, the detour kind of sucked but other than that the trail was nice.
We are beginning bikers and older. Loved the wide paved path. Put in north of Carlisle and ride was great as was the view. Then we hit the HILL. Oh my. Benches on the way up and I can see why. We could ride up and took all we had to walk up. We turned around and what a ride down. whheeeee’. Won’t be doing this one sgsin
Started at Copper Creek and followed the trail out about 2 miles. Quiet, nicely paved wide walkway- few bikers but once we got around the lake- we didn’t see anyone else. Crosses over the road twice on our route but clearly marked and easy to get back on the trail.
I rode the entire path from Chariton to Humeston on 9/5/2020. After reading the reviews and confirmation from a friend who rode it earlier in the summer I was expecting an adventure of wading through foot high grass from Derby to Humeston. To my surprise this section was mowed very short so I think I saw this trail at its best. The section from Chariton to Derby is well maintained and scenery that is more than just cornfields or a tunnel of trees. Very nice. The southern section from Derby to Humeston was bumpy like riding on a short grass lawn. Pretty but not as appealing as the northern section. The reward is finishing in Humeston which is a wonderful little town with a nice cafe and an interesting variety store.
As of Sept 15 the trail is clear from the South Skunk River to the Trail Head on Broadway in Des Moines. That gives you about 15 miles of clear trail with Bondurant as the center point. Just to the east of the Skunk River there are trees down. Valeria still has trees down going both directions, so that is still a no go. Even though the trail is clear in places keep in mind there are still branch up high that are loose, so pay attention especially if there is any wind.
We attempted to get on the trail in Valeria and found that the trail is still blocked by limbs and downed trees from the derecho.
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