Find the top rated trails in Storm Lake, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
This trail skirts the northern shore of Storm Lake, connecting the town of Lakeside in the west to the Emerald Park subdivision. The trail is made up of off-road concrete pathways and some on-road...
The Twin Lakes Trail forms a loop around North Twin Lake, one of a pair of gorgeous glacial lakes in rural northwestern Iowa. The concrete trail takes users through state and county parks, with ample...
The Puddle Jumper Trail is a 2 mile long rail-trail that connects the western Iowa communities of Orange City and Alton. The trail is surfaced with crushed quartzite and also features a bridle path...
The Three Rivers Trail runs for nearly 40 miles from the small community of Rolfe—named after the early English settler who married Pocahontas—to just west of Eagle Grove. The mostly rural trail is...
The Sauk Rail Trail offers some of the best riding in rural, west-central Iowa. The paved 33-mile trail is capped at either end by a state park and offers a diverse mix of views and experiences in...
The Spencer Recreational Trail traverses scenic wetlands and prairies on the outskirts of the small city of Spencer, offering users a peaceful, paved path along the Little Sioux River. The trail...
The Iowa Great Lakes resort on the northern border with Minnesota is a longtime destination for fishermen and vacationers who arrived from big cities by rail. Dickinson County employed two different...
The Three Rivers Trail runs for nearly 40 miles from the small community of Rolfe—named after the early English settler who married Pocahontas—to just west of Eagle Grove. The mostly rural trail is...
The Twin Lakes Trail forms a loop around North Twin Lake, one of a pair of gorgeous glacial lakes in rural northwestern Iowa. The concrete trail takes users through state and county parks, with ample...
The Sauk Rail Trail offers some of the best riding in rural, west-central Iowa. The paved 33-mile trail is capped at either end by a state park and offers a diverse mix of views and experiences in...
The Russell White Nature Trail runs for nearly 4 miles through a landscape of forest, pasture and prairie and links the tiny community of Lanesboro with open space to the southwest of the town. The...
The Puddle Jumper Trail is a 2 mile long rail-trail that connects the western Iowa communities of Orange City and Alton. The trail is surfaced with crushed quartzite and also features a bridle path...
This trail skirts the northern shore of Storm Lake, connecting the town of Lakeside in the west to the Emerald Park subdivision. The trail is made up of off-road concrete pathways and some on-road...
The Laurens Walking Trail runs for just about 1 mile along an old railroad line on the south side of town. The trail passes through an open corridor with scattered trees among Iowa's farm fields. The...
The Iowa Great Lakes resort on the northern border with Minnesota is a longtime destination for fishermen and vacationers who arrived from big cities by rail. Dickinson County employed two different...
The Spencer Recreational Trail traverses scenic wetlands and prairies on the outskirts of the small city of Spencer, offering users a peaceful, paved path along the Little Sioux River. The trail...
The Three Rivers Trail runs for nearly 40 miles from the small community of Rolfe—named after the early English settler who married Pocahontas—to just west of Eagle Grove. The mostly rural trail is...
The Puddle Jumper Trail is a 2 mile long rail-trail that connects the western Iowa communities of Orange City and Alton. The trail is surfaced with crushed quartzite and also features a bridle path...
The Spencer Recreational Trail traverses scenic wetlands and prairies on the outskirts of the small city of Spencer, offering users a peaceful, paved path along the Little Sioux River. The trail...
The Iowa Great Lakes resort on the northern border with Minnesota is a longtime destination for fishermen and vacationers who arrived from big cities by rail. Dickinson County employed two different...
The Laurens Walking Trail runs for just about 1 mile along an old railroad line on the south side of town. The trail passes through an open corridor with scattered trees among Iowa's farm fields. The...
This trail skirts the northern shore of Storm Lake, connecting the town of Lakeside in the west to the Emerald Park subdivision. The trail is made up of off-road concrete pathways and some on-road...
The Sauk Rail Trail offers some of the best riding in rural, west-central Iowa. The paved 33-mile trail is capped at either end by a state park and offers a diverse mix of views and experiences in...
The Russell White Nature Trail runs for nearly 4 miles through a landscape of forest, pasture and prairie and links the tiny community of Lanesboro with open space to the southwest of the town. The...
The Twin Lakes Trail forms a loop around North Twin Lake, one of a pair of gorgeous glacial lakes in rural northwestern Iowa. The concrete trail takes users through state and county parks, with ample...
What a nice trail, under utilized and unsung. We rode from Breda to Swan Lake SP on a beautiful fall day. We only saw three other riders.
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.
I've ridden this entire trail and have really come to love it. It has a personality all its own and is completely different than the other trails I've ridden in the region.
From my perspective, it can be broken into four sections, each of which has a different feel. From the south, the first section starts at Swan Lake State Park and skirts Carroll to the south and west before reaching Maple River. This section is about 8.5 miles long and surprisingly hilly. After leaving the state park, you will pass through some subdivisions before crossing underneath US 71 and US 30. The pavement here is a mixed bag but in reasonably good shape. There are some tight spots but they're well marked. Use caution when crossing the Union Pacific mainline at Iris and Jade. There are a lot of trains on this route and they're typically moving pretty quickly.
The 7.2 mile stretch from Maple River to Breda is my favorite part of the trail. It's a gentle rise almost the whole way but you're surrounded by bigger hills that give it more of a mountain feel without the steep climb. It was a really pleasant surprise. There's also a wind farm here. The pavement is nice wide poured concrete. Breda's a nice little town with a general store on the main street.
The third section runs from Breda to the railroad underpass on Quincy. It's about 6.4 miles and pleasant. The pavement is poured concrete like the second section and as smooth as it gets. The jog to get under the railroad overpass is gravel, so use caution.
The last section is what I call the water section. It runs by Black Hawk Marsh on its way to Lake View and Black Hawk Lake State Park. It's heavily forested and runs through wetlands before ending just a few blocks from the heart of one of the prettiest little towns in the Upper Midwest.
We can’t say much about this trail since we decided to try it out for the first time during a day with 25+ mile an hour winds coming from the south. But what we were able to do, about 6 miles starting from Lake View, was very well maintained. The first 3 miles are nicely wooded & protected. We happily paid the daily fee which is asked to help with maintenance of the trail. Other bikers that we talked to said we’d be one of the few who have actually paid, which I find to be sad when it’s such a nice trail that’s for the enjoyment of all.
I have ridden around both West Lake Okoboji, Big Spirit,East Lake many times. Some of the trail is on the road which is county black tops and local streets, it would be impossible to go around 5 lakes and be only bike/walk trail. Go to dickinsoncountytrails.com map on top tool bar. It's prox 24 miles around West Okoboji and 46 miles around outside of all 5 lakes. Great adventure and gets better every year,
I'd never even heard of this trail until my wife and I found it this weekend. We didn't have time to cover the entire trail, but road about 26 miles RT from Lake View to Breda. Lake View is a nice town where there are a couple of trail heads with plenty of parking. The trail itself is flawless and runs along the lake at the beginning and through the beautiful Iowa countryside the rest of the way. The scenery has rolling hills although the trail itself is flat. Can't wait to ride the rest of it!!
To look at the trail map (which we did) you would think that there is a trail around both Spirit Lake and Lake Okoboji. Nothing could be further from the truth. Much of the trails consist of residental roads, highways, with a few dedicated trails mixed in, which simply stop, with no instructions. Whats even worse is the fact that there are ZERO signs anywhere to tell you where the "trail" is. Maybe I'm spoiled living in central Iowa. If you're a boater, head to the Iowa great lakes. If you're a biker, go elsewhere!!
We rode the trail today from Lake View to Carroll. One feature we really like is the mile markers (for both directions) We ride this trail a few times each year so we definitely liked the bridge improvements with cement replacing the wooden bridge floors. And the addition of so many bike fix- it stations is a nice thing to have along the way. We also like the shelter at the 2 mile location out of Lake View. Love the improvements. Great maintenance all along the way. One of our favorite Iowa trails. (we drive 2 hours to access and ride this trail) Thank you!!!
I run this trail at least 4-5 times a week and I never get tired of it. My route usually consists of the miles between the trailhead in Rolfe and a few miles outside of Bradgate. It is a quite and easy run. There are cricks and rivers all along this route which provide many wildlife spotting.
I would highly recommend this trail to anyone!
I'm from Kansas City and rode this trail on Labor Day weekend. It was a peaceful, quiet ride thru corn fields and the beautiful country sides of rural Iowa. The trail is in great shape and is very smooth until you have to cross several gravel roads. Like others have said, bring extra hydration and snacks as there's not much along the way to stop.
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