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.
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 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 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 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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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 have completed twice, once actually started in Sac City on County Blacktops to add miles but it also added some hills. Both times camped at Swan Lake State Park, there is huge amount of tent camper space available and lots of shade, I believe 100 rv sites. Two newer shower houses. The trail is well maintained and in great condition, wild flower, animal abundant. As others have mentioned, bring all the water you will need. There are about 4 port a pots but mostly southern half of trail, approx. 6 or 8 small shelters. Swan Lake Campground to Lake View my app showed 25.1 miles 370 ft gain. The $2 trail fee well worth it. 3 miles closest to South end are most challenging. The Swan Lake loop is also a challenge but beautiful.
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.
I rode the last 5-6 miles at the west end of Three River Trail, up and back, from Bradgate to Rolfe (in my quest to bike in all 99 counties!). I found it peaceful/serene and beautiful. The crushed limestone rode very well and there several places for photo opps. Another plus is the R/R (restroom) availability in Melson Park half way between the two towns as well as the J&B Wilcox Shelter at the end of the trail in Rolfe. Bradgate has a very friendly park-art at a shelter where you can take a moment - and a photo! I definitely want to be returning to finish the trail someday!
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