Find the top rated walking trails in Ames, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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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...
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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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
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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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
Notice: In 2019, the bridge over Beaver Creek in Johnston collapsed. Repairs on the bridge are expected to be completed in 2021. Repair schedule and updates can be found at the Polk County...
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.
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 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 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...
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...
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Built on a former section of the Chicago Great Western Railroad (built in 1893), the Great Western Trail spans 16.5 miles from just outside of urban Des Moines southward to Martensdale. Begin your...
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...
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The Walnut Creek Trail serves as an important trail connector in West Des Moines. On its northern end, it seamlessly links to the Clive Greenbelt Trail, which heads west and, in turn, connects to the...
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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...
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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....
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 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...
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 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...
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...
Urbandale, Iowa is home to an extensive trails network; there are over 54 miles of trail spread across the city. The Meredith Drive Trail isn't necessarily the most scenic of the trails, it does form...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 Meredith Trail connects from downtown Des Moines west to Gray’s Lake Park. The trail picks up off where the Principal Riverwalk leaves off along the Des Moines River. At the confluence with...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
Our family (dad, mom, and 2 kids -- 5 and 8) love to go on bicycle rides on trails in the central part of the country. We have ridden on trails in Kansas, Missouri (our home state), Nebraska and Iowa. Of all the places where we ride (usually "day trips" from our home in northwestern Missouri), the trails in Iowa are our absolute favorite. We are frequent visitors to the High Trestle Trail, and decided to "switch it up" one afternoon (Aug 8, 2021) and try out a trail that we hadn't been on before. We selected the Raccoon River Valley Trail.
With the kids in tow, we don't ride the entire trail. Instead, we usually go out 4 or 5 miles, and then return. We put in at the trailhead in Adel, IA, and headed east about 4 miles before turning around because the kids were getting tired (the furthest they have ridden is about 12 miles total on a ride). Having been on the High Trestle Trail many times, the kids **love** going over the bridges. We weren't disappointed going over the bridge 1 mile east of the Adel trailhead, which goes over the Raccoon River.
The condition of the portion of the trail we rode was just OK. That portion of the trail is paved with asphalt, and there are some dubious patch jobs along the portion of the trail that we rode. I was eager to ride my newly-re-cabled road bike, and the trail was mostly smooth enough for that. But, you better look ahead and pick your path well, because some of those hack patch jobs are pretty rough. Still, it isn't bad enough to detract any stars from what we thought is an outstanding trail.
We paid the daily fee for 2 adults (kids ride free), which helps fund maintenance for the trail. We are definitely not against paying the small fee ($2 per adult per day ... we just put a fiver in the envelope) to help fund the maintenance and upkeep on high quality trails.
After the ride, we stopped at Brickyard Burgers and Brews (1802 Greene St, Adel, Iowa 50003 ... https://adelbrickyard.com/ ... copy the URL and paste it into a new browser tab), which is RIGHT AT the Adel, IA trailhead. They have awesome wood-fired oven baked pizzas, and they were (as my daughter says) DELICIOSO! Out of two large pizzas, we went home with only three pieces remaining ... and the kids split one of those (the only remaining piece from their pizza) on the way home in the truck!
Of the four states we have ridden trails on, the trails in Iowa are our favorite. While most trails are "paved" with chipped gravel, the majority of the trails we've been on in Iowa are paved in either concrete or asphalt. It is a much more enjoyable ride. It may cost a bit more initially, but we can only imagine that it also has lower maintenance costs, since we've witnessed the chipped gravel trails often having "ruts" from people riding after a rain. There is no such issue on the concrete and asphalt paved trails that we've been on. And, by offering a smoother ride, it's not hard to imagine that more people will take advantage of what the trails have to offer, increasing traffic to the towns located along the truly paved trails. I tend to not take my road bike on the chipped gravel trails, fearful of a crash from hitting some loose gravel that will cause me or my bike (or both) serious injury. The fact that I can ride my road bike on these trails is a real plus, and one that I go out of my way to ride on.
All any other state has to do to figure out how to do trails "RIGHT" is look to how Iowa has created their trail system. Keep up the excellent work on the trails, Iowa! You've done it up right!
Concrete and asphalt with lots of ups and downs and turns. Goes through a few parks, there's lots of shade.
Great trail / riding conditions. A few stretches between towns that have not been upgraded but overall a great ride. A couple stretches need shoulder improvements.....if you veer off the trail you're in trouble due to a 4" drop into class 5 rock and then into the woods (the only reason I deduct a rating star). Get this fixed, the trail deserves 5 stars!
I did the loop starting in Perry. I liked that there are several little towns for rest and nutrition stops. Other riders were courteous and friendly although some could turn down the tunes....hard to enjoy the peacefulness when AC/DC is blaring throughout the woods.
If you have a road bike or bad shocks this will not be as enjoyable as other trails. The trail needs some work done. It’s pretty bumpy in spots. However it is a beautiful ride with some cute bars along the way!
Walked the first section of the trail with our dog. Met a few bikes, a runner and a couple of walkers. Pleasant, well-maintained. Crossed three low railroad bridges; saw 2 deer in the creek below. Lovely place to spend a few hours.
We only walked a bit of the trail, but saw no one on it the whole 30-45 min we were on it.
This is a beautiful quiet ride! Several benches to enjoy the peace and quiet. Wide trail very well maintained. Sinage within ellsworth was a bit confusing! Jewell is a great little town with little shops to walk thru
Started in Berwick at the suggested park and the plan was to go to Baxter, about a couple blocks before the end, the trail is closed. There is a detour in the subdivision. Otherwise no other problems with the trail, it was 54.4 miles round trip, great ride. From Baxter back to Berwick there is more uphill. If you’re looking for a easy ride just go one way; Berwick to Baxter.
My dad and I went exploring and chose this location to check out. We were pleasantly surprised by the clean water of the lake, and around the lake was very picked up of all garbage . The only thing with the walk around the lake are the lines in the road. There is a bike/walking lane and a single file car lane that is not marked consistently and folks don’t seem to understand that and think it is a car lane. The road is a one way loop, and still there was confusion with motorists regarding the biker/walkers. We will definitely be back to kayak around the lake as it is really pretty and it loops around an island . It also looks like a great place to fish. Be sure you have your fishing license/trout license. Enjoy!!
2-ish miles south of Jefferson the bridge is still out, w/no practical alternative route. Construction was active, but still no stable bed on new bridge. Let’s hope it’s passable by end of 2021.
Nice and wide. Good connection between Summerset Trail and good biking around YMCA.
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