Find the top rated bike trails in Ankeny, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike 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...
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 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...
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...
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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...
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 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...
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,...
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 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 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...
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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...
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 Timberline Park Trail forms a crucial link in the Urbandale area's trail network, while also offering a scenic experience for local residents in need of a neighborhood stroll. The northern end of...
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...
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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...
Who says Iowa doesn’t have hills?! The winding route of the Volksweg Trail sticks mainly to the rolling hills and scenic viewpoints from Lake Red Rock all the way to the town of Pella. Dutch...
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...
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...
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...
South Skunk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. In Ames, the Skunk River Trail brings residents closer to river and to nature. The shared use path sits on the shady west bank of South Skunk...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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,...
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 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...
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...
Take a morning bike ride or evening stroll on the Des Moines River Trail. The paved trail diverges from the Meredith Trail and Prinicipal Riverwalk, continuing for 2.6 miles downstream to the James W....
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...
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 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...
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...
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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...
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 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...
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...
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...
Who says Iowa doesn’t have hills?! The winding route of the Volksweg Trail sticks mainly to the rolling hills and scenic viewpoints from Lake Red Rock all the way to the town of Pella. Dutch...
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.
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.
Steepest grade (according to our Garmin GPSMap64) was 8% on the trail; on the detour (crossing the dam to accomplish the detour) was 15%. No signs to direct you around the detour ¿¿, but there is a foot bridge crossing the river that connects Hoewell Station Rec Area with North Overlook Rec Area. But it requires riding across the dam. While crossing the dam you will see that the trail could be reopened ¿¿.
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