Carroll, IA Birding Trails and Maps

100 Reviews

Looking for the best Birding trails around Carroll?

Find the top rated birding trails in Carroll, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.

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Activities
Length
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Type
20 Results
Activities
Length
Surfaces
Type

Fort Dodge Nature Trail

2.6 mi
State: IA
Cinder

Great American Rail-Trail

3743.9 mi
State: DC, IA, ID, IL, IN, MD, MT, NE, OH, PA, WA, WV, WY
Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone

Pleasant Valley Trail

4.5 mi
State: IA
Concrete

Raccoon River Valley Trail

88.2 mi
State: IA
Asphalt, Concrete

Rock Island Old Stone Arch Nature Trail

3.75 mi
State: IA
Asphalt, Crushed Stone

Russell White Nature Trail

3.8 mi
State: IA
Ballast, Grass

Sauk Rail Trail

33.2 mi
State: IA
Asphalt, Concrete

Storm Lake Trail

5 mi
State: IA
Concrete

T-Bone Trail

19.6 mi
State: IA
Asphalt

Twin Lakes Trail

7 mi
State: IA
Concrete

Wheels to Heels Trail

3.8 mi
State: IA
Concrete

Ballpark to Ballpark Trail

1 mi
State: IA
Asphalt, Concrete

Bull Creek Pathway

0.6 mi
State: IA
Concrete

Galloping Goose Trail (IA)

0.5 mi
State: IA
Ballast, Dirt, Grass

Hiawatha Trail (IA)

2.5 mi
State: IA
Concrete

Holstein Community Trail

1.7 mi
State: IA
Concrete

North Atlantic Trails System

5 mi
State: IA
Asphalt, Concrete, Gravel

Riverside Park Trail (IA)

3.5 mi
State: IA
Asphalt

Soldier Creek Nature Trail

1.2 mi
State: IA
Asphalt
Trail Image Trail Name States Length Surface Rating
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...
IA 2.6 mi Cinder
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
DC, IA, ID, IL, IN, MD, MT, NE, OH, PA, WA, WV, WY 3743.9 mi Asphalt, Concrete, Crushed Stone
Overview As the name implies, the High Trestle Trail to Raccoon River Valley Trail Connector is a 9-mile paved trail that connects the High Trestle Trail and the Raccoon River Valley...
IA 9 mi Concrete
The Pleasant Valley Trail is a network of paved, multi-use trail that runs for over four miles throughout the rural city of Ida Grove in western Iowa. Sections of the trail follow the Maple River,...
IA 4.5 mi Concrete
Closure Notice: A section of the trail from Linden to Redfield is closed until Spring/Summer 2024 due to bridge repair. See RaccoonRiverValleyTrail.org or the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association...
IA 88.2 mi Asphalt, Concrete
The Rock Island Old Stone Arch Nature Trail travels nearly 4 miles along an asphalt path atop a former railbed once owned by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Starting near an I-80 on-ramp,...
IA 3.75 mi Asphalt, Crushed Stone
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...
IA 3.8 mi Ballast, Grass
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...
IA 33.2 mi Asphalt, Concrete
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...
IA 5 mi Concrete
The T-Bone Trail stretches nearly 20 miles between Audubon and Pymosa township in western Iowa. The paved pathway follows a former railroad right-of-way and offers beautiful countryside views. On the...
IA 19.6 mi Asphalt
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...
IA 7 mi Concrete
Running through a beautiful expanse of woods and fields just a short distance east of Denison, Iowa, the Wheels to Heels Trail offers residents and visitors to this western Iowa community an...
IA 3.8 mi Concrete
The Ballpark to Ballpark Trail quite logically gets its name from the two ballparks situated at either end of its route and the increased connections it will create. Funded almost entirely by the...
IA 1 mi Asphalt, Concrete
The Bull Creek Pathway is a short neighborhood path with a lot of use. The multi-use pathway runs parallel to Bull Creek and links Harl-Holt Park to Washington Elementary, Schuler Elementary and...
IA 0.6 mi Concrete
The Galloping Goose Trail is so called for the nickname of the old railroad that once ran through the area and upon which the trail sits. As of 2012, about 0.5 mile of trail have been built northeast...
IA 0.5 mi Ballast, Dirt, Grass
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...
IA 2.5 mi Concrete
Located in the small city of Holstein, in rural Ida County, Iowa, the Holstein Community Trail is a smooth, concrete trail for walking and biking that spans most of the southeastern edge of town. The...
IA 1.7 mi Concrete
Just north of the small Iowa city of Atlantic, a sprawling network of concrete multi-use trails have been built, enabling cyclists and pedestrians to safely explore the lovely natural landscape around...
IA 5 mi Asphalt, Concrete, Gravel
The Riverside Trail (or Riverside Park Trail) meanders alongside Middle Raccoon River. The trail begins on Velvet Avenue and 320th Street in Coon Rapids, Iowa and wanders into the riparian woodland on...
IA 3.5 mi Asphalt
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...
IA 1.2 mi Asphalt

Recent Trail Reviews

High Trestle Trail to Raccoon River Valley Trail Connector

Spectacular New Connector Trail from Woodward to Perry

October, 2024 by sringlee

The Woodward-to-Perry Connector in the High Trestle Trail was long planned, requiring new bridges, land acquisition/donation and careful design. The result is spectacular. I rode this today on a cool Autumn day through harvested farm fields and along streams. The views are superb. The trail surface (paved concrete) is top notch. It crosses a few well-marked country roads but otherwise is a dedicated nature trail for hiking and biking. The entire route from Woodward to Perry is separated path except for two blocks of residential side street in Bouton. Although brand new, this trail is seeing use: groups of cyclists went by; numerous hikers and runners were out; and small kids on bikes near Perry were using it. It exits into residential streets in Perry that are well signposted to guide one to downtown or to the other trails beginning in Perry. Hats off to the County board of supervisors and the numerous volunteers and donors who made this happen.

Great American Rail-Trail

such a beautiful trail!

October, 2024 by sherryschie

We started in Akron and rode about 18 miles north. Loved it!!!

Sauk Rail Trail

Closed section

August, 2024 by n1203us

A mile or so south of Lake View the trail is closed for another mile. Not to worry. You can take the highway south just short of the RR tracks, and take the gravel road to the end. The trail starts up again there.

Accordion

Great American Rail-Trail

West bound from Ellensburg. August 2024

August, 2024 by tastesbadtobears

We ( recumbent trike & e-bike) headed West from the Kiwanis park. Turned around after 9km as the surface was really tough on the trike. There’s 2 good wheel tracks for bikes, but the trike had to ride partially in the coarse trail ballast. Scenic area with farm views and a huge windmill farm in the distance.

Raccoon River Valley Trail

Great trail except for one section

July, 2024 by ltbike

This trail is mostly concrete and very smooth and pretty. Our favorite section is Yale to Redfield. The very worst section is Yale to Jefferson--I advise not even going on that section--multiple wide cracks, potholes, limbs hanging over the trail--we finally turned around and rode a different direction--we were at the Herndon TH/junction. Boo to Guthrie County for not maintaining their part of the trail. We camped at Springbrook State Park.

Raccoon River Valley Trail

Rode Perry to Milburn

June, 2024 by djmmsherman

Rode this trail mid-May 2024. Surface is cement, so easy and flat biking and trail in great shape. We started in Perry, which is charming and makes a big deal out of the biking trail (can't miss the biking sculpture). We rode as far as Minburn and turned around to ride back for a ride of 20.5 (we also did part of the Sauk Rail Trail on this day). The RRVT is recommended on the Rails to Trails “HALL OF FAME.” $2 daily trail fee. Saw so many birds: cardinals, orioles, blue jays. Popular trail – lots of activity, bikers, walkers. Windy in the open parts. Found some keys and stuck them on a branch we pushed in on the side of the trail. Were delighted to find woven dandelions around the branch as a "thank you" when we rode back to Perry. Beautiful rural biking and people were so friendly. Great ride!

T-Bone Trail

rough asphalt

March, 2024 by lyonsjustin1958

It is too bad the asphalt has cracked. A great effort was made to have a nice trail but the cracks were enough to make it rough riding. That is the reason such a low rating. I also question why most of the trees have been cut down.

Sauk Rail Trail

smooth trail

March, 2024 by lyonsjustin1958

We really enjoyed this ride. Since we rode in March there was not any foliage on trees or landscape. But the trail condition was smooth sailing all the way.

Raccoon River Valley Trail

Jefferson to Herndon rough ride

September, 2023 by thepetpal

We rode yesterday from the depot in Jefferson, south through Cooper to Herndon. The first four miles were lovely and smooth on concrete. Then the asphalt began and was a bit rough until Cooper. The next five miles south to Herndon were extremely bad, as in, I don't care to ever ride that section again! Hopefully they can get enough money for resurfacing in the near future.

Sauk Rail Trail

Great Trail

September, 2023 by shap

Wow! This is a trail worth ridding. We started out in Carroll and rode up and back to Breda, then down and around Swan Lake state park. The next day we went from Lake View to Breda and back. The trail is all concrete, they have replaced all the sections that were asphalt. We had a great time.

Raccoon River Valley Trail

Beautiful Scenery But resurface needed

September, 2023 by rodney7karen7_tl

Really great trail, scenery very nice, distance farmland and nice parks but the section from Yale to halfway to Jefferson needs to be resurfaced, It was so annoying we did Not finish the last half to Jefferson… every 10 yards there was a horizontal, 2 inch indention across the trail….we turned around instead of finishing the trail to Jefferson. Such beautiful scenery. Please repair!

Raccoon River Valley Trail

Nice Ride!! Lot of corn and beans!!

August, 2023 by mrmikesch

We camped in Springbrook State Park, and rode the trail on three consecutive days. Day one: we drove to the trail head at Herndon, and did an out and back to Minburn. 48 miles. The section was very smooth and flat. Day two: we drove to Yale and rode from Yale to Linden and back. 24 miles. As of August 7 2023, the trail was closed 2 miles east of Linden for bridge work. Since the mileage on this day was shorter, we rode hwy 25 from the Yale Trail, head back to Springbrook, State, Park, 7 miles. Very little traffic and good road. Day three: We rode from Yale to Jefferson and back. 34 miles. This section between Yale and Jefferson was still paved, but bumpy. Least favorite section.

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