Find the top rated birding trails in Dubuque, 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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We'd planned to ride this trail the weekend of Oct. 30, but it was closed for turkey hunting season. The city of Galena had the trail blocked with signs giving closure dates for various hunting season weekends; if you're hoping to ride in the fall you might want to check before you come. It looks great and we hope to ride in a safer season for cyclists.
In 2021, the longest segment of the trail was extended further west within Marion and now ends at 7th STREET. That stretch is about six miles long from the east endpoint at Oxley Road. The trail goes underneath Highway 13/151.
There is also another segment of trail within Marion that is about 1.3 miles in length. The western endpoint is just east of C Avenue NE. The trail has a high bridge over Indian Creek, and the trail dead ends just west of Marion Blvd. When I visited on 10/04/2021, there was construction underway to complete the 4/10's of a mile gap between the two sections described above. Hopefully, my review will also soon be out of date, and the connected stretches making one eight-mile trail.
The middle 2.3 mile stretch from Creekside Road to Springville Road is primitive, but passable. I would describe that stretch as grass growing through a narrow, gravel footpath. The grass is kept mowed. That stretch is scenic, with full-sized trees. However, with the primitive surface, I had to carefully watch where I was riding, instead of being able to gaze around.
The eastern-most stretch, between Alderman Road and Martelle should not be listed as a trail. It is not maintained, and there are multiple places with trees blocking the abandoned right of way.
The trail does not end abruptly at the BNSF Railroad mainline at the location called Galena Junction. There are not any future plans to extend the trail beyond Galena Jct, because the trail was extended in the past.
The c. 2019 extension is about two miles long, heading SE from Galena Jct alongside the BNSF mainline to Aiken.
Went 20+ miles without seeing a sole, great trails, little rough in spots. One washout we barely missed that would have put you deep into your seatbelts
Great job of clean up on the east end since last fall. Grass area west of Springville is a nice ride even on a hybrid. Last September it was largely impassable with downed trees from the derecho, but looks good now.
We camped at Blue Mound State Park and biked the first day to Dodgeville. The camp is at mile marker 22, so 36 miles round trip. Great scenery as the elevation is high: distant farmlands, golf courses, forest,…. The trail is in great condition, winding and rolling throughout farmlands, wooded area, prairies, and small rural communities. Our return trip was in misting rain and the forecast for storms later that week canceled our plans for the eastern leg until another time.
Very nice. Not for biking or running, but perfect for ATVs, though frequent bridges are a bit of a pain. Lots of close by paved trails for runners.
Rode on Friday the 18th. Saw 2 walkers but no bikers. Started at the Galena Recreation Park. Added the 2.6 miles to get to the bottom of Chestnut Mountain Resort and the trail to entrance of Buehler Preserve. Ended with a total of 21.1. Because of my age I was glad to have my pedal assist bike. Nice day.
Had a fun ride on this trail. In spite of rain all of the previous day, the trail was in good shape. It wasn’t crowded. Pretty scenery and lots of “cathedral tree shade”. We even saw indigo buntings! A few inclines, but we have Ebikes, so no problems for us. We will do this again next time in Galena
So peaceful and beautiful. I will look forward to walking the trail as the seasons change.
Fun biking trail with plenty of great scenery and interesting stops. Plus easy access to the main steet of Galena, which can keep you entertained for days. Awesome weekend adventure destination.
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