Find the top rated hiking trails in Fort Dodge, whether you're looking for an easy short hiking trail or a long hiking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hiking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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.
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.
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.
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!
This was the first stop in our 2023 "Tour de Great Plains & Colorado" bike trip. We rode this trail east 10 miles from the western most trailhead "Woodward, Iowa". The trail was perfect concrete about 10 feet wide and mostly flat. The trestle is amazing and Iowa is beautiful. The Flat Tire Lounge in Madrid is a perfect place to stop and grab a bite to eat and a drink. It was a wonderful day and a great experience. We're off to a great start!!!
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.
The High Trestle Trail provided an amazing ride through farms and small towns, starting in Ankeny and ending on a high note at the high trestle bridge. I felt very safe even though parts of the trail were isolated through farm fields with very few other riders. Everyone I ran into was very friendly and helpful, including a construction worker who helped me through the detour in Ankeny and a nice man, who helped me put air in my tire along the trail.
Nice trail overall but of course you are going to go to the bridge right? Yes it lives up to the hype. If in Central Iowa be sure to stop by.
With new connections this trail will continue to become even more popular. Also be aware that at Slater this trail turns south and if you continue east you are on the Heart of Iowa Trail.
The development of the Raccoon River Trail over the past few decades has to be one of the shining examples of trail development in the Midwest and maybe even the entire nation. Completely paved and well maintained (in many cases the road crossings are even paved over the rural gravel roads). There are several entities involved maintaining their own section and they all seem to do a good job keeping up on the trails condition. As more sections of rail were abandoned they were combined into the system to create a full loop. And it connects to many other area trails with plans for more connections.
I love this trail ¿! Grassy, well maintained path with lots of scenery!
We are going on to the Mickelson, but thought we would stop for the night in Iowa and take a ride. Very glad that we did. Came into Ames around 5:15PM. Saw that sunset was at 8:31 so we drove down to Madrid and went west to Woodward. The trip was short but we crossed the bride twiice and it was lit.
We parked in the Grants Woods lot outside Madrid, but the gravel trail is pretty steep in spots and rough, I suggest that if you park there, go back to the highway and go on about 500 feet where the Trail actually intersects it. There's some risk of car traffic, but we saw none. and you avoid having to walk up some steep gravel slopes.
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