Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Grinnell, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Cedar Valley Nature Trail—part of the cross-country American Discovery Trail— follows the fertile Cedar River between Evansdale and Ely. The 68-mile trail comprises three former trails—the Cedar...
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 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 Kewash Nature Trail winds for nearly 14 miles between the towns of Keota and Washington. These endpoints were creatively combined to form the trail's name. The trail has a crushed limestone...
The Sergeant Road Trail is part of the larger trails system in the Cedar Valley region of Iowa, which includes the cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo. The trail parallels US 63also known as Sergeant...
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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 Grundy County Lake Trail circles its namesake 40-acre lake, where outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy fishing, boating, and many other recreational opportunities. The paved trail then continues north,...
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...
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 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...
The South Tama Recreation Trail connects the adjacent towns of Tama and Toledo in Tama County, Iowa. The original section of the trail, a 1 mile stretch built on an abandoned railroad corridor, opened...
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 Old Creamery Trail, running between Vinton and Dysart, is so named for the Old Creamery Theater Company building in Garrison, another tiny farm community through which the trail passes. The gravel...
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 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 South Tama Recreation Trail connects the adjacent towns of Tama and Toledo in Tama County, Iowa. The original section of the trail, a 1 mile stretch built on an abandoned railroad corridor, opened...
The Kewash Nature Trail winds for nearly 14 miles between the towns of Keota and Washington. These endpoints were creatively combined to form the trail's name. The trail has a crushed limestone...
The Grundy County Lake Trail circles its namesake 40-acre lake, where outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy fishing, boating, and many other recreational opportunities. The paved trail then continues north,...
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 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...
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 Heart of Iowa Nature Trail traverses classic Iowa farmland along the former route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, also known as the Milwaukee Road. The trail transitions...
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...
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 Sergeant Road Trail is part of the larger trails system in the Cedar Valley region of Iowa, which includes the cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo. The trail parallels US 63also known as Sergeant...
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...
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...
The nearly 12-mile Pioneer Trail—which gets its name from the early settlers in Grundy County—is built on a former rail line that once connected the towns of Holland and Reinbeck and the communities...
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail—part of the cross-country American Discovery Trail— follows the fertile Cedar River between Evansdale and Ely. The 68-mile trail comprises three former trails—the Cedar...
The Praeri Rail Trail runs on an old section of railroad right-of-way between Zearing and Roland in central Iowa. Sections of the trail near Roland and McCallsburg have a crushed limestone surface,...
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...
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail—part of the cross-country American Discovery Trail— follows the fertile Cedar River between Evansdale and Ely. The 68-mile trail comprises three former trails—the Cedar...
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 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 Old Creamery Trail, running between Vinton and Dysart, is so named for the Old Creamery Theater Company building in Garrison, another tiny farm community through which the trail passes. The gravel...
The Grundy County Lake Trail circles its namesake 40-acre lake, where outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy fishing, boating, and many other recreational opportunities. The paved trail then continues north,...
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 Kewash Nature Trail winds for nearly 14 miles between the towns of Keota and Washington. These endpoints were creatively combined to form the trail's name. The trail has a crushed limestone...
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...
The Praeri Rail Trail runs on an old section of railroad right-of-way between Zearing and Roland in central Iowa. Sections of the trail near Roland and McCallsburg have a crushed limestone surface,...
The South Tama Recreation Trail connects the adjacent towns of Tama and Toledo in Tama County, Iowa. The original section of the trail, a 1 mile stretch built on an abandoned railroad corridor, opened...
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...
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 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 nearly 12-mile Pioneer Trail—which gets its name from the early settlers in Grundy County—is built on a former rail line that once connected the towns of Holland and Reinbeck and the communities...
The Sergeant Road Trail is part of the larger trails system in the Cedar Valley region of Iowa, which includes the cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo. The trail parallels US 63also known as Sergeant...
The Heart of Iowa Nature Trail traverses classic Iowa farmland along the former route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, also known as the Milwaukee Road. The trail transitions...
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...
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 ¿¿.
I ride trails in Kansas City, have ridden on portions of The Katy Trail, etc. this trail isn’t in as good of shape as The Katy Trail but it was good enough to have a great ride! I rode from Keota to Washington. The first day was a day after a storm and there were branches, vegetation and some mud spots. All part of a nature trail bike ride. The next day most of the vegetation, branches, etc were cleared. The trail was dried up and it was very good. It is mostly flat with small inclines and declines. Great ride!
We loved the trail and the trestle was amazing. Be sure to bring and wear sunglasses and a bandana. There are copious amounts of flying bugs on some portions of the trail.
This is a nice trail, except for the section from Pella to the trailhead by the old bridge. That is very rough. The rest of the trail is superb. This trail was billed as difficult, but I did not find it that hard. The hills are long but not steep. The scenery is great, and I enjoyed this trail.
This is our favorite trail. We drove from Dallas and arrived to beautiful weather. (9/15/17). Arrived when when they were turning on the lights. Rode to Madrid to have a beer at Flat Tire Bar. Do not miss that place. So cool for bikers. The trail is very maintained and beautiful. We are going back this year and go the whole way. Please remember your front and back lights if you go at night. It’s a very dark trail.
Packerbacker's description of the Big Creek State Park trail was right on--bumpy (uncountable "cross-cuts") and desperately in need of repair or resurfacing. This morning (9/24/17) my wife and I started out on the trail expecting to experience the same bumpy, irritating ride when much to our amazement all the significant cross-cuts had been repaired--a combination of grinding and tar, I would guess. The ride is not perfect, but much improved! ...and the views of the lake are spectacular.
This trail does have some hills but nothing too hard. The north part was tree lined, there were bridges and several views of the lake. You do ride next to a highway in some portions but you are still on the paved trail so no traffic. The south end is blocked due to building of the Hydro plant. I just loaded up my bike after I was done with the north and unloaded and went around the south end and up to Pella. The south end is very pretty but the ride to Pella was not very scenic after you left the lake. All in all a great trail that will be better when they get the construction done. Will definitely do this again this fall.
Lots of bridges over creeks and drainage ditches, but the views aren't terribly scenic, and the bridges feel pretty rickety. Occasional signs of farm life are a nice sight. The riding surface is above average, with some cracking in spots. Also, watch out for big tree nuts on the trail.
The signage is pretty sparse in Huxley. Got lost when crossing Hwy 69. There is a nice section just to the east of Huxley that is brand new poured concrete. To the west of that in Huxley, it is asphalted. When I rode it (on 28mm tires) a month ago between Slater and Cambridge, I was the only person on it! A nice trail that seems to be a well kept secret!
This trail seems to be CONSTANTLY busy with people, even at 7:30 on a Sunday morning :P
I've ridden all but a section between Slater and just South of Sheldahl, and have LOVED it. It's a nice well kept trail and the bridge and scenic overlook offers some spectacular views, especially when riding under a full moon or in the fall time with the leaves!
If you're on it at night, PLEASE HAVE FRONT & REAR LIGHTS (especially walkers)! It's hard as a biker to see walkers that have no light at all and we really don't want to hit you.
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