Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Marion, 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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Closure Notice: Since 2019, a portion of the Cedar Valley Lakes Trail within George Wyth State Park (just east of the Krieg's Crossing bridge junction with the South Riverside Trail) has been closed...
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The Heritage Trail rolls along like a dream for nearly 30 miles from the Mississippi River town of Dubuque to Dyersville, home of the movie set for Field of Dreams. Along the way it passes through the...
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 63—also known as Sergeant...
The South Riverside Trail is one in a series of trail systems throughout Cedar Falls, Iowa. The trail runs between Main Street at the Cedar Falls Recreation Center and the Greenhill Trail just west of...
Iowa City's Sycamore Greenway Trail is a paved trail running alongside the Sycamore Greenway, a stormwater management system comprising a series of cells planted with native flowers and grasses, which...
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail follows the fertile Cedar River between Evansdale and Ely. The 69-mile trail comprises three former trails—the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Cedar River Trail and parts of...
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 Sac and Fox Trail offers 7.2 miles of beautiful, shady recreation along the Cedar River and Indian Creek on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. The oldest designated National Recreation Trail in Iowa,...
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...
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail follows the fertile Cedar River between Evansdale and Ely. The 69-mile trail comprises three former trails—the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Cedar River Trail and parts of...
Closure Notice: Since 2019, a portion of the Cedar Valley Lakes Trail within George Wyth State Park (just east of the Krieg's Crossing bridge junction with the South Riverside Trail) has been closed...
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 63—also known as Sergeant...
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About 8 miles of the Grant Wood Trail in Linn County has been constructed so far (2012) along a former Milwaukee Road right-of-way between Marion and Martelle. The trail currently is in three separate...
The Sac and Fox Trail offers 7.2 miles of beautiful, shady recreation along the Cedar River and Indian Creek on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. The oldest designated National Recreation Trail in Iowa,...
The Old Creamery Nature 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...
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...
The South Riverside Trail is one in a series of trail systems throughout Cedar Falls, Iowa. The trail runs between Main Street at the Cedar Falls Recreation Center and the Greenhill Trail just west of...
The SolonLake Macbride Recreation Trail runs for 5 miles between the scenic state park and the town of Solon to the east. The popular trail is perfect for cycling or walking and skiing or...
Iowa City's Sycamore Greenway Trail is a paved trail running alongside the Sycamore Greenway, a stormwater management system comprising a series of cells planted with native flowers and grasses, which...
The Heritage Trail rolls along like a dream for nearly 30 miles from the Mississippi River town of Dubuque to Dyersville, home of the movie set for Field of Dreams. Along the way it passes through the...
The SolonLake Macbride Recreation Trail runs for 5 miles between the scenic state park and the town of Solon to the east. The popular trail is perfect for cycling or walking and skiing or...
The Heritage Trail rolls along like a dream for nearly 30 miles from the Mississippi River town of Dubuque to Dyersville, home of the movie set for Field of Dreams. Along the way it passes through the...
Closure Notice: Since 2019, a portion of the Cedar Valley Lakes Trail within George Wyth State Park (just east of the Krieg's Crossing bridge junction with the South Riverside Trail) has been closed...
Iowa City's Sycamore Greenway Trail is a paved trail running alongside the Sycamore Greenway, a stormwater management system comprising a series of cells planted with native flowers and grasses, which...
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 63—also known as Sergeant...
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...
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...
About 8 miles of the Grant Wood Trail in Linn County has been constructed so far (2012) along a former Milwaukee Road right-of-way between Marion and Martelle. The trail currently is in three separate...
The Sac and Fox Trail offers 7.2 miles of beautiful, shady recreation along the Cedar River and Indian Creek on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. The oldest designated National Recreation Trail in Iowa,...
The Old Creamery Nature 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...
The South Riverside Trail is one in a series of trail systems throughout Cedar Falls, Iowa. The trail runs between Main Street at the Cedar Falls Recreation Center and the Greenhill Trail just west of...
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail follows the fertile Cedar River between Evansdale and Ely. The 69-mile trail comprises three former trails—the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Cedar River Trail and parts of...
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.
Overgrown foliage and thorn vines across the path. Bring your own clippers or take another route for access to Clear Creek.
Beautiful path, partly through woods. Scenic, quiet and not very busy.
Great trail! Beautiful countryside. There's an area you have to watch out for holes in the trail.
Had a nice, slightly windy 70 degree day in november and rode from Vinton to Dysart. Only saw 3 or 4 people on the round trip. Ride is flat and trail well maintained except near Dysart where there were a few trees down (but you could get around) and one bridge that was blocked with a detour sign although i did cross it and it seemed fine. Nice views of farms, a few bridges over creeks and once over the Cedar River. You can stop midway in Garrison and there is about a mile paved extension in Vinton. You could do it on a road bike if its dry although a hybrid might be a bit better. I had my mt bike and that was fine. It was past the nice leaf time but earlier in the fall and I would guess spring/summer there are enough trees it would be quite pretty. Very nice overall and i liked the low usage for the solitude. There are about five parking spots at the trailhead in Vinton (right at the end of 8th street and in Dysart it runs right through town so seemed like a lot of spots.
This is a beautiful section of trail for walking, running, biking. It is one of my favorite trails to ride when in Iowa. Rather flat paved path that runs along the river, and tree covered for a shady ride on warmer days.
Unless you’re the hardy type A lot of trees down about half miles worth near the Wright brothers intersection. Work is being done to clear it but I imagine it’s going to be a long process you can get through it but you’re gonna have to do a lot of lifting of your bike
If you enjoy biking on non-paved trails, the Solon - Lake Macbride Recreation Trail is a five star trail. If you prefer wider, paved trails, then this is a four-star trail for you. I prefer paved trails but I wanted to explore this route, and I’m so glad I did! The difficult thing for me was the loose rock and the occasional ruts. I really had to pay attention to the path. But the best thing about this trail is the location. You ride through wooded areas and Prairie, and along the lake. It’s unbeatable for the view! Park at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area, where there is a huge parking lot. There are also restrooms there. The Hoover Nature Trail to Ely starts at the north end of the parking lot. This is where you go to catch the Solon - Lake MacBride Trail. After a couple miles of paved trail, you will see the starting point of this trail on the left, heading west. As noted the trail is crushed stone, but about halfway there is a short section where you ride on the park road before getting back to the crushed stone trail. The trail is mostly flat, but there are a few gentle hills on the east/beginning point. However at the west/end of the trail, there is a huge hill! If you are not used to climbing hills on this kind of trail, you might just want to turn around at the base of the hill. I rode this trail on a beautiful August Saturday morning and there was not a lot of traffic. There were a few people walking or jogging, mostly on the east end, but I had the rest of the trail basically to myself with the exception of 2 or 3 bicycles. If you’re riding with kids or if you are a naturalist at heart, there are some great places to pull over and sit at the lake or explore the Prairie.
I rode this trail from Sageville to Farley and back for a total of 41 miles. I exited at Farley and rode through the town and re-entered the trail at Boge Road for the return ride. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the trail and all it's beauty. It was as though I was riding on a paved trail. I'm from Southern California and currently on a motorhome trip visiting relatives in the area. I highly recommend that anyone traveling through the area take the time to ride any portion of this trail.
I’ve ridden this trail from the Mehaffey Bridge South to the I-80 overpass. It’s a nice wide paved trail in great condition. It goes through North Liberty and then south into Iowa City. There are some pretty big hills in this section, but nothing unmanageable. There’s lots to look at along the way, and some opportunities for side trips, like through Waterworks Prairie Park which was very nice! At the far south end the trail loops around Terry Trueblood Recreation Area, which is a great place to spend some time. They have kayaking and other water sports. You could easily spend half a day enjoying this trail.
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