Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Marshalltown, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Rode the High Trestle trail round trip between Slater and Woodbridge on Tuesday, 4-21-26. Rode a total of 26.9 miles starting at the west Slater trailhead. Nice bathrooms and lots of parking there, with easy access to both the High Trestle trail (going south or west) and the Heart of Iowa trail (going east). The trail surface is fantastic; wide trail with new concrete, and mowed grass on both sides much of the way. Of course the highlight of this ride was the High Trestle bridge. We spent time at each of the six viewing platforms on the bridge as well as the scenic overlook on the west side. Overall, a great ride. We will do this one again sometime.
Rode the Heart of Iowa trail east from Slater to the Skunk River bridge area, and back, on Monday, 4-20-26. It was 65F with a SE wind at 17 to 25 (windy!). The trail surface was concrete in excellent condition! The trail is exposed to the wind between Slater and Huxley. The last 1.5 miles into Huxley was on surface streets. We ride rail trails so we are not exposed to the dangers presented by cars, so this was a surprise and a disappointment. The landowners who refused to grant the trail a right-of-way allowed their NIMBYism to prevent themselves from putting something beautiful in the world. The portion of the trail within Huxley could benefit from signage; there is virtually none. The Skunk River bridge was the highlight of this section of the trail; great views! If we had a do-over, we would have started in Huxley, skipping the Slater - Huxley section which is not as scenic and requires time with car traffic.
Idk why this trail doesn’t have more reviews. What a nice ride. Great mix of woodland and a little bit of urban. We rode from Black Hawk Park (BHP) to Waterloo with an excursion around Big Woods Lake for a total almost 30 miles round trip. In Waterloo went to Single Speed for lunch(don’t get Pizza), easy to get to. Trail is well maintained. Had no problems with bugs until the end about 2:30 p.m. when we got back to BHP and got nto grass and the No-seeums were bad! Pretty good directional signs along the way!
Great trail , well maintained, not a lot of ruts. Beer and food stops on both ends. Mainly flat and shaded.
11 ladies/friends make up most of the Rainbow Riders from St Louis Mo. We raved about this trail. It's interesting and takes the rider through prairies, forests, and offers beautiful Visa points of Saylorville Lake. It's well maintained and has multiple entry points. We rode from the Saylorville Visitor Center and road out and back to the recreation area and beach which might be the end of the northern part of the trail. The twists and turns, hills and curves were exhilarating too. We'll talk about this trail and it'll remain in our memory books.
I had only done a small portion of the trail back in July with some of it being closed. This time, all clear and it was a great ride!! Started in downtown Pella and went the distance to Cordova. The ride had a good mix of ups and downs, bridges, lake views, sun and shade and lots of curves!! Very enjoyable and plenty of places to stop for a snack and a few bathrooms as well! We explored the trail on the other side of the river near the campground as well. Almost 40 miles round trip, definitely worth doing again!!!
I have ridden this trail many times over the years. I rode it again in early August 2025. I noticed a lot of new cement near Cherry Glen area. The hills seem to get bigger as I get older! I rate it 5 stars! Traveling cyclist Facebook
This trail is short but sweet. I rode it on a Saturday in early August 2025 and there were very few people on it. Very enjoyable! I rate it 5 stars!
Traveling cyclist
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Great trail, flat and smooth. Monroe has Jersey Freeze about 1/2 mile from trailhead- best ice cream esp the Van and Bonbon shake. Then Prairicty has Goldie’s restaurant which has the best tenderloin sandwiches and strips. The trailhead in prairie city is at west end of town by Casey’s gas. It has running water and real toilets . Has an oversized steel buffalo for a great photo shoot. You can continue your ride following the road to up and over the bridge to south of trailhead and then immediately left into the Neil Smith Wildlif Refuge- designated bike lanes on each side of roar and a 4+ mile pedal to the educational center. There are a few good hills to challenge you. Look to west and you might see the buffalo and elk.
The trail is now all concrete from Huxley to Collins (used to turn to cinder just past Cambridge over the Skunk River bridge). Great ride and a mix of sun and shade. Not too hilly or flat. Trail is in great shape as it is new concrete. Parking and bathroom facility in Huxley at the Railroad Park. 34 mile round trip to Collins. Highly recommend.
While this is not the first ride on this trail, it is a more seasonal ride. First and foremost, e we started in early spring from Dysart. The weather was not great, nor was the trail; very soft and potholes everywhere fire a mile. We turned around. Today however, we took some mild “advice” from another reviewer; started in Garrison and headed east. VERY well-maintained trail. Trail bed is wide, mature, manicured, etc. The substrate is very even and surface not lumpy nor pock-marked. While there were many branches overhanging the trail bed, the relief the wooded nature provided was very welcome in the summer heat. Very pleased, we’ll be back many more times to come. To this point, I foresee much opportunity in the winter with snowshoes and/or x-country skis.
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