Find the top rated walking trails in Marshalltown, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
Beginning just past the junction of the Johnston Interurban Trail and the Trestle to Trestle Trail, which carries users over the creek and south into Des Moines via the area's stellar system of...
Constructed on the west side of the four-lane highway that gives it its name, the US 63 Trail offers a surprisingly pleasant means of traversing the busy corridor on foot or bike. While many sidepath...
The Iowa 330/US 30 Trail stretches from just west of the small town of Melbourne to the outskirts of Marshalltown, the largest city and county seat of Marshall County, located close to the geographic...
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For residents looking for a low-key space to get some exercise, the Greenway Trail provides a swathe of nature nestled between suburban subdivisions of Altoona. The trail runs the length of Greenway...
The Evansdale Nature Trail connects both residential and commercial areas in the northeastern Iowa city of Evansdale. One of the most charming aspects of the trail is the abundance of trees along its...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Named for the major project the city of Des Moines has undertaken to improve transportation and connectivity along the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in the southeastern section of downtown, the...
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 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...
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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...
When complete, the Rolling Prairie Tri-County Trail System will connect several communities and two state parks as it travels through quintessential northeastern Iowa prairie. Following an 80-mile...
Located just over thirty miles east of Des Moines, the small city of Newton boasts a charming midwestern feel - and complementing the city's charm is the lovely Newton Hike and Bike Trail, 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...
A sidepath trail located along the side of the adjacent busy parkway that shares its name, the Martin Luther King Jr. Trail may not provide the sort of pleasant, natural trail experience that other...
Picking up from the end of the 1st Street Trail, the Union Road Trail continues the network of multi-use sidepath trails on the western edge of Cedar Falls, serving as the western section of a...
The Shaulis Road Trail is a ten-foot wide concrete trail that runs along the side of Shaulis Road in the sparsely populated southern edge of Waterloo, IA. The trails runs over gentle, rolling hills,...
Notice: In 2019, the bridge over Beaver Creek in Johnston collapsed. Repairs on the bridge are expected to be completed in 2021. Repair schedule and updates can be found at the Polk County...
Providing a pleasant off-road route between the two Des Moines suburbs of Urbandale and Johnston, the Johnston to Urbandale Trail also serves as one of the main points of connection from Urbandale's...
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 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...
Central Iowa's Pioneer Trail—which gets its name from the early settlers of Grundy County—is built on a former rail line that once connected the towns of Holland and Reinbeck and the communities in...
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...
When complete, the Rolling Prairie Tri-County Trail System will connect several communities and two state parks as it travels through quintessential northeastern Iowa prairie. Following an 80-mile...
A short sidepath trail built along the side of its namesake roadway, the Cedar Heights Drive Trail provides a useful connection between the longer University Avenue Trail and the Greenhill Trail,...
As it runs directly through the heart of Marshalltown in central Iowa, access to the Linn Creek Recreational Trail is easy for many of the city's residents. They will want to take advantage of it,...
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...
It took a nearly a decade of work and collaboration between two Central Iowa communities and a host of other partners to move the JewEllsworth Trail from vision to reality. The trail sits in the...
The River Forest Road Trail sits atop the levee along the Cedar River on the west side of Evansdale, Iowa. (It's alternatively called the Cedar River Levee Trail for this reason.) The paved shared-use...
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Black Hawk County’s Trolley Trail, also known as the Trolley Car Trail, runs for less than 2 miles in western Waterloo. The trail is the lone vestige of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern...
The 12th Street Trail, occasionally referred to as the Pheasant Ridge Trail after the golf course it runs next to, is a wide concrete sidepath that stretches from Hudson Road to Union Road on the...
The Evansdale Nature Trail connects both residential and commercial areas in the northeastern Iowa city of Evansdale. One of the most charming aspects of the trail is the abundance of trees along its...
Notice: In 2019, the bridge over Beaver Creek in Johnston collapsed. Repairs on the bridge are expected to be completed in 2021. Repair schedule and updates can be found at the Polk County...
Constructed on the west side of the four-lane highway that gives it its name, the US 63 Trail offers a surprisingly pleasant means of traversing the busy corridor on foot or bike. While many sidepath...
The Shaulis Road Trail is a ten-foot wide concrete trail that runs along the side of Shaulis Road in the sparsely populated southern edge of Waterloo, IA. The trails runs over gentle, rolling hills,...
Beginning just past the junction of the Johnston Interurban Trail and the Trestle to Trestle Trail, which carries users over the creek and south into Des Moines via the area's stellar system of...
This is a shared-use path located on the east side of Northwest Beaver Drive in Johnston, Iowa. The trail connects residents to two recreational sites on the west shore of Saylorville Lake as well as...
The trail is made up of two as yet unconnected segments: the northern segment is about half a mile long, providing access to Grinnell Community Senior School, Lion's Park, and Iowa Valley Community...
The John Pat Dorrian Trail, formerly known as the East River Trail, runs for nearly 3.5 miles from Pete Crivaro Park in south Des Moines to Birdland Park and Marina just north of downtown. At this...
A multi-use sidepath that runs from University Avenue to 1st Street in Cedar Falls, the Hudson Road Trail helps provide off-road access to the campus of the University of Northern Iowa, and forms an...
This is a shared-use path located on the east side of Northwest Beaver Drive in Johnston, Iowa. The trail connects residents to two recreational sites on the west shore of Saylorville Lake as well as...
The trail is made up of two as yet unconnected segments: the northern segment is about half a mile long, providing access to Grinnell Community Senior School, Lion's Park, and Iowa Valley Community...
The Meredith Trail connects from downtown Des Moines west to Gray’s Lake Park. The trail picks up off where the Principal Riverwalk leaves off along the Des Moines River. At the confluence with...
The Evansdale Nature Trail connects both residential and commercial areas in the northeastern Iowa city of Evansdale. One of the most charming aspects of the trail is the abundance of trees along its...
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...
Providing a pleasant off-road route between the two Des Moines suburbs of Urbandale and Johnston, the Johnston to Urbandale Trail also serves as one of the main points of connection from Urbandale's...
The John Pat Dorrian Trail, formerly known as the East River Trail, runs for nearly 3.5 miles from Pete Crivaro Park in south Des Moines to Birdland Park and Marina just north of downtown. At this...
Notice: In 2019, the bridge over Beaver Creek in Johnston collapsed. Repairs on the bridge are expected to be completed in 2021. Repair schedule and updates can be found at the Polk County...
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 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 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...
As it runs directly through the heart of Marshalltown in central Iowa, access to the Linn Creek Recreational Trail is easy for many of the city's residents. They will want to take advantage of it,...
Forging a link between the South Riverside Trail (and the smaller, unpaved Trolley Trail) on one end and the Cedar Prairie Trail on the other, the Greenhill Trail is a key component in the expansive...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Johnston Interurban Trail, built on a corridor used by Iowa's Inter-Urban Railway from 1906 until 1948, provides an important connection for the area's top-notch trail system, which enables trail...
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Cedar Falls, Iowa serves as the endpoint of one of Iowa’s favorite regional trails, the Cedar Valley Lakes Trail, but also features an extensive network of multi-use paths and on-street bike...
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 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 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...
A short, paved trail that connects neighborhoods and preserved open space to the Mark C. Ackelson Trail at Easter Lake Park, the Easter Lake Spine Trail is a useful asset to the community and forms a...
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.
Excellent walking trail for those who aren't fond of steep inclines. This trail has a few mild ups and downs but for the most part is level and flat. The surface is all paved and smooth and with the lake, the trees and blue sky, it's beautiful. Wildlife, a couple of walking bridges and a covered bridge make it even more enjoyable. Casual walking takes about 2-3 hours (5-6 miles).
This is one of the best rides we have found in Des Moines. Pretty level and wide. Couple of nice bridges including a covered one! Nice places to stop and rest and view the scenery.
There are no more trail closures due to construction. You can ride from Cordova Park trailhead to Pella if you choose.
Great ride, trail well maintained and the fall foliage was a perfect setting. The bridge after sunset was beautiful.
We are beginning bikers and older. Loved the wide paved path. Put in north of Carlisle and ride was great as was the view. Then we hit the HILL. Oh my. Benches on the way up and I can see why. We could ride up and took all we had to walk up. We turned around and what a ride down. whheeeee’. Won’t be doing this one sgsin
Started at Copper Creek and followed the trail out about 2 miles. Quiet, nicely paved wide walkway- few bikers but once we got around the lake- we didn’t see anyone else. Crosses over the road twice on our route but clearly marked and easy to get back on the trail.
As of Sept 15 the trail is clear from the South Skunk River to the Trail Head on Broadway in Des Moines. That gives you about 15 miles of clear trail with Bondurant as the center point. Just to the east of the Skunk River there are trees down. Valeria still has trees down going both directions, so that is still a no go. Even though the trail is clear in places keep in mind there are still branch up high that are loose, so pay attention especially if there is any wind.
We attempted to get on the trail in Valeria and found that the trail is still blocked by limbs and downed trees from the derecho.
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
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