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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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 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...
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 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...
Running through suburban neighborhoods on the western edge of Johnston, IA, the Green Meadows North Trail offers a pleasant dose of nature and serves as a great recreational amenity for nearby...
It may be hard to believe now when you see children laughing on the playground and neighbors out on a morning jog but Easter Lake and the park that surrounds it sit on the site of a coal mine that...
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...
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,...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
A short, paved path that runs through open fields and clusters of trees alongside Beaver Creek, local residents use the Augustine Trail both as a convenient means of recreation and dog-walking, as...
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 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...
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 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 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,...
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,...
The Cedar Prairie Trail is an important component of the extensive trail system in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The paved pathway runs between the South Riverside Trail at Waterloo Road and the Sergeant Road...
Running through suburban neighborhoods on the western edge of Johnston, IA, the Green Meadows North Trail offers a pleasant dose of nature and serves as a great recreational amenity for nearby...
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...
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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...
To the residents of Lastrobe, the Lincoln Avenue Rails to Trails Greenway is more than a simple off-road path: it also a social asset, a place where community members of all ages and walks of life can...
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...
The Ewing Park Trail is a paved path, perfect for a short bike ride or jog, located in the city of Des Moines' Ewing Park. One of the city's largest public parks, the park is home to a popular lilac...
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...
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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...
Although short, the Reumpers Nature Trail runs under a beautiful canopy of trees along the former Chicago Northwestern Railroad in Radcliffe, a small town in central Iowa.
A short, paved path that runs through open fields and clusters of trees alongside Beaver Creek, local residents use the Augustine Trail both as a convenient means of recreation and dog-walking, as...
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,...
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Des Moines' Inter-Urban Trail was opened in 1998 on the abandoned tracks of the Urbandale streetcar line. Residents and visitors of Iowa could ride the electric-powered trolley from Urbandale to Des...
Opened in 2016, the Carlisle Nature Trail is a beautiful way to experience the natural beauty of the small Iowa community of Carlisle, located about a dozen miles southeast of Des Moines. Running...
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Following a former railroad corridor, the River's Edge Trail (formerly known as Iowa River Trail) will one day span 34 miles from Marshalltown in Marshall County to Steamboat Rock in Hardin County....
The Northwest 62nd Avenue Trail is a wide sidepath in Johnston, IA, that serves as an important off-road connector between many of the trails in the city's well-developed trail system and the greater...
Installed in 2018 as part of a major overhaul of the adjacent roadway, the University Avenue Trail provides convenient access to destinations on the corridor that were previously impossible to reach...
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...
To the residents of Lastrobe, the Lincoln Avenue Rails to Trails Greenway is more than a simple off-road path: it also a social asset, a place where community members of all ages and walks of life can...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
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,...
Waterloo's Donald Street Trail is a concrete sidepath trail that helps to connect parks and neighborhoods in the city's northern edge with the area's trail network, enabling cyclists, joggers and...
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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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...
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,...
Although only a mile long, the Gilbert Drive Trail is a key connector between two other trails in the northeastern Iowa community of Evansdale. To the west, it intersects with the Cedar Valley Nature...
Forming an important connection in the area's excellent network of multi-use trails, the Lone Tree Road Trail parallels its namesake roadway for over two miles in the northern reaches of Cedar Falls,...
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 lovely concrete and asphalt path that traverses through a pleasant, tree-lined corridor in the southern edge of Cedar Falls, the Prairie Lakes Trail offers plenty of means of recreation and serves...
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...
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 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...
Following a former railroad corridor, the River's Edge Trail (formerly known as Iowa River Trail) will one day span 34 miles from Marshalltown in Marshall County to Steamboat Rock in Hardin County....
On 21 April, Mel n I rode our Pacific Tandem from Madrid to Woodward and back, then from Madrid to the stream with the black chain link fence and back for a total of about 20 miles. Of course we were totally blown away by the 2500+ Ft-long bridge! What a beautiful site to ride our tandem right through those continuous iron squares that appear to keep twisting and turning as you approach them! We loved this trail because it has only gradual grade changes that are barely noticeable 🤠. We look forward to riding this same trail section the next time we come to visit!
Rode my Specialized Diverge (think gravel or hybrid) bike from Ankeny to Birdland Marina yesterday (March 16, 2022). The lack of maintenance from Sycamore Access to Birdland leaves most of the trail with so many cracks, bumps, holes and crumbling edges it is no longer safe for casual cyclists. This beautiful trail is in desperate need of resurfacing. No longer safe for a road bike. One can still enjoy the 26 mile gem for walking or riding if using a mountain bike or fat tire bike.
This is one of my favorite trails in the Des Moines area -- especially the stretch east of the 88th St parking lot. The scenery is beautiful and there are lots of shaded stretches. Watch out for broken pavement, though -- especially in the mile or so east of 88th, just east of Mingo, and just west of Baxter. There are sections of the trail where large cracks have formed and one side has dropped by an inch or two. I hope this is in someone's budget for repair.
Had a very nice ride from one end to the other. This is a beautiful time of the year to ride and enjoy this trail. Its a winner. Kind cool they have several waypoint along the trail with tools and tire pump. Very nice
Concrete and asphalt with lots of ups and downs and turns. Goes through a few parks, there's lots of shade.
We rode the whole trail. A 50 mile round trip, mostly concrete and some asphalt. Flat and smooth. The bridge is worth the ride. Ate lunch in Woodward at the whistling donkey.
Great winding trail around Lake Red Rock with beautiful views of the water.
This is a beautiful quiet ride! Several benches to enjoy the peace and quiet. Wide trail very well maintained. Sinage within ellsworth was a bit confusing! Jewell is a great little town with little shops to walk thru
Started in Berwick at the suggested park and the plan was to go to Baxter, about a couple blocks before the end, the trail is closed. There is a detour in the subdivision. Otherwise no other problems with the trail, it was 54.4 miles round trip, great ride. From Baxter back to Berwick there is more uphill. If you’re looking for a easy ride just go one way; Berwick to Baxter.
My dad and I went exploring and chose this location to check out. We were pleasantly surprised by the clean water of the lake, and around the lake was very picked up of all garbage . The only thing with the walk around the lake are the lines in the road. There is a bike/walking lane and a single file car lane that is not marked consistently and folks don’t seem to understand that and think it is a car lane. The road is a one way loop, and still there was confusion with motorists regarding the biker/walkers. We will definitely be back to kayak around the lake as it is really pretty and it loops around an island . It also looks like a great place to fish. Be sure you have your fishing license/trout license. Enjoy!!
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