This trail needs a bit more love. A lot of cracks. And gritty parts when your out in the open due to weathering. Head wind is a thing to be aware of on this trail it is very exposed the further you get in.

Rode Norh from Riceville to end of paved trail ~10 miles. In McIntire watch for signs on the back of street signs to navigate through town and checkout Goosey's bar an grill if you are hungry. Saw Amish horses and farms.

This trail is nicely paved with asphalt. It was expanded in 2019 for .6 miles to the northeast and .6 miles to the southeast, now making it 3.0 miles long. There are sunny areas and shady areas. It is bike, walker, jogger and wheelchair friendly. The trail features a Story Walk along with a Little Free Library. There are all kinds of parks and activities nearby: disk golf, swimming, tennis, skateboard facility, playgrounds, picnic spots, and brand new in 2020, a pickleball court. If you are hungry, you can find hamburgers, pizza, sub sandwiches, Mexican food and ice cream in Belmond. A nice system of sidewalks connect the trail to the whole town.

I returned to this trail this year. However I started in Elma and rode to the Minnesota border. They are putting up more signage on the trail. There was water covering a portion on the north branch, north of McIntyre on the trail. It was shallow enough to ride through. A lot of different scenery on the trail.

It’s a pretty nice rides. Some of the asphalt has holes and cracks in it but just watch where you ride. Trail is mainly covered by trees so very shady.

Nice paved trail. Good trailhead facilities. Depot that serves pizza next to trail. Nestle Quik rabbit and mug statues a treat for the kids. Lots of trees for shade. Well signed at intersection w/ Readlyn trail. Big wide bridge in town. Does it really get any better than this?

Rode two sections - Riceville to a little past Mcintire and Elma northward. Riceville north is a real treat, especially the curves and boardwalk. We "lost" the trail in Mcintire but for a 12 block town, getting "lost" is not easy... We found the trail after seeing the small trail signs on lampposts. North of Mcintire, we found Amish folks walking the trail. At the wildlife refuge, the water was overflowing the trail/road (due to recent rains) so we turned back. On the way back, in the marsh area, we surprised a fox which in turn had just raided a Canada goose nest and was slurping down goose egg yolks as we rode past. Don't see that too often. The Elma section is arrow straight although we started at the Laylah Marsh which is quite pretty and well maintained and has an access next to the trail.

rode from Rolfe to Rutland. We saw few people except 2 trail maintenance guys who were mowing and removing down limbs. The Des Moines River was bankfull+ so the water was very close to the bridge bottom. Nearly rode over a garter snake and a 3' bull snake who was hugging the edge of the grass line. Just a really nice trail that is maintained. The toilets were closed, though, due to Covid.

This is a beautiful trail with some newly paved sections. Very nice Welcome Centers in Elma and Riceville.