Find the top rated bike trails in Mason City, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We brought along our bikes on our visit to Springfield to ride this trail - it was wonderful! We had beautiful weather. We started at Centennial Park and rode the entire trail. We enjoyed the variety of scenery riding through areas of housing/neighborhoods and rural areas. The trail was extra wide, completely paved and in excellent condition- very well maintained. Kudos to Sangamon County for maintaining this beautiful trail!
One of the plusses about rail trails is the gentle slope in grade .which was totally ruined after the MacArthur I72 interchange I don't know WHY a much simpler tunnel could have been made under the RR retaining the original trail alignment
This was a very nice trail thru mostly wooded area.
I rode the Rock Island trail in early October 2024 on a perfect day. I started in Toulon and rode into Peoria to East Glen Ave and rode back. This is a wonderful long trail. In the gravel section there are a few small rivulets where water has drained to watch out for, mostly by the bridges. Most of the asphalt was good. Some older places had some roots but most of it was great. My favorite was the gravel section for the solitude. I would rate this more than five stars if I could. I highly recommend checking this trail out! Traveling cyclist Facebook
I rode the trail in late Sept 2024 on a cloudy breezy day. I started at Bass Pro in East Peoria and rode to Morton then back. I didn’t really notice the uphill going out but I did on my return. The trail is in great shape except for a couple miles or so in Morton with some cracks across the trail. I rate it five stars, I enjoyed it a lot. Traveling cyclist Facebook
Tired of our local trail, we whimsically traveled the 1.5 hours to check out this trail which is the perfect length for us. My husband rides a float wheel and I have an ebike. We found the trail and bridges nicely maintained and there was very little traffic. It’s a beautiful mix of prairie, fields and forest. We can’t wait to come back and see it in the fall. Perfect!
This is a beautiful trail! It meanders nearly 6 miles with many gentle curves and hills and very few straightaways. It is almost entirely wooded and runs along the lovely creek most of the way. There are a number of bridges to go over and under. The track itself is clean and in great condition. There are 3-4 manhole covers go watch out for. Thoroughly enjoyed!
I walked the whole trail this past Saturday, starting in Toulon and heading south(ish) to Peoria. From a pedestrian perspective, this is two distinct trails.
From Toulon to Alta is a crushed limestone rail trail which runs mostly through farmland. Large portions of it pass through a beautiful tunnel of trees. Each town involves a short road walk, which offer good options for snacks etc. I'd certainly walk this 25 miles again.
From Alta to the waterfront in Peoria is a paved interurban trail that spends lots of time in suburban back yards. If you like miles of fences, apartments, etc, this section is for you. The trail is signed in this section, but I still found myself referring to a GPS map to make sure I was on track. The last several miles (heading south) are relatively steeply downhill to the waterfront. I would not walk this section again.
Started at Chatham after I found end of trail. There are a few bumps especially around Chatham. There are a few areas that have been patched and are smooth. The trail is closed for now when you go under road near Scheels for construction. The bike manager at Scheels told me the trail was open farther on. Will come back and finish it another time.
This is a real nice trail, but at times it’s more like a sidewalk than a bike trail. There are a lot of pedestrians and many many crosswalks. The trail ends in several different places so it’s a little bit confusing. This is more of a trail system than it is one trail. The trails are in pretty good shape but some of the more lonely stretches there was some broken glass. lonely stretches, have broken glass and things on them so you really need to know where you are going.
Love this trail. We frequently drive over from Springfield to ride this trail. The hills and curves through the woods and along side the creek make it so much more interesting than a flat, rail trail. And hooking up in Fairview Park gives you several options for more riding and having a picnic lunch. And all of the trails beginning in Fairview Park are interesting and still in pretty good shape.
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