South Tama Recreation Trail in Iowa

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 for use in 2003. Since then, a number of trail extensions have been constructed to further connect the two communities.

North of County Road E49 in Tama, a short spur takes trail users directly to South Tama County Elementary School and South Tama County High School, making the trail a safe option for student commuters of all ages. Towards Toledo, the trail runs under US 30 next to Deer Creek and follows the waterway until the trail reaches its northern endpoint at Ross Street just past the historic Lincoln Highway.

Near its southern end, the South Tama Recreation Trail runs past the Tama-Toledo Country Club before turning east and ending at Halleck Street/Harding Street near the Tama library and civic center. From here, continue south on Siegel Street over the active railroad tracks for a couple blocks and join the new portion of trail tracing the outline of beautiful Cherry Lake. A short spur off this section of the South Tama Recreation Trail takes bikers, walkers and runners to US 63 on the southern edge of Tama.

The trail is being developed by the nonprofit South Tama Recreation Trail Project. The organization consists of a small group of committed local volunteers, with support provided by the cities of Toledo and Tama.

Parking and Trail Access

Access to the South Tama Recreation Trail is available at a number of locations along its route. In Tama, pick up the trail on Harding Street behind Tama's library. Ample parking can be found in the large civic center parking lot at the same location. Near the trail's midpoint, park at the small lot off County Road E49/W. 13th Street.

To access the loop around Cherry Lake, park along Water Street on the lake's eastern shore. In Toledo, park 1/4 mile west of the South Tama Recreation Trail's northern endpoint on Ross Street. The parking lot is located at Toledo City Park near the softball field on Heritage Circle.

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