Explore the best rated trails in Des Moines, IA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Galloping Goose Trail (IA) and Meredith Trail . With more than 76 trails covering 4206 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
South Skunk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. In Ames, the Skunk River Trail brings residents closer to river and to nature. The shared use path sits on the shady west bank of South Skunk...
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...
The Waveland Trail runs through the historic neighborhoods of Waveland Park, Waveland Woods and Waterbury in western Des Moines. Along the way, the trail passes a community center, library, golf...
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...
Take a morning bike ride or evening stroll on the Des Moines River Trail. The paved trail diverges from the Meredith Trail and Prinicipal Riverwalk, continuing for 2.6 miles downstream to the James W....
The Bob Layton Trail, dedicated in 2014 and named in honor of the city of Urbandale's former city manager, offers a little over a mile of paved trail through the city's Walnut Creek Regional Park. A...
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Connecting neighborhoods to parks and trails in the center of Waukee, a small but fast-growing suburb west of Des Moines, the Sugar Creek Trail helps provide an easy way to bike or walk around the...
The Mills Civic Parkway Trail follows the route of its namesake roadway through suburban West Des Moines, helping to connect residents to popular destinations like local parks, schools, numerous shops...
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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 Long Meadow Trail is a quaint path in suburban Johnston, IA, popular with joggers and walkers from the various neighborhoods it runs through. The paved trail provides an important off-road...
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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...
The Westridge Greenway Trail spans just shy of a mile, running along a beautiful shaded corridor in the heart of suburban West Des Moines. The flat trail is a mixture of concrete and asphalt paths,...
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...
Constructed in a lovely corridor that runs in between suburban neighborhoods in West Des Moines, the Ashawa Greenway Trail offers a short but pleasant paved path that serves both as a means of...
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 Jordan Creek Trail is a pleasant suburban trail that connects neighborhoods with shopping and retail, schools, and recreational amenities. The trail gets its name from the Jordan Creek, which it...
The small city of Knoxville, about forty miles southeast of Des Moines, is chiefly known for the Knoxville Raceway and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, which draws racing enthusiasts...
Stange Road trail connects residents of the Somerset neighborhood in north Ames, to the Iowa State University campus that lies directly south of it. The shared use path sits on the west side of Stange...
Beginning at the end of the Bob Layton Trail in Urbandale, the Walnut Trace Park Trail allows walkers, cyclists, and others to continue exploring the peaceful meadows alongside Walnut Creek for over...
The 1.6-mile McVay Trail in Indianola provides a paved route for cyclists, walkers and joggers between East 5th Street and Pickard Park. The trail follows the bed of the former Chicago, Burlington and...
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...
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...
The Cinder Path in southern Iowa is notable as the state’s first rail-to-trail conversion. Following a shady route past farms and wetlands along the Chariton River between Chariton and Humeston for...
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...
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The Hiawatha Trail provides a convenient way to cross Perry's northeastern neighborhoods and provides a connection to Raccoon River Valley Trail, a scenic 89-mile rail-trail. The east end of the...
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...
Beginning at the end of the Bob Layton Trail in Urbandale, the Walnut Trace Park Trail allows walkers, cyclists, and others to continue exploring the peaceful meadows alongside Walnut Creek for over...
The Mills Civic Parkway Trail follows the route of its namesake roadway through suburban West Des Moines, helping to connect residents to popular destinations like local parks, schools, numerous shops...
The very appropriately named Veterinary Medicine Trail passes through the animal science research hub for Iowa State University. A paved shared-use path in the City of Ames, the trail provides a short...
The High Trestle Trail is one of the most pristine and highly trafficked trails in Iowa—even at night. The trail’s popularity is largely due to its famous 130-foot-tall High Trestle Bridge, which...
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...
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...
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...
The Bill Riley Trail delivers a short but immersive trail experience in a tranquil natural setting. The trail begins at the southern end of the Walnut Creek Trail, and follows the creek into Ashworth...
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...
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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 Westridge Greenway Trail spans just shy of a mile, running along a beautiful shaded corridor in the heart of suburban West Des Moines. The flat trail is a mixture of concrete and asphalt paths,...
Urbandale, Iowa is home to an extensive trails network; there are over 54 miles of trail spread across the city. The Meredith Drive Trail isn't necessarily the most scenic of the trails, it does form...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
South Skunk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. In Ames, the Skunk River Trail brings residents closer to river and to nature. The shared use path sits on the shady west bank of South Skunk...
The Mills Civic Parkway Trail follows the route of its namesake roadway through suburban West Des Moines, helping to connect residents to popular destinations like local parks, schools, numerous shops...
Take a morning bike ride or evening stroll on the Des Moines River Trail. The paved trail diverges from the Meredith Trail and Prinicipal Riverwalk, continuing for 2.6 miles downstream to the James W....
The East Hillcrest Trail is a short suburban trail located in the community of Indianola. Running along the avenue of the same name, the trail provides several important local connections, linking the...
The High Trestle Trail is one of the most pristine and highly trafficked trails in Iowa—even at night. The trail’s popularity is largely due to its famous 130-foot-tall High Trestle Bridge, which...
In the City of the Urbandale, the Coronado Park Trail runs from the Dunlap Park and Arboretum to Coronado Park on Sanders Drive. At its northern endpoint, this short paved trail can be accessed via a...
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The Walnut Creek Trail serves as an important trail connector in West Des Moines. On its northern end, it seamlessly links to the Clive Greenbelt Trail, which heads west and, in turn, connects to the...
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...
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 Cinder Path in southern Iowa is notable as the state’s first rail-to-trail conversion. Following a shady route past farms and wetlands along the Chariton River between Chariton and Humeston for...
The 1.6-mile McVay Trail in Indianola provides a paved route for cyclists, walkers and joggers between East 5th Street and Pickard Park. The trail follows the bed of the former Chicago, Burlington and...
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...
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...
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...
The Westridge Greenway Trail spans just shy of a mile, running along a beautiful shaded corridor in the heart of suburban West Des Moines. The flat trail is a mixture of concrete and asphalt paths,...
Urbandale, Iowa is home to an extensive trails network; there are over 54 miles of trail spread across the city. The Meredith Drive Trail isn't necessarily the most scenic of the trails, it does form...
Lately, it is clear that, though, visitors enjoy these trails own by the city of Polk County and Water Works, there is a glim of sadness of cruelty going on throughout these trails. As The Polk County City Council and parks administrators have up to "pimp" the natural beauty of their wilderness to be destroyed by the hunting, bicycle, land-escaping and real state developmental business and brewing business.
The wild animals, forestry, waters, flora are being destroyed, in order to satisfy, not only the UNSATISFYING GREED OF THESE BUSINESS BUT THE POLOK COUNTY administrators in charge of it.
More and more trees are being cut down regardless if these are not ash trees, old. The fauna throughout these trails gets constantly injured and killed by visitors riding motorized vehicles and high speeding cyclist, drunk visitors shatter their beer bottles throughout the homes of these animals, there is trash allover, even next to trash containers! The are hardly any signs asking visitors to through their trash away, and hardly any available trash and recycle containers!!! These trails are NOT WILDERNESS FRIENDLY are poor managed by not protecting the wilderness from the increased amount of visitors that show not responsibility for their actions throughout these trails. There are not signs to caution visitors to keep safe wildlife and they need to post signs to help injured animals. Seeing animals being hunted by bow-arrow is the cruelest scene I have ever experienced, and my visits to these trails have open my awareness of the dark side of their management.
Visitors need to be conscious that there are living beings throughout these trails and that they need to be considerate of the wildlife safety in them. There is not need for land escaping, as their natural beauty is best God
I have no complaints about this trail. My husband and I rode from Ankeny to Woodward and back with no issues. 50 miles out and back! Mostly flat so be prepared to pedal continuously. We passed many friendly cyclists. We stopped at the Flat Tire Lounge for a bite and went on our way. The trail is very well maintained and has many places for rest stops, benches and port a potties, and self serve filling stations. Highly recommend this trail.
We parked at the wonderful covered parking in Perry and took the trail 13.5 mile to Dallas Center. Great smooth paved trail! Mostly flat and easy because of that. Would recommend!
We have always enjoyed this bike trail. The views are great. We start in Carlisle and ride to Indianola and back.
However the trail seems to need some work to get it back in shape.
There are lots of areas that are rough. I hope it gets some attention soon. We would love to go back and try it again.
Need I say more. Lots of spurs. We are riding some of them tomorrow. We camped at cherry glen park
Daylight walk and ride in the rain were not enough. Went back for a night hike. Worth every minute.
Wish they would resurface cuz two thirds of the trail is extremely rough and takes away from the enjoyment. Has the potential to be outstanding.
A nice ride. The hub is a good place to start.
I rolled skated on it and it was well maintained. Have sporadic areas right off the trail where you can sit. You can also frisbee gulf
I definitely did not feel like i was in the city with this trail! Absolutely breathtaking.
We initially came into town to visit the Steamboat Rock Dam and Iowa River access point for kayaking. We then discovered the bike/walking trail which is one of the best we’ve seen. We already planned loading up our bikes and coming back to use it. We enjoyed the natural grasses and wild flowers along the trail. Viewing the Iowa River off the bridges was spectacular! I hope the people who live in this area appreciate the GEMs they have right here in town and utilize it to it’s fullest. Down the road about a mile we saw Inner Tube Rentals (lots loaded on busses ready to go) and they take you to the river and in you go, they pick you up down river. They have bike, kayak, canoe rentals as well. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TRAIL.
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