Raccoon River Valley Trail

For my first trek into Iowa I used an outfitter called Wilderness Voyageurs. Since I was flying this option afforded me a good quality rental bike, and logistics allowing one way rides and no worries about meals or lodging. The guides for our small group were Teri and Alex. One guide would follow the group to assist in the event of mechanical or other issues while the other drove ahead to set up rest/lunch stops along the ride. It made for a wonderful week. 

The first ride of the week was on the Raccoon Valley River Trail. This trail is an 89 mile loop of paved car free heaven a bit west of Des Moines, IA. It is a 2021 inductee into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. Most of the surface is concrete with a portion asphalt. It is the longest paved trail in the United States. A few sections of the asphalt have some bumps but the vast majority of the trail is smooth, flat and straight. Since you are in Iowa, expect to see vast fields of corn adjacent to the trail.

When I rode in September of 2023, there was a section of trail closed for bridge repair in the area of Redfield and Linden. This required bypassing about five miles of trail with an eight mile, on road detour. Also note riding the trail requires a trail pass.

The ride started in Dallas Center, IA. Since this was a vacation for our small group, we stayed overnight on the lake in Panora. The next day we completed the loop back to Dallas Center.

For more information about the Raccoon River Valley Trail including trail pass purchase see Dallas County website or the trail website. Construction has started on additional trail to connect the Raccoon River Valley Trail to the High Trestle Trail. 

Cherry Creek

When I visited Denver, CO, I wanted to ride a trail. Cherry Creek seemed a good choice. I thought the Cherry Creek State Park would be a good place to start. There was a small fee to park my car within the park that I paid at a self service kiosk. I started my ride at 39.63504, -104.85986.

Once I started riding I found it difficult to follow the Cherry Creek Trail. The park had many trails of identical construction and no signage. I gave up and decided to just explore around the park. Eventually I decided to ride around the reservoir. This required riding a bit of residential streets that were equally confusing. Eventually I found an unmarked path between two houses that took me back to the park. I eventually located the trail again after some distance. I was using Google maps bike layer for navigation but that helped only marginally. 

Regardless of the navigation issues the ride was pleasant and I enjoyed the landscape. It was basically flat and no cars except the short section on the streets that were devoid of cars when I rode. The park had several rest room facilities. Most of the trail I rode was paved except a short section along the reservoir. 

I accidentally stumbled upon the Piney Creek Trail but did not have time to ride it more than a half mile or so. Except for the lack of signs that made navigation difficult it was a very pleasant ride.

For more information about the trail visit Arapahoe County website. 

Screen Savers

Below are some pictures I have taken while riding along trails that you may want to use as a computer background or screen saver. Panoramic images are good for dual (side by side) monitors. Click on the picture for full screen view then right click to download.