Iowa

RTC’s 2018 Doppelt Grants Invest in 10 Trail Projects, Filling Critical Gaps in Trail Funding

Posted 05/22/18 by Eli Griffen in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Funding, Hall of Fame, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Trail Communities

Katy Trail State Park | Photo by Aaron Fuhrman

Since 2015, RTC’s Doppelt Fund has awarded nearly a half-million dollars in grants to nonprofits and government agencies working to develop and improve multiuse trails. This year, RTC is awarding the most annual funds yet to the most awardees, with more than $140,000 going to 10 worthy recipients.

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High Trestle Trail | Photo by Milo Bateman

10 Bucket-List Biking Trails

Posted 03/28/17 by Suzanne Matyas in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, California, Encouraging Trail Use, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, OpeningDay, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations, Virginia, Washington

And while every trail offers its own unique experience, there are some that are so extraordinary that they truly rise to the top. So, saddle up your two-wheeled steed and celebrate Opening Day on April 8 on one of these bucket-listers!

High Trestle Trail | Photo by David V. Johnson

Iowa's High Trestle Trail

Posted 07/14/16 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Iowa, Tourism , Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Like the entrance to an alien starship, the fantastical channel of blue lights along the signature bridge of central Iowa’s High Trestle Trail beckons curious travelers to explore. Wrapped in 43 twisting diamond-shaped steel ribs lined with LED lights, the bridge is meant to elicit the sensation of traveling down a mine shaft, a nod to the area’s coalmining history. Towering 130 feet above the Des Moines River, it is just as impressive in daylight, providing an ever-changing picture of the scenic river valley hung with an elaborate frame.

Ali and Tyler Sloan on the High Trestle Trail in Iowa, Aug. 20, 2013 | Photo courtesy Ali and Tyler Sloan

A Moment on the Trail, A Lifetime of Happiness

Posted 03/18/15 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Iowa, Success Stories

Sometimes, it only takes one moment on a trail to change our lives forever. Just ask Des Moines couple Ali and Tyler Sloan, who experienced an unforgettable, life-altering moment on Aug. 20, 2013, when, after several years of dating, Tyler proposed to Ali on the High Trestle Trail in Iowa.

Iowa's Wabash Trace Nature Trail

Posted 05/01/11 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Iowa, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

The Wabash Trace Nature Trail—the newest member of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Rail-Trail Hall of Fame—winds 63 miles from the outskirts of Council Bluffs, Iowa, southeast to the small town of Blanchard near the border with Missouri. Along the way, it offers views of some of the most scenic countryside in Iowa, including the unique Loess Hills.