Bob Layton Trail

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 popular path for walkers, joggers, and cyclists, the trail connects on its northern end to the Walnut Trace Park Trail, and on its southern end to another trail that continues further south towards more great trails in the region's expansive trail network.

Nearby Walnut Creek Regional Park offers a wide variety of recreational amenities within easy reach from the trail, including picnic areas, basketball courts, and a fitness station along the trail. Trail users can reach the main park area by taking a sidepath on Aurora Avenue to 152nd Street, where the Little Walnut Creek Trail begins at the end of a cul-de-sac. The Bob Layton trail itself runs through flat, open fields behind some of the growing area's newly built subdivisions, but the tree-lined Walnut Creek that runs along the route of the trail offers a dose of natural beauty. Deer and other wild animals can frequently be seen along the trail, and the trail offers a great opportunity to see some of the amazing fall foliage when the leaves begin turning. As the suburban area continues to expand and new houses and roads are constructed, amenities like the Bob Layton Trail play an important role in both providing off-road connectivity to the trail network and allowing residents to experience the outdoors along this small but important waterway.

Parking and Trail Access

Parking is available around the midpoint of the trail in Walnut Creek Regional Park, off of Aurora Avenue just to the west of the intersection with 147th Street. To reach the parking lot from Interstate 35/80, take exit 126 in Urbandale and proceed west on Douglas Parkway. Turn right onto NW 128th Street, and then left onto Aurora Ave/NW 42nd Avenue. Continue onto Aurora Avenue; the parking lot will be on the right.