Explore the best rated trails in Ledyard, IA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Trolley Trail (Clear Lake/Mason City) and Red Jacket Trail. With more than 9 trails covering 90 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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The Hynes Spur Trail links the heart of Forest City, Iowa, with its municipal airport to the south. The short paved trail passes through Pammel Park and adjacent to the Bear Creek Golf Course, with...
Named after a Seneca Indian chief who lived in the area until the 1830s, the Red Jacket Trail runs along an old Milwaukee Road (formerly the Minnesota Railroad and the Central Railroad) right-of-way...
The Iowa Great Lakes resort on the northern border with Minnesota is a longtime destination for fishermen and vacationers who arrived from big cities by rail. Dickinson County employed two different...
The Hanson Trail is a paved, off-road alternative to State Route 9 in Forest City, Iowa. The trail parallels the road for its entire length through fertile farmland. Forest City and the Winnebago...
The South Route Trail begins west of Mankato in Minneopa State Park, known for its beautiful waterfalls and views of the Minnesota River Valley. Heading southeast from the park, following County Road...
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The best place to begin the Trolley Trail is in Mason City in Ray Rorick Skate Park, located adjacent to the 81-acre Lester Milligan Park, which has two fishing and swimming ponds, hiking and biking...
The Franklin Grove Heritage Trail rests on top of an abandoned Rock Island railroad corridor that runs through the heart of the small Iowan city of Belmond. The trail connects the residential section...
The Three Rivers Trail runs for nearly 40 miles from the small community of Rolfe—named after the early English settler who married Pocahontas—to just west of Eagle Grove. The mostly rural trail is...
The Blazing Star State Trail is located in Albert Lea, near Minnesota’s southern border. The town is known as “The Land Between the Lakes,” and the trail begins on the northern shore of one of the...
The South Route Trail begins west of Mankato in Minneopa State Park, known for its beautiful waterfalls and views of the Minnesota River Valley. Heading southeast from the park, following County Road...
The Blazing Star State Trail is located in Albert Lea, near Minnesota’s southern border. The town is known as “The Land Between the Lakes,” and the trail begins on the northern shore of one of the...
The Franklin Grove Heritage Trail rests on top of an abandoned Rock Island railroad corridor that runs through the heart of the small Iowan city of Belmond. The trail connects the residential section...
Named after a Seneca Indian chief who lived in the area until the 1830s, the Red Jacket Trail runs along an old Milwaukee Road (formerly the Minnesota Railroad and the Central Railroad) right-of-way...
The Hynes Spur Trail links the heart of Forest City, Iowa, with its municipal airport to the south. The short paved trail passes through Pammel Park and adjacent to the Bear Creek Golf Course, with...
The Three Rivers Trail runs for nearly 40 miles from the small community of Rolfe—named after the early English settler who married Pocahontas—to just west of Eagle Grove. The mostly rural trail is...
The best place to begin the Trolley Trail is in Mason City in Ray Rorick Skate Park, located adjacent to the 81-acre Lester Milligan Park, which has two fishing and swimming ponds, hiking and biking...
The Iowa Great Lakes resort on the northern border with Minnesota is a longtime destination for fishermen and vacationers who arrived from big cities by rail. Dickinson County employed two different...
The Hanson Trail is a paved, off-road alternative to State Route 9 in Forest City, Iowa. The trail parallels the road for its entire length through fertile farmland. Forest City and the Winnebago...
The Hanson Trail is a paved, off-road alternative to State Route 9 in Forest City, Iowa. The trail parallels the road for its entire length through fertile farmland. Forest City and the Winnebago...
The South Route Trail begins west of Mankato in Minneopa State Park, known for its beautiful waterfalls and views of the Minnesota River Valley. Heading southeast from the park, following County Road...
The Blazing Star State Trail is located in Albert Lea, near Minnesota’s southern border. The town is known as “The Land Between the Lakes,” and the trail begins on the northern shore of one of the...
The Iowa Great Lakes resort on the northern border with Minnesota is a longtime destination for fishermen and vacationers who arrived from big cities by rail. Dickinson County employed two different...
The best place to begin the Trolley Trail is in Mason City in Ray Rorick Skate Park, located adjacent to the 81-acre Lester Milligan Park, which has two fishing and swimming ponds, hiking and biking...
Named after a Seneca Indian chief who lived in the area until the 1830s, the Red Jacket Trail runs along an old Milwaukee Road (formerly the Minnesota Railroad and the Central Railroad) right-of-way...
The Franklin Grove Heritage Trail rests on top of an abandoned Rock Island railroad corridor that runs through the heart of the small Iowan city of Belmond. The trail connects the residential section...
The Hynes Spur Trail links the heart of Forest City, Iowa, with its municipal airport to the south. The short paved trail passes through Pammel Park and adjacent to the Bear Creek Golf Course, with...
The Three Rivers Trail runs for nearly 40 miles from the small community of Rolfe—named after the early English settler who married Pocahontas—to just west of Eagle Grove. The mostly rural trail is...
Trail is really great but could definitely use some more gravel in certain areas where the path is shaded and it doesn't get as much sun the sand can suck all the energy out of you. Of course that could just be in the Winter months.
This trail wonders through tree tunnels, bridges over train tracks, grassy fields full of wildflowers and spotted several groups of deer. Many places along the route however have bad cracks and yes I worried about my spokes as did the 2014 reviewer. Was surprised to see the 2017 review said it was newly paved. Beautiful ride just watch the road.
We only walked a bit of the trail, but saw no one on it the whole 30-45 min we were on it.
They have added about 3.75 miles to the west of the trail from Hyvee in Spirit Lake west to Vick's Corner on Highway 86.
Awesome biking trail! Very smooth packed gravel trail. Restrooms and air stations available in some areas. Plan full day and bring water/energy bars.
This trail is nicely paved with asphalt. It was expanded in 2019 for .6 miles to the northeast and .6 miles to the southeast, now making it 3.0 miles long. There are sunny areas and shady areas. It is bike, walker, jogger and wheelchair friendly. The trail features a Story Walk along with a Little Free Library. There are all kinds of parks and activities nearby: disk golf, swimming, tennis, skateboard facility, playgrounds, picnic spots, and brand new in 2020, a pickleball court. If you are hungry, you can find hamburgers, pizza, sub sandwiches, Mexican food and ice cream in Belmond. A nice system of sidewalks connect the trail to the whole town.
We stayed at Gull Point State Park which had direct access to this trail. The first time I rode it I went clockwise starting from the west side of the lake. There was more paved trail than indicated in the app. However I did lose the trail when I got to the east side in Lake Okoboji/Arnold's Park area. The second time I rode the trail, I went counterclockwise and was able to follow trail signage from that direction (mostly). I also rode the trail north to Spirit Lake. Many beautiful sections and the portions not on the trail were little-traveled roads. Very enjoyable!
This is a great trail. However, we only did 1/2 of it. We started out at the beginning of the trail on the east side of Big Spirit Lake and rode south to Memorial Park. Then we headed back the way we came, but continued West around Big Spirit Lake. This was nearly 16 miles. The directions tell you to park on a gravel lot on 253rd about 1/2 of a mile before the end point. We drove down to the end point to check it out and found several spots along the side of the road where you could park. It was nice to start the trail at the beginning because you get to ride through soy and corn fields. There are a few spots where signage could be improved. But if you just keep in mind that you should always be able to see the lake then you'll intuitively know which direction to go. One of the things I really like about this trail is how little you are on the road. It's nice to be away from cars. Memorial Park was a great spot to stop and have lunch. There are at least 2 covered picnic areas. And there are fairly decent rest rooms. The trail on the west side of Big Spirit Lake ends at an RV park. We rode around in there and realized they have awesome views of the lake. We'll try to stay here in our rig sometime.
rode from Rolfe to Rutland. We saw few people except 2 trail maintenance guys who were mowing and removing down limbs. The Des Moines River was bankfull+ so the water was very close to the bridge bottom. Nearly rode over a garter snake and a 3' bull snake who was hugging the edge of the grass line. Just a really nice trail that is maintained. The toilets were closed, though, due to Covid.
I was hesitant to ride today because of all the wind but this trail is so wooded it was perfect. It’s in decent shape but is beginning to show its age with quite a few cracks. The views were great following a river for quite a few miles and a few nice bridges to cross. I would recommend this nice trail for a lovely outing in Mankato.
We parked at Minneopa and did half the trail for a total of 6.3 miles round trip. You start by going uphill out of Minneopa which was really pretty, do a few smaller hills then there’s a killer hill shortly before Mt Kato. I did have to walk but my 20-year-old son conquered it. The prettiest part is in Minneopa and the rest parallels a road. The trail is in great shape though without any cracks.
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