TRAILS

Trails in Iowa promote health, community connections, and economic growth. They offer safe spaces for physical activity, improving health and quality of life, while linking towns, parks, and natural areas. Trails also boost tourism and local economies, support small businesses, and encourage environmental stewardship, making Iowa a vibrant and welcoming place to live and visit.

The Bi-State Regional Commission wrote a successful Iowa Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside grant for the City of LeClaire. The Mississippi River Trail – Eagle Ridge Road to May Street project will include the construction of a 4,500-foot long, 10-foot wide ADA accessible multipurpose trail along U.S. 67/Cody Road from Eagle Ridge Road to May Street in LeClaire, IA. This project is part of the Mississippi River Trail where it links with a widened sidewalk connecting to the historic downtown and levee district. The trail will provide connectivity to the Interstate 80 bridge which will include a bicycle and pedestrian accommodation on a newly reconstructed bridge in a few years.

Bi-State staff helped coordinate discussions to ensure the new interstate bridge would include a trail accommodation. The Iowa DOT and the City of LeClaire were key partners in this project.

We are transforming maintenance through cutting-edge data technology. In a groundbreaking effort to promote sustainable infrastructure, INRCOG staff leveraged the Des Moines MPO’s innovative Iowa Data Bike to evaluate trail pavement conditions throughout Black Hawk County.

This cutting-edge bicycle is equipped with advanced instruments to measure pavement quality and capture high-resolution imagery. Over several weeks, INRCOG staff biked miles of trails, collecting detailed data to provide a comprehensive overview of current conditions. The findings were analyzed and integrated into an Interactive Map, offering users an intuitive way to explore trail conditions across the county. This tool not only highlights areas needing immediate attention but also serves as a resource for local jurisdictions to craft long-term, sustainable maintenance strategies. By leveraging technology and collaboration, this project demonstrates INRCOG’s commitment to enhancing the longevity of regional trails and ensuring safe, enjoyable spaces for the community to walk, run, and bike.

Northwest Iowa Planning & Development Commission

The Iowa Great Lakes Connection Trail is a 4.2-mile dedicated trail traversing rural Clay County and connecting the Cities of Spencer and Fostoria with the Iowa Great Lakes Trail in Dickinson County. This trail was completed in the summer of 2024 and fulfills a 35-year dream of connecting Spencer and Fostoria with Iowa Great Lakes and all of its connecting systems. The entire trail system now provides: connection to eight additional communities, ten natural lakes, scenic river corridors, hundreds of acres of public open space/wildlife management areas, six State parks, two county parks, 15 city parks, eight public beaches, historic Arnolds Park Amusement Park, Majestic Pavillion, Roof Garden Ballroom, State Pier/Queen II vessel, Maritime Museum, Abbe Gardner Sharp Cabin, museum & Spirit Lake Massacre burial site, camping, public fishing access, shopping, hotels/motels and restaurants. Totaled, the entire system is over 60 miles of paved routes and an additional 45 miles of dedicated trails.

Region 6 Resource Partners

Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council

Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission

The cities of Burlington and West Burlington, in partnership with Des Moines County, collaborated on the Greater Burlington Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, led by the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC). A key priority was developing a trail along Gear Avenue in West Burlington to improve connectivity and accessibility.

The US 34 freeway passes under Gear Avenue, creating significant challenges for pedestrians and cyclists traveling between the mall and the college. The existing 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the east side of the bridge ended abruptly at the stoplight north of the interchange. Pedestrians were left navigating a narrow, crumbling path squeezed between a concrete traffic barrier and a chain-link fence overlooking the freeway. Beyond the bridge, they faced walking through grass, descending a steep hillside, and crossing a deep drainage ditch to reach the mall's ring road.



For cyclists, the situation was even more dangerous, as the narrow sidewalk was unusable, forcing them onto a roadway with over 10,000 vehicles per day. Recognizing these safety concerns, SEIRPC and the Iowa DOT began developing a strategy to address the gap, exploring options such as a pedestrian bridge and improved safety barriers to create a seamless and secure trail connection across Highway 34.

Southwest Iowa Planning Council

Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) is in the midst of a large trail mapping project to benefit Regional Planning Affiliate 13 (RPA 13) which consists of Cass, Fremont, Montgomery, and Page Counties.



SWIPCO has contracted with Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development on a trail mapping project to create new and accurate trail maps and get 360-degree imagery of the trails to upload to online mapping sites. This will allow the public to be better informed of the trails available to them and become more comfortable with what they will experience on those trails.

This project is funded by RPA 13 regional funds provided by the Iowa Department of Transportation, with the goal of increasing trail usage across the region.



Over the past three years, SWIPCO has supported several other trail initiatives. The cities of Clarinda and Stanton have completed new trail construction, and a major project by Southwest Iowa Nature Trails, Inc. has secured funding for the Wabash Trace–Rapp Park Connector Trail in Shenandoah. These efforts have been made possible through RPA 13’s Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program, demonstrating a strong commitment to expanding and improving the regional trail network.