High Trestle Trail
High Trestle Trail Bridge
Length25 mi (40 km)
LocationCentral Iowa, United States
TrailheadsAnkeny
Sheldahl
Slater
Madrid
Woodward
UseHiking, biking, equestrian (between Slater and the Des Moines River, and the Des Moines River to Woodward, but not on the bridge itself)
SurfaceAsphalt / concrete
Right of wayLocal governments and/or groups, on land formerly owned by Union Pacific Railroad[1]
Trail map

 Ankeny
 Trail Oasis
 Sheldahl
 Slater
 Heart of Iowa Nature Trail
 Madrid
 Des Moines River
 Woodward
 Raccoon River Valley Trail

High Trestle Trail is a rail trail running from Ankeny to Woodward in central Iowa.[2] The recreation trail opened on April 30, 2011.[3][4][5][6][7] It is a paved recreational trail that runs through the Polk, Story, Boone, and Dallas counties. The trail's name is derived from a former 1913 bridge that spanned the Des Moines River between the towns of Madrid and Woodward.

Conservation board directors and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation estimate that more than 3,000 people use this trail each week.[8] The trail is a major component of a planned pair of 100-mile (160 km) loops that will meet near Des Moines.[1][9]

Development

The High Trestle Trail follows the route of a former Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) freight line between Woodward and Ankeny, Iowa. UPRR first proposed retiring the line in 2003. The lowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), which had organized other rail-trail projects in Iowa, bought the 439 acres (178 ha) corridor from UPRR in 2005. As part of the transaction, UPRR donated over $3 million of land value. INHF then transferred sections of the land to partner agencies in the five cities and four counties within the corridor.

Construction on the trail, designed by engineering firm Snyder and Associates, Inc. began in early 2006 to include 1,010 feet (310 m) of trail in Woodward. In 2007, bookend projects in Woodward and Ankeny were constructed. The catalyst for construction came from a $5.6 million Congressional appropriation in 2005. With the help of additional state and federal grants, 20 additional miles of trail were completed and opened to the public in 2008.

The last portion to be completed was the high bridge over the Des Moines River. A $1.75 million grant from Vision Iowa, a project of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, helped fund the construction of a new bridge superstructure designed by Shuck-Britson, Inc., and artwork by RDG Dahlquist Art Studio. The project was officially completed with the grand opening of the bridge in April 2011.[10] Following its completion, the trail was awarded a Mid American Energy Trails and Greenways project award that October.[8][11]

Trestle bridge

High Trestle Bridge at night

The 13-story-high (40-meter) and nearly half-mile-long (770-meter) trestle bridge provides scenic views of the Des Moines River Valley[12] and is located near mining shafts that were worked by Italian immigrant families and others who settled nearby.[13] The bridge decking incorporates a decorative structure that represents the view through a mine shaft,[13][14][15][16] and its design includes decorative lighting that remains on from dusk until midnight in the summer and until 9:00 pm in the winter.[5][6][17]

The bridge was originally built in the 1970s to carry rail traffic on a Milwaukee Road line. With the retirement of that rail line in the early 2000s, the original bridge deck was removed, and its steel I-beams were reused for a new Union Pacific bridge in Boone.[18] However, the piers (or trestles) remained in place, and the original piers now support a new deck designed for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Between the removal of the original decking and the construction of its replacement, the single-file line of unconnected concrete piers was informally known as "Iowa's Stonehenge".[10]

On April 2, 2015, the BBC showcased the High Trestle Trail Bridge as part of a globe-spanning collection of eight eye-catching footbridges.[19]

Trailheads

These are the trailheads:[20]

Connections to other recreational trails

The High Trestle Trail connects at Slater to the 32-mile (51 km) Heart of Iowa Nature Trail in Story and Marshall counties. A connection to Des Moines is planned via Big Creek State Park and the 26-mile (42 km) Neal Smith Trail.[5][6][17][21][22] A third connection is planned between Woodward and Perry to the 90-mile (140 km) Raccoon River Valley Trail.[17]

The High Trestle Trail lies between two 100-mile (160 km) recreational trail loops near Des Moines. The western loop involves the Raccoon River Valley Trail and the Clive Greenbelt Trail. The eastern loop includes the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail, the Chichaqua Valley Trail and the Gay Lea Wilson Trail.[20]

As of May 2021, a spur trail is planned to connect the High Trestle Trail from Woodward through Granger to the 1,834-acre (742 ha) Jester Park located along the western shore of the 5,950-acre (2,408 ha) Saylorville Lake. The 17-mile (27 km) long Saylorville Lake is located 11 miles (18 km) upstream of Des Moines and has the 28.2-mile (45.4 km) Neil Smith Trail, a paved recreational trail, located near its eastern shore. South of the Saylorville Dam is a trail, which is known as "the connector", that connects the Neil Smith Trail and the Ankeny trails system. The Neil Smith and John Pat Dorrian Trails connect southward along the east side of the Des Moines River from the Big Creek Lake marina, through Polk City, Saylorville Lake, the Birdland Marina, and the Des Moines Botanical Center to the 167-acre (68 ha) Gray’s Lake Park located just south of downtown Des Moines in the greater Des Moines trails system. When the Des Moines River is 13 feet (4.0 m) above flood stage between the Saylorville Dam and Des Moines, portions of the Neil Smith trail may be underwater.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Polk County Conservation Board. "High Trestle Trail". Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) website, updated October 2011, retrieved October 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.inhf.org/pdfs/11_INHF_winter_mag_pp1-16_1-7-11_final_11.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Celebrate a world-class trails destination INHF Winter 2011 Magazine website retrieved March 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ http://www.inhf.org/high-trestle-trail-intro.cfm Premier trail and bridge officially opens at Grand Celebration, April 2011 INHF website, updated October 2011, retrieved October 10, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 http://www.inhf.org//trails/high-trestle.cfm Map of High Trestle Trail INHF website retrieved March 14, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 http://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/conservation/parks-trails/13-high-trestle-trail/map-detail/ High Trestle Trail Map Polk County Conservation Board website retrieved April 20, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2010-10-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Transportation Map for Bicyclists, 2010 edition, (see trail #2) Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) website retrieved February 17, 2010.
  8. 1 2 http://www.inhf.org/high-trestle-trail-intro.cfm High Trestle Trail Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation website updated June 2011 retrieved July 19, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Report: High Trestle Trail Bridge top spot on 600 miles of trails". Business Record (businessrecord.com) website. Des Moines, Iowa. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2023. See 2015 Trail Counter Report in May 2015 which is a pdf file on the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (dmampo.org) website.
  10. 1 2 Hein, Lisa (Spring 2012). "Trail Blazers". Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Magazine: 14–17.
  11. ↑ Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (2012). "Trail Partners" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  12. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42663&id=20832839998 High Trestle Trail Photos High Trestle Trail INHF Facebook website updated April 2011, retrieved July 19, 2011.
  13. 1 2 Cooney, Kevin (March 14, 2011). "Bridge Art Wows Bicyclists". KCCI-TV 8HD. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
  14. ↑ http://rdgusa.com/high_trestle_trail/latest_news/components.html Archived 2017-10-19 at the Wayback Machine High Trestle Trail: High Trestle Bridge | Artwork Components of Bridge Art on RDg Dahlquist Art Studios website retrieved July 19, 2011.
  15. ↑ http://rdgusa.com/high_trestle_trail/latest_news/photos.html Archived 2016-08-02 at the Wayback Machine High Trestle Trail: High Trestle Bridge | Artwork Daytime Photos of the bridge art on RDg Dahlquist Art Studios website retrieved July 19, 2011.
  16. ↑ http://rdgusa.com/high_trestle_trail/latest_news/2011/04/photos---april-13-2011.html Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine High Trestle Trail: High Trestle Bridge | Artwork Nighttime Photos of the bridge art on RDg Dahlquist Art Studios website retrieved July 19, 2011.
  17. 1 2 3 http://www.inhf.org//trails/high-trestle.cfm Central Iowa Trails Network INHF website retrieved October 10, 2011.
  18. ↑ "High Trestle Trail Bridge".
  19. ↑ Macdonald, Fiona (April 2, 2015). "Architecture Design: Eight Amazing Footbridges". BBC. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  20. 1 2 "High Trestle Trail". Polk County Conservation Board website. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  21. ↑ https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=212816457429398096288.0004a0bb69abdd70f28f5&ll=41.872373,-93.88813&spn=0.110696,0.207367&z=12&iwloc=0004a0bb6d45af79befe8%20%3Chttp://maps.googleAnkeny to Woodward trail map (big) INHF website retrieved February 22, 2010.
  22. ↑ http://www.inhf.org//trails/neal-smith-john-pat-dorrian.cfm Neal Smith and John Pat Dorrian Trails INHF website, retrieved April 20, 2013.
  23. ↑ Granger Trails Committee to hold ribbon cutting, fundraiser on June 5, 2021: Courtesy of Granger Trails Committee. Dallas County News website. Adel, Iowa. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  24. ↑ Ullmann, Allison (June 13, 2021). Granger Trails Committee cuts the ribbon on trail hub, fundraises for bridge project. The Perry Chief website. Perry, Iowa. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Neil Smith and John Pat Dorrain Trails". Iowa Trails Homepage from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation website. Archived from the original on May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Des Moines Parks and Recreation". City of Des Moines Park and Recreation website. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  27. ↑ The Neal Smith Trail: One of the Best, Unique Trails in Central Iowa. DesMoinesOutdoors.com website. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  28. ↑ John Pat Dorrian Trail: A Fantastic Trail in Downtown Des Moines. DesMoinesOutdoors.com website. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  29. ↑ PDF Map of the Neil Smith Trail. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  30. ↑ Des Moines River height. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  31. ↑ Neal Smith Trail. BikeIowa website. Retrieved May 25, 2021.

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