About hiking in Polk County

Polk County, Iowa has 104 named trails tagged for hiking, covering 449 miles, an average of 4.3 miles each. The longest is Neal Smith Trail, at 73.1 miles. 22 run 5 miles or longer.

What the hiking trails in Polk County are like

By length, 51 are under a mile, 31 run 1 to 5 miles, and 22 are 5 miles or longer. 16 are loops, ending where they start; the longest is Oralabor Gateway Trail, at 10.5 miles.

Of the 40 with a difficulty rating, 27 easy and 13 moderate. Of the 104 with measured elevation, Neal Smith Trail climbs the most, about 1,509 ft, and 2 gain 1,000 ft or more.

All 104 hiking trails, longest first

Neal Smith TrailHike73.1 mi Martin Luther King Junior TrailHikeMTB26.9 mi Gay Lea Wilson TrailHikeMTB26.3 mi Denmans Mountain Bike TrailHikeMTB24.9 mi Dragoon Trail - Boone to Des MoinesHike21.5 mi Dragoon Trail - Through Des MoinesHike16.7 mi Levee TrailHikeMTB16.0 mi Inter-Urban TrailHike15.9 mi Clive Greenbelt TrailHikeMTB14.9 mi Lakeshore TrailHike14.9 mi Carl Voss TrailHike14.2 mi Meredith TrailHike13.3 mi Kruidenier TrailHikeMTB12.2 mi Oralabor Gateway TrailHike10.5 mi Walnut Creek TrailHike9.6 mi Johnston Interurban TrailHikeMTB8.4 mi Beaver Creek TrailHike8.1 mi Low Line TrailHike7.5 mi Principal RiverwalkHike7.1 mi Top Shelf TrailHike6.1 mi Rollercoaster Mountain Bike TrailHike5.3 mi Orlabor Gateway TrailHikeMTB5.2 mi Lake LoopHike4.2 mi Karras-Kaul Connector TrailHikeMTB3.9 mi Low LineHikeMTB3.4 mi Swan SongHike3.3 mi SkywalkHike3.1 mi North LoopHike3.0 mi footHike2.8 mi Top ShelfHikeMTB2.7 mi Gray's Station TrailHike2.7 mi 50th Street TrailHikeMTB2.5 mi Pump Track LoopHikeMTB2.4 mi Chautauqua Valley TrailHikeMTB2.2 mi Hickory Ridge TrailHike2.1 mi J11 Mountain Bike TrailHikeMTB2.1 mi Sycamore TrailHikeMTB2.1 mi 2nd Avenue SidepathHikeMTB2.0 mi High Life LoopHikeMTB2.0 mi Valley Cyclocross CourseHike1.9 mi Southeast Polk Cross Country CourseHike1.9 mi Youngstown Bike TrailHikeMTB1.8 mi Purgatory TrailHikeMTB1.8 mi Long Meadow Drive Greenbelt TrailHike1.5 mi McHenry Park TrailHike1.5 mi Otter TrailHike1.4 mi Poolside TrailHike1.4 mi Central Place Levee TrailHikeMTB1.4 mi Ewing Park Nature TrailsHike1.3 mi Wilderness LoopHike1.3 mi Squirrel's Nest Mountain Bike TrailHikeMTB1.1 mi Fox Run TrailHike1.1 mi Owl TrailHikeMTB1.1 mi Riverview Park Walking LoopHikeMTB1.0 mi Easter Lake Connector TrailsHikeMTB0.9 mi Cardinal Flower TrailHike0.9 mi Meredith Trail Service SpurHikeMTB0.9 mi Red Cedar TrailHike0.9 mi Youngstown TrailHikeMTB0.9 mi Pond TrailHike0.8 mi Jack Pine TrailHike0.8 mi Meredith to Bill Riley TrailHikeMTB0.8 mi Camper's Loop TrailHike0.7 mi Eastown Park TrailHike0.7 mi Knolls Greenway TrailHikeMTB0.7 mi Urbandale StoryWalkHike0.7 mi Around the BlockHikeMTB0.7 mi DeVotie TrailHike0.6 mi Rhythm Mountain Bike TrailHikeMTB0.6 mi Carl Voss Trail Service SpurHikeMTB0.6 mi Long Meadow Drive GreenbeltHikeMTB0.6 mi Gateway TrailHike0.5 mi DeVotie Loop TrailHike0.5 mi Cohen Park Walking LoopHikeMTB0.5 mi Weeks Park 1/2 Mile Walking LoopHikeMTB0.5 mi Ingersoll Ave SidepathHikeMTB0.5 mi Railroad Avenue TrailHikeMTB0.5 mi Valley Junction / Levee Trail ConnectionHikeMTB0.5 mi Greenwood Hills GreenbeltHikeMTB0.4 mi Preparation LoopHike0.4 mi Crossroads Park TrailHikeMTB0.4 mi Savanna TrailHike0.4 mi Stagecoach TrailHike0.4 mi Yard SaleHikeMTB0.4 mi Backpacker TrailHike0.4 mi Indianola Side PathHikeMTB0.3 mi Roosevelt Access TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi Kiwanis Park TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi 28th Street PlazaHike0.3 mi Railroad Ave TrailHikeMTB0.2 mi Laurel hill Park PathHike0.2 mi Iowa Women of Achievement BridgeHikeMTB0.2 mi Riverview Park SpurHikeMTB0.2 mi South Side TrailHikeMTB0.2 mi John Pat Dorrian Trail Service SpurHikeMTB0.2 mi Wifvat PlazaHike0.2 mi Dirty Connector Mountain Bike TrailHikeMTB0.1 mi Eagle View TrailHike0.1 mi Rothchild Nature TrailHike0.1 mi Basswood TrailHike0.1 mi Covid CutHikeMTB0.1 mi Drake PlazaHike0.1 mi Indian Mound TrailHike0.1 mi Songbird TrailHike0.1 mi

← All Polk County trails

Trail geometry from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Compiled and published by Trailmonger · trail data last rebuilt October 4, 2026.