Iowa

Original Raccoon River Valley Trail

in Iowa · centroid 28 mi from Des Moines

Original Raccoon River Valley Trail is hiking trail in Iowa. This page summarises what we have from public sources (OpenStreetMap and trail-association data); always verify current conditions and trail status with the maintaining organisation before heading out.

States
Iowa
Network
Regional (rwn)
Reference
RRVT
Centroid nearest city
Des Moines, IA · 28 mi · ~50 min drive
Centroid coords
41.8018°, -94.0824°
OSM relation
17322977
From Wikipedia: Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT) is a rail trail running 56 miles (90 km) from Waukee, Iowa, to Jefferson, Iowa. In 2013, an additional 33.1-mile (53.3 km) north loop was completed on the RRVT, making the RRVT nearly 90 miles (140 km) of paved trails and having a paved interior loop of more than 72 miles (116 km). The 39-mile (63 km) portion of the trail from Waukee to Herndon is part of the American Discovery Trail, which runs between Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware and Point Reyes near the Bay Area of California. In Iowa, the American Discovery Trail will be concurrent with U.S. Bicycle Route 50. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Raccoon River Valley Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Original Raccoon River Valley Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Des Moines, IA — 28 miles away (~50 min drive). See accommodation in Des Moines on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

6 nearby

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.