Pair your next scenic bike ride with stunning sculptures and murals. These nine trails merge panoramic vistas with public art pieces that add even more beauty to Iowa’s landscape.
Osceola Recreation Trails - Sibley
Experience the creativity of Sibley locals as you pedal along the Osceola Recreation Trails. Weaving for more than five miles between the community’s schools, parks, ballfields, pool, library and restaurants, the path is also adorned with clever bike-centric sculptures. Pedal beneath a lighted archway topped with bikes of all sizes and styles, past tires repurposed as colorful flowers, between guardrails fashioned with old bikes and more.
Riverwalk and High Line Trail - Mason City
Set to be completed in summer 2025, Mason City’s new Riverwalk and High Line Trail will showcase local and national artwork that celebrates the community’s rich heritage in music, art and nature. Pedal beneath the gateway sculpture, which will feature classic Prairie School patterns, then continue along the path to admire a waterfront plaza and spaces that showcase rotating and permanent sculptures and connect to more than 20 miles of trails that lead north to the Lime Creek Nature Center and south to MacNider Park.
Sioux Center Recreation Trail - Sioux Center
Designed to connect Sioux Center’s parks, schools and neighborhoods, the seven-mile Recreation Trail gives bikers an easy opportunity to explore the community’s public art, specifically three wind-moving sculptures. Plan a stop at Vernon Park to see a spinning globe that represents the legacies of local philanthropists, Open Space Park to see a swirling diamond that honors a past mayor, or Children's Park to admire two metal bird sculptures that move with the wind and highlight the community’s ability to give its residents wings.
First Ave Trail - Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs’ newest trail, the First Ave Trail, connects the city’s other trail networks and features four stunning murals popular with local bikers. Created by local artists, each mural uniquely showcases the history and pride that defines the community – one showcases the evolution of transportation, another narrates the life of local builder John Roth, the third promotes the power of diverse youth and the final mural highlights the city’s industrial history.
Tedesco Loop Trail - Ames
The Tedesco Loop Trail starts at the 37-acre Tedesco Environmental Learning Corridor in Ames and connects to the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail and the High Trestle Trail. Along the way, keep your eye out for sculptures, including an elk crafted from barbed wire, a life-sized metal bison, a monolith and more. Continue riding north to stop by Reiman Gardens and see Elwood, the world’s largest concrete gnome sculpture.
Mark C. Ackelson Trail - Des Moines
Discover six unique works of art nestled along the Mark C. Ackelson Trail, which winds for four miles around Des Moines’ Easter Lake Park. Each work is meant to educate, inform and nurture your fascination with and curiosity about the natural world. The collection includes a butterfly metamorphosis sculpture that appears differently from every direction, a towering eye sculpture that represents going beyond limited views, a dance diagram that invites you to attempt fancy footwork and more. Bonus: Pedal across the street from the beach and continue on the Carl Voss Trail toward downtown Des Moines to see panels crafted by local artists that create a combined image when viewed from a certain angle or can be admired as individual works.
Turkey River Recreational Corridor - Clairmont & Elgin
Running between Clermont and Elgin, the six-mile multi-purpose Turkey River Recreational Corridor features exceptional views of the Turkey River as well as a life-sized eagle’s nest sculpture. The sculpture was created with inspiration from local fifth graders and features a nest built on a scale that represents a human-sized adult bald eagle. Step inside the piece to get a feel for the nests’ massive size and glance through one of the spotting scopes to lay eyes on a real eagle’s nest in the trees above you.
Trout Run Trail - Decorah
The scenic 11-mile Trout Run Trail loops through and around historic Decorah, featuring natural vistas and stunning artwork throughout. The surrounding prairies, limestone bluffs and river valleys are beautiful, but you won’t want to miss the three sculptures that also line that trail. These works include the popularly photographed metal archway and the iconic “Walking with Birds” statue that overlooks the Upper Iowa River. Find more interesting works with a pitstop at the Decorah Fish Hatchery, which is home to the “Decorah’s Song” and “Dream Travelers” sculptures designed and constructed by world-renowned artist Doug Freeman.
Mahaska Community Recreation Trail - Oskaloosa
Following an old rail right-of-way, the 13-mile Mahaska Community Recreation Trail loops around Oskaloosa and University Park, passing through nine tunnels along the way. An ongoing art project is transforming each tunnel into an immersive mural experience, with one already completed. The first tunnel mural features giant bees on the ceiling and walls, flowers, wildlife and people biking and running alongside you. The other eight tunnels will soon follow suit, turning grey concrete into vibrant creations that all trail users can enjoy.
