MtbREVIEW.com supports IMBA and responsible riding. Please submit only legal
trails to our list. If you discover a trail posted on this site that is not
open for public mountain biking, please email our IMBA friends at
info@imba.com with detailed info.
They'll help us remove the unauthorized trail from the site.
Click here for info about keeping our trails open.
If this is the correct location, click "Save Point" below or type the nearest location (country, city, Zip, or land mark) and the map will pan over to the location if the location is found.
Save Point
Go to Nearest Location:
Lat:
Lng:
FDR Park
13 reviews
4.77 of 5
Lots of singletrack and ATV trails run through the park, which is heavily wooded. Lots of big climbs and long downhills, some jumps and obstacles made out of logs, stream crossings, tight switchback curves, and what appear to be either sinkholes or abandoned mine shafts (these are surrounded by orange fencing, but keep an eye out for them).
Take Cedar Cross Road South from Highway 20. Turn right on North Cascade Road. FDR Park is a few miles out of town, and the turn-off is an unmarked gravel road. Park at the gate (don't drive through if it's open). Can be hard to find. The park can also be entered on the South end at the Dubuque Sports Complex on Nightengale Lane (a right turn off of Cedar Cross). Cross the creek and head to the treeline on the ball field. There are several trails.
Summary: I have to agree w/ the previous reviewer. If these are your local trails you are lucky boys & girls. I recently visited family in the area & read of these trails on this forum. I stopped at a LBS (The Bike Shack) & asked for directions & advice. One of the shop employees was enthusiastic & offered to guide me around the next morning. Thanks Phillip! These trails are in a beautiful wooded park & flow very nicely. There are some rocky ledges, stream crossings, log piles, & enough technical challenges that I had to walk a few portions as a first-timer. I look forward to a return trip & more exploring time. Thanks to all the local folks who created & maintain these trails!
Recommended Route: Best to ride with a local. If not, jump in & start exploring. There's a narrow gravel road that bisects most of the park that will give the first-timer a reference point.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Sugarbottom Rec. Area
Decorah Trails
Levis Mound, WI
Would you like to Comment? Join MTBR.com for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
Summary: I was back in the DBQ area visiting family this October (now live in Denver, CO), and brought my bike to see what riding was to had in the area. I found these trails through this site, and am glad I did.
FDR offered the best riding I've experienced in the midwest so far - it's got good climbs, fast & sustained singletrack stretches, technical logs & rocks, and lots of twisty handlebar-bashing fun. Cool sinkholes and limestone bluffs too. I was surprised at the amount of trails, and the consistent quality - someone has put time, effort and love into the system here, and produced a real gem in the middle of seemingly nowhere (literally - it's a b!tch to find, and is completely unmarked).
Some of the reviews compare FDR to Moab, Vail or Fruita - which is probably not a fair comparison. The trails in CO and the west are much more open - fewer forested sections - and offer a much greater elevation gain/loss. You can take an 8 hour ride and not ever cover the same trail twice. You can climb for an hour+ non-stop, which won't ever happen in Iowa (barring a geological catastrophe). There's just more to be ridden, by a much bigger biking audience, and it varies so much from trail to trail.
That said, FDR was a blast - it ain't Colorado or Utah, but it is a great time. You can ride around without hitting the same trail for a few hours - then go back and hit your favorite stretches from a different direction.
Recommended Route: I got thouroughly lost and enjoyed every minute of it. All trails eventually lead back to the gravel road bisecting the park...
Other recommended trails in the same area: George Wyth, Sugar Bottom, Blue Mounds, Gov Dodge, Kettle Moraine...
Would you like to Comment? Join MTBR.com for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
Summary: The best in the mid-west!!! FDR has the best off road single track that I have ever riden. I would suggest these trails to anyone that is looking for the type of trail that provides mud, water, hills, rocks, and beautiful scenery. I went the day after it rained, which was muddy. With the hills the mud made it impossible to climb some of the hills. However, next time I'm going when it is dry, I am also taking off my foot straps, and buying a helmet. I provided a pic to the site. Hopefully they post it.
Recommended Route: HWY 20 E turn right on Cedar Cross- Right on N Cascade- Right after the kids Zoo
Other recommended trails in the same area: Exploring
Would you like to Comment? Join MTBR.com for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
Review Date September 9, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Aerobic Difficulty 5 of 5
Technical Difficulty 5 of 5
Ridden Trail: Once a week
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
1 votes
Reviewed by: Greg
,
Cross Country Rider
, from Galena, IL
Summary: Easily one of the best places to ride in the midwest. I have ridden in Winter Park and Vail, CO as well as many other places around the U.S. and I still find that the technical challenge of FDR park can not be beat. The park has many trials that vary in difficulty, from easy to down right religion finding.
One of the best trails runs down the east side of the park. It starts off on the right side of a grassy service road. It is mainly a down hill trail which gains speed very quickly. There is a combination of gap jumps and 1 to 2 foot rock stairs that you have to navigate between a 10 foot drop off on the left and a bar catching rock wall on the right. If you are ever in the area, shoot me an e-mail. I would love to show you the park. Hopefully the more that people ride it the less chance that we will loose it.
To find the park just follow Hyw 20 to Cedar Cross road to North Cascade road Follow North Cascade until you see the Children’s Storybook Zoo on the right side. Once there you will see a gravel road that curves around to the left of the Zoo. Follow that until you come to a gate. Park there and let the fun begin.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Sugar Bottom - Solon IA, Devil's Head Ski Resort- Baraboo, WI
Would you like to Comment? Join MTBR.com for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
Review Date September 3, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Aerobic Difficulty 4 of 5
Technical Difficulty 5 of 5
Ridden Trail: Once a week
Reviewed by: brian
,
Cross Country Rider
, from dbq
Summary: This trail rocks. It is more technical than anything else around here. It has great downhills, rocks, switchbacks, and miles and miles of trails without ever being on the same one twice. GO RIDE THIS TRAIL!
Recommended Route: Just take the main service road into the park and take anyone of the trailheads from there and see where they go. All trails end up back on a sevice road eventually.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Sugar Bottom, Gov. Dodge State Park
Would you like to Comment? Join MTBR.com for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.
4.77 of 5
5 of 5
4 of 5
3 of 5
1 of 5
5 of 5
