Review Date
January 5, 2012

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: dgw2jr ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Lots of climbing and descending, beautiful scenery, plenty of sinkholes, limestone outcroppings near the creek. This place has a lot of potential.

Recommended Route:
Routes? Yea right

Review Date
January 3, 2012

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Reviewed by: J-Rider ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Just took a road trip to FDR over the weekend. Although we had a hard time finding it.. it really isn't that difficult to find. Because of a bridge out, the easiest way is to take Hwy 20 West out of Dubuque. Go 4.5 miles out of town turn and left on North Cascade Road. Go 3 miles East to the access road. Look for the gravel road to the left of the entrance for Storybrook Hill Children's Zoo. Their address is 12201 N Cascade Rd, Dubuque, IA. Take the gravel road and park at the gate. After speaking with a local, we found that access is no longer available through the Dubuque Sports Complex. Hopefully riders pay attention so access doesn't become an issue!!

Recommended Route:
Kudos to the group who built these trails!! Wooded singletrack, over rolling hills, creek crossings, a few ramps, and a few log piles. Very fun. The trails themselves are generally not marked but after cruising for a half hour one can understand the lay of the land. We found 3 sections although there could be more!?! Basically there are trails 1) between the parking spot and the creek, 2) on the ridge between the creek north to the gravel road, and 3) north of the gravel road. Soil conditions in January were frozen to a little greasy peanut butter. Riding after a hard rain or in the springtime would probably mess the trails up. The orange fencing marking the minshaft was down so be careful. Beautiful area, can't wait to get back again and see what else is there!!

Review Date
March 7, 2011

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: Mstaver92 ,  Downhiller

Summary:
I have only ridden this trail once and it was great, but I got lost multiple times and I am sure I missed a lot of the trails. I was wondering if someone had a map of the trails that could be printed off. I plan to go again in about a week and don't want to miss any of the trails this time.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Beverly, Sugarbottom

Review Date
July 7, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: djhunt ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I just rode this trail for the first time with my nephew -- what a great jewel hidden right in Dubuque! Full of singletrack everywhere. Nice mix of twisty trails, creek crossings, faster flats, and some technical man-made obstacles. We zig-zagged around for an hour and a half and had a great time.

I'm told that this trail is "unofficial". You have to pass a park closed sign at the gate, but, apparently the policy is "don't ask, don't tell". We didn't have any issues.

Recommended Route:
This is the reason I couldn't give it 5 stars. Clearly, there are some maintained, planned trails with signs, but there are so many wildcat trails, that it's really hard to know where to go without a local guide. Looking back at the GPS track someone else posted, I realize that we missed a good 1/2 of the park because we didn't know how to get there. Once we ended up on a side trail full of thorns! It'd be great if the city could make this park official and have the 6 mile loop that others mention restored with clear signage. In the meantime, just go explore. Our favorite trail started at the "T" in the gravel road. Stay to the left. This becomes Sticks and Stones, with another loop added on. By following the most worn trail at intersections, we had a great ride with log jumps, tight sections and fun singletrack.

Review Date
April 29, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: summitcon ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
This is a great set of trails that's within five minutes of Dubuque. There are over 12 miles of trails here that are maintained by volunteers that clear the trails and are currently working on a couple new trails. HERE IS A LINK TO THE 98% COMPLETE MAP OF THE TRAILS: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/kml/episode.kml?episodePkValues=7957660

For more info on group rides or LBS check out Free Flight or Bicycle World.

Recommended Route:
Take the first singletrack to the right, and go from there. The trails all intersect. Check out the entire park!

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Sugar Bottom; Blue Mounds; Decorah