Review Date
October 15, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: crager34 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Best/closest trail in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area (Platte River is a bit of a drive). The hill at the end of the ride is a tough one and it sucks that it's at the end...instead of in the middle somewhere (you can bail out to the road if your a whimp).

Review Date
May 27, 2001

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: Joe Hettiarachchy , from Bellevue, NE

Summary:
This trail has been reviewed extensively on the Nebraska page for some reason even though this trail is actually in Iowa. Oh well, here's my review again... This kick ass trail kicked my ass. There are many lung busting ups with a few downhill bombs. For some reason it seemed like there were a lot more ups than downs. Don't get me wrong- this is NOT a very challenging trail from a technical standpoint. You just have to be in good cardiovascular shape to complete the trail without stopping. I had to stop a couple of times and to my rigid standards that is unacceptable (ie. the trail conquered me instead of vice versa). There is a notable absense of rocks which makes the trail easy to ride. There are many switchbacks along the bluffs and a few logs in the way. I never saw a 6 foot high log crossing. I either completely missed it or someone exaggerated the 3-4 foot one that I did see. There is some beautiful scenery along the bluff overlooks which is refreshing. Not quite so refreshing was the millions of mosquitoes on the trail. No amount of bug spray stopped me from getting bludgeoned to death by those bastards so just plan on being eaten alive regardless of how much Deep Woods Off you bring with. This trail gets 4 stars because it't not technical enough (no jumps, tricks, water crossings, etc.) that a 5 star trail should have..

Recommended Route:
Head North from the Monument along the ridge, a sharp left about 3/4 miles in. The left looks like a steep washed out ditch, but it is very important to take this left if you want to stay away from the aforementioned menacing fat man with the shotgun (I've never actually seen him; I've just heard stories). Stay right at the next intersection, until you get to the bottom. Head south along the ridge as far as you can. The trail will turn back to the north for about a mile after that. Follow the well marked red arrows from there to go around the loop.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Platte River, Swanson, Indian Caves, Ponca, Mahoney, Schramm

Review Date
May 16, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: Sasquatch , from Council Bluffs

Summary:
This trail is not for the faint of heart. It is about 5 miles long. This trail has alot of steep fast decents and long hard climbs, one very large log climb. there are lots of switchbacks both up hill and down hill.
The hill twist and turns up and down the side of the bluff facing i-29 just north of Council Bluffs under Lewis and Clark monument.
This trail will soon hook up with a series of trail in Council Bluffs the encludes the planed foot bridge(back to the river trail)linking to the omaha trail system.

Recommended Route:
The trail is marked with red arrows.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Wabash trace. Prospect park. Fairmont park.