Saylorville Trail
HP Community Action Association
Many Beginnings. The Neal Smith portion of the Saylorville Trail actually starts
near that
big tall anonymous building you see downtown (about four miles away as the
crow flies). The markers start at Scott Street dam. You can also easily access the trail from the
former Target
entrance on Euclid -- just like the Ding
Darling Greenway.
Who is Neal Smith? First, he is not the original drummer for the Alice Cooper band. Our Neal Smith, self-described as a long-term "black dirt farmer," was our state representative for decades -- long enough to bring about the entire Saylorville project with its 54-mile long lake. Give him credit for the Wildlife Refuge at Prairie City plus the huge Red Rock project. (And probably Rathbun Lake, too, but memory fails.) Then we citizens of Iowa decided to replace him with a plastic surgeon. Good move?
Right Side of the River. Saylorville Trail heads north 12 miles to Saylorville Dam and beyond -- a little over 12 additional miles, should you care to go the extra miles. Our Trail Liaison, Dick LeCroy, worked on this particular project for more than a decade. LA carried his canteen.
View from the Bridge. From the Euclid Avenue Bridge, you can see the Euclid entrance to the Saylorville Trail. Note the much more civilized surface and careful edging of the trail in contrast to the Ding Darling Greenway.
Pennsylvania Avenue. Or you can access the trail here or on a half mile or so of Penn Avenue. This particular portion of the trail comes up from the west side of Lutheran Hospital. It follows a rail bed abandoned decades ago. The bikers and joggers make much less noise than the trains.
Construction Note. The City of Des Moines built a shored up bridge segment directly west of Lutheran Hospital. It fell down (twice). The Army Corps of Engineers re-did the trail bridge (at twice the cost). It still works.
Could Be Wider. We'd like these trails better if they were at least twice as wide. If you're loafing like these guys, machts nichts. When taking the corners fast, you want to go single file.
Cottonwood. As you head north on the trail, you can turn
left and take a break at this exit into Cottonwood. (Most of the trees
along the river are cottonwood trees, thus the name.) At Cottonwood you can access
water, pop machines, restrooms, and most importantly eight volleyball
courts. Over a dozen shelter houses make Cottonwood a perfect location
for family -- especially really large family -- get togethers.
More Cottonwood. Whether you utilize the prior exit or not, you will go thru cottonwood, But this is the less developed part of cottonwood. You get stop signs for the cars and that's it.
Saylorville Dam. Here's your dam picture. Here's where your tap water comes from. This is one noisy place to hang out. It's amazingly cool on a hot summer night. During the day, bow hunters and snaggers abound. They're after the tasty buffalo fish.
$4.50 per Pound. The guy that hooked this beauty estimated him at 22 pounds. He said they cost $4.59 a pound at HyVee. Judging by the way he hefted him, I'd say maybe 12 pounds -- still a beauty. And tasty. Unfortunately, the U.S. Fish and Game Department brought in carp which have in many areas supplanted our native buffalo fish. (End of rant.)
View from the Top. Here's your water heading to your faucet. Drink up. Ignore those buffalos upstream.
Bikers at the Top. Here's some bikers enjoying that same view on a windy day. At least it was windy at the top.
Roller Coaster. At the other end of the dam you can head back to Des Moines. This trail starts gently then turns into a high speed twisting roller coaster ride. You need very good brakes to stay the course. It's not just downhill from here. It's really downhill from here.
Go the Extra Miles. Or you can head north and go that extra 12.6 miles to the Big Creek Beach and Marina thru some very scenic territory.
Information and Rest Station. Directly between those two
choices, you'll find an excellent air conditioned Visitor Center. The bikers are pooped.
The joggers are pumped. Drop that remote control and hit the trail.
You'll feel better and look better. You don't have to do the whole
thing in one day. If you want to do the whole thing in one day, we
suggest the Dragoon Trail. It's
designed to enable lazy tourists to enjoy the Des Moines River. LA
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