History of the Raccoon River Valley Trail

A long series of events has ended with the development of the Raccoon River Valley Trail on a railroad right-of-way.

The initial 34 mile corridor of land extending from Waukee to Yale, now the Raccoon River Valley Trail, was first developed in the early 1870's as a railroad by the Des Moines Western Railroad Company.  The railroad changed owners several times over the years, and was last purchased and operated by the Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Company in 1982.   The last passenger train ran from Des Moines to Spirit lake and back on April 12, 1952.  The Central Iowa Energy Cooperative (CIECO), an affiliate of the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, purchased the corridor from the Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Company on December 23, 1987. 

CIECO, Iowa Trails Council, Dallas County Conservation Board, and Guthrie County Conservation Board entered into a management agreement in late 1987 that allowed for the corridor to be developed into a multi-use recreational trail.  The first section of this new trail, the Raccoon River Valley Trail, was opened on October 7, 1989 with the total 34 mile length being open in 1990.  An additional 13.1 mile section extending from Herndon north to Jefferson was completed in 1997.  A five mile extension connecting Waukee with Clive was added to the trail in 1999 making the total length approx. 52 miles. Dallas County and Guthrie County, with the help of Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, purchased the right-of-way from CIECO in January 2001. The purchase was funded through an Iowa Trails Grant sponsored by IDOT.