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Tue July 14 2009
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Posted Jul 14, 2009
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RICEVILLE IA
The Wapsi-Great Western Line Trail was
conceived as a recreational trail with wellness in mind.
But like its own twists and turns, the trail has become
more than a sum of its miles.
It provides fun and health while protecting history and
undisturbed areas of the Iowa prairie.
“And, our goal from the beginning was to have a trail of
statewide significance in a such a small little town,” said
WGWL committee leader Elaine Govern.
With the help of donations and grants —including a $1.3
million Vision Iowa CAT grant — as well as the dedication
of a 40-member volunteer corps, the project has been
sustained over the past two decades.
The committee’s latest addition has been the opening of its
welcome center.
“Most of us would have been happy just having the trail get
as far as Lake Hendricks, just a mile or so off of Highway
9 in Riceville) when the project began in 1990,” joked
trail supporter Jim Cody.
But today, almost 18 miles of paved trail exists, and
another 13 miles is lime-screened. The trail stretches from
Elma to the south, north to Riceville and then near a point
near the town of McIntire and the Pinicon Alders Wildlife
area, to the Minnesota border.
The project has been estimated at $6.5 million, but is
probably worth much more when considering in-kind and
donated labor.
Much of the trail is built within the abandoned railbed of
the Great Western Railroad and rolls along with the
Wapsipinicon River corridor. The result is a trail that
encompasses the scope of Iowa landscapes, including
prairie, timbered areas, marshland and farmland.
Not only does it take in Lake Hendricks at Riceville but
also visitors can see an extensive butterfly garden,
prairie wildflower area and “Memory Lane,” a stretch of
trees planted and marked in memory of several citizens.
But one of the most significant additions is a welcome
center that celebrates the area’s heritage and marks the
Wapsi’s trailhead. The center was created from a former
church built in 1858, moved in 2002 from another Riceville
location to its new home.
The center retains the sanctuary of the church — now a
place that provides space for gatherings and presentations —
and also offers a downstairs meeting area that has a
kitchen and a scenic outdoor patio. The space can be rented
for various functions, Govern said.
As always, the trail is a work in progress.
At the top of its priority list is paving five miles from
Acme to Elma, south of Riceville, and then ultimately
connecting a four-mile stretch from the Iowa border to the
Shooting Star Trail.
Committee members pledged to continue the hardest work:
fundraising and acquiring the needed easements for more
trail.
“We write grants; we flip pancakes,” Govern said.
The committee has planned several activities in and around
the trail, from a yoga sampler held at the center, to a 5K
Run/Walk that kicks off at the center on Saturday, July 18.
For more information, contact Barry Christensen at 641-220-
1406.
The welcome center is open 2-5 p.m. during summer weekends.
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