Biking and cross county skiing have become frequent activities throughout the state, especially with the number of trails available in the Des Moines metro area. Jasper County has the Chichaqua Valley Trail through Baxter and Mingo, but in the last year, there’s been another one in the making.
Through the Rails-to-Trails acquisition of an old railroad, a multi-use trail is currently forming in the southern part of the county connecting Monroe, Prairie City and Mitchellville.
The trail will be nearly 11 miles long and each town has several miles of separation so it will be mostly geared toward bikers and cross country skiers, but the opportunity will be there for anyone looking to take a day-long stroll through Jasper County as well.
In October, the Prairie City Rails-to-Trails project received an Iowa Department of Natural Resources grant of $75,000 through the Resource Enhancement and Protection program, which will be used to purchase .75 miles of the corridor within its city limits.
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