High Water Forcing Trail Closures

Tue July 29 2008
Posted Jul 29, 2008
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DES MOINES, Iowa -- Several park trails have been closed due to the recent heavy rainfall. Des Moines Parks and Recreation works said that with water levels expected to rise even higher, additional trails might be closed as well. The high water flowing over the trails in low terrain poses a hazard to people on foot or on bicycles. Workers said that people should remember that trails that were passable in the morning might not be so later in the day. The trails that are currently closed are:

Bill Riley Trail
Neal Smith Trail from Birdland Park Marina to the InterUrban Trail Bridge, located just east of Martin Luther King Parkway
Walnut Creek Trail at the 63rd and Grand underpass
Gay Lea Wilson Trail, which runs along 4-Mile Creek
Trestle to Trestle and John Pat Dorrian Trails

(these trails are closed until further notice due to construction and temporary flood control measures in place since the June flooding) Additional heavy rains in the northwest portion of the state are expect to raise the water levels of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers, as well as Walnut Creek, rangers said. Parks and Recreation Director Don Tripp said that effective immediately, Gray’s Lake Park will only be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Staff members have shut off electrical service to the park’s lighting and emergency notification systems in case the Raccoon River inundates the park again. Stay tuned at the Des Moines Parks and Recreation website for continued trail updates: http://www.dmgov.org/departments/pr/