BIKEIOWA NOTE: this doesn't actually reflect all bicycle and multi-use trails, but an interesting article anyways.

Whispers of “finally getting out of the metro” were heard as several people boarded a shuttle bus for the Trail Capital of Iowa Tour Tuesday.

But the group wasn’t headed very far — just a few miles east to its first stop in Macedonia — home of The Back 40, The Painted Camel and Grist Mill McCready Theatre on Main Street.

Erica Carley of Oakland, executive director of the Western Iowa Development Association, shared introductory words with Lance Brisbois, project coordinator for the Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development, as the group passed Lake Manawa State Park, the Iowa School for the Deaf and the Wabash Trail.

These trails — or virtual connections as Carley said — in Pottawattamie County draw tourists and residents alike. They include:

• B & B Trail: Watta Way to Enjoy Burgers and Beer — a trail to find the best burger and brew

• California Trail — a trail to trace the emigrant trail that crossed Iowa

• Freedom, Faith and Fellowship: Historic County Churches Trail — a trail that illustrates the faith of farming forefathers

• Lewis and Clark Trail — a trail that follows Lewis and Clark’s journey west

• Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway — a trail that commemorates the first trans-continental highway

• Mormon Trail — a trail that explores the route traveled by 70,0000 Mormons from 1846 to 1869

• National Loess Hills Scenic Byway — a trail along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway, rated among the best in the nation

Pioneer Trail — a trail to experience more westward advancement

• Railroad Highway Multi-Use Trail — a trail that links smaller communities across Pottawattamie County

• Stars and Bronze Tribute Trail — a trail that follows the Eagles of Honor project, Freedom Rock and other projects that honor veterans and public figures

• Wabash Trace Nature Trail — a nature trail through southwest Iowa, home of the Taco Ride